BANGALORE: For a nominal fee, one can get one’s gold, silver or platinum jewellery tested for its purity. The Karnataka Jewellers’ Association (KJA) will open a purity test centre in Bangalore soon.
“The new centre will open next month at Basavanagudi. People who purchase jewellery anywhere in India can come to the centre for a purity check. We will charge a fee of `20 to `100, depending on the weight of the jewellery or items,” T A Sharvana, president of the Karnataka Jewellers’ Association told Express.
Large jewellery outlets in the city already have such machines for internal use.
Sharavana said when jewellery or other items are placed on the purity testing machine, it will be scanned and an accurate mixture of metals in the jewellery or any other itme will be displayed. One can get details on the spot and view them on the computer monitor.
“For 22 carat gold items, after conducting a test, we will issue a certificate from our Association. This will be useful for buyers as well as sellers in the future,” he said.
Explaining about the advantages of going in for such a test, Sharavana said if the purity of items purchased differs after the test, the customers can go to the consumer court or lodge a complaint with the Association. “Through the Association, we will also help them,” he said.
However, he advised buyers to demand a bill containing the details of purity of gold and other information. “To avoid paying 1 per cent value-added tax, some people choose not to demand bills,” he added.