How sterling silver jewellery is made in India
Silver jewellery exports under HS 7113 11 41, 45 and 49 together came to US$380.13 million in FY2025-26 (TradeStat, provisional). Pieces are lost-wax cast in rubber-mould trees, hand-fabricated from sheet and wire, or machine-made as chain. Joints are soldered with silver solder, which is itself an alloy of lower fineness. After polishing, many pieces are rhodium-plated to stop tarnish, gold-plated for a vermeil-style look, or oxidised black in the recesses.
The "Hupari Silver Craft" Geographical Indication (application 792, filed by the Chandi Karkhandar Association, Hupari) was registered with a certificate dated 30 March 2024; Hupari is in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Surat is a Town of Export Excellence for gems and jewellery, a fine jewellery listing. Export silver jewellery is also made in many other towns; we inspect wherever your supplier is.
Because silver is bought by weight and fineness, the commercial risks are a lower alloy, heavy solder, hollow castings and plated brass mixed into the lot. The compliance risks are stamps that break the destination's marking law and nickel in plating or findings.
What we check on silver jewellery
| Check | How it is checked | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Fineness stamp | Stamp read under a loupe on each sampled piece and compared with your marking brief | Missing, illegible or wrong stamp; "925" on a part that is not silver |
| Maker's mark | Mark present beside the quality stamp, same method and size, where the US market is intended | Quality stamp with no trademark next to it |
| Weight | Each sampled piece weighed on a calibrated scale against the specification | Pieces under the agreed weight tolerance |
| Mixed metals | Magnet check on clasps and findings; colour and stamp on each part; samples for assay | Brass or steel findings on a piece sold as solid silver |
| Solder joints | Joints on jump rings, bails and settings under magnification | Pits, excess solder, open or cracked joints |
| Plating | Rhodium or gold coverage, colour, blisters; disclosure on the card | Patchy rhodium, gold wearing at edges, plating not stated |
| Stones | Setting tightness, alignment, chips; stone type against the description | Loose or missing stones, lab-grown or simulant stones sold under a natural stone name |
| Finish | Polish, oxidising and texture against the sample | Firestain, porosity in castings, polishing compound in recesses |
Common sterling silver jewellery defects and how they are classed
| Defect | Typical cause | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Assay below 925 on a piece stamped sterling | Wrong alloy, heavy low-grade solder, recycled scrap | Critical |
| Plated base metal pieces in a silver lot | Substitution or mixed production | Critical |
| Stamp that breaks the destination's marking rules | Generic stamping without a market brief | Major |
| Weight below tolerance | Thinner casting or wire, hollow sections | Major |
| Loose stone or open jump ring | Setting not closed, solder skipped | Major |
| Rough ear post or ring shank | Post not finished after soldering | Major |
| Light firestain or tarnish | Oxidation during soldering, humid storage | Minor |
| Small casting pits on a back face | Gas porosity | Minor |
Your defect list decides the final class.
Marking and safety rules by market
| Market | Rule | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Hallmarking Act 1973 | An unhallmarked article may not be described as silver in the course of trade, unless exempt. Schedule 1 exempts articles of silver of minimum fineness under 7.78 g total metal weight, subject to conditions, and articles intended for despatch outside the UK; so the obligation falls on the UK side, not the Indian factory. "Sterling" is presumed to mean 925; plated items may be called "silver plated" |
| US | National Gold and Silver Stamping Act (15 U.S.C. 291–300) | "Sterling" or "sterling silver" needs 925 parts per thousand, with a tolerance of 4 parts per thousand (10 for the whole article assayed with its solder). A piece with a quality mark must also carry the trademark of the maker or importer, registered or applied for, applied the same way and close to it |
| US | FTC Jewelry Guides, 16 CFR 23.5 and 23.7 | "Solid silver", "sterling" and "ster." need at least 925; "silver" alone needs an equally prominent fineness number in front of it; silver-plated items may not be marked "sterling"; a surface layer of rhodium on a precious-metal piece must be disclosed |
| EU | REACH Annex XVII entries 27, 63 and 23 | Nickel release limits apply to silver jewellery too; nickel can come from findings or a nickel layer under gold. Lead and cadmium limits apply to each part, including solder. See EU nickel, lead and cadmium rules and REACH |
| California | Proposition 65 | Warnings where pieces expose users to listed chemicals such as lead above safe-harbor levels. See Prop 65 |
Fineness, lead, cadmium and nickel release are lab results, arranged through lab testing coordination. Hallmarking for the UK is done by an assay office after import.
Packing, transit and your purchase order
Silver tarnishes from sulphur in air, rubber bands and some papers and boxes. Pieces should be packed after final cleaning in sealed polybags or anti-tarnish bags, never with rubber bands, and kept away from foam that gives off sulphur. Count matters more than usual because each piece is worth more: the inspector counts sampled inner packs against the packing list and checks seals on cartons. High-value shipments are often packed with tamper tape that the inspector can sign or photograph.
Put these in your purchase order:
- Alloy: 925 sterling, and whether solder and findings must also be 925.
- Marking per market: "925", "sterling", maker's mark, and space left for a UK hallmark if needed.
- Weight per style with a tolerance, and whether hollow castings are allowed.
- Plating: none, rhodium, gold or oxidised, with thickness if specified, and disclosure wording.
- Stone type and description rules for natural, lab-grown and simulant stones.
- Lab tests per lot: assay, nickel release, lead and cadmium.
Silver-plated tableware is covered on silver-plated and EPNS tableware. Book an inspection.
Sources
- Hallmarking Act 1973, Schedule 1 (legislation.gov.uk)
- 15 U.S.C. 296, standard of fineness of silver articles
- 15 U.S.C. 297, trademark with quality marks
- 16 CFR 23.5, misrepresentation as to silver content (FTC Jewelry Guides)
- 16 CFR 23.7, disclosure of surface-layer application of rhodium
- IP India GI Registry: Hupari Silver Craft, application 792
- DGFT: Appendix 1B, Towns of Export Excellence (Surat)
- Department of Commerce, TradeStat: commodity-wise exports (HS 71131141, 71131145, 71131149, FY2025-26 provisional)