The Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology has warned consumers against buying gold and silver jewelry that does not have a hallmark.

A BIS hallmark system certifies the purity of gold and silver; in other words, each piece of real gold or silver jewelry will have a stamp on it indicating how pure it is.

The Institution has also urged citizens to report any jewelry shops selling unstamped pieces by calling 06-5301234, as those accessories might contain a lower amount of gold and silver than is allowed by international standards, or the jewelry could be stolen.

Inspection teams from the Institution carry out weekly visits to dozens of jewelry shops across the country to ensure that what they’re selling is pure gold and silver and has the BIS hallmark and the stamp of the factory that produced the pieces.

Every piece of jewelry that has been imported is stamped with a special imprint of the Treasury in Petra, along with how many carats of gold or silver it contains.

Any store found guilty of selling unstamped jewelry will have legal action taken against it, the Institution said on Tuesday.