Gold for Indians is a symbol of purity, affluence, luxury and inheritance. Hence it is not surprising to know why Indians love to buy gold for festivals or any special occasion.
But as the saying goes, ‘All that glitters is not gold”. Hence if you are planning to buy gold for the upcoming wedding season or any special day, then keep the following 4 tips in mind and make your gold purchase a safe and enriching experience.
1) Purity (Karat) Counts:
Pure gold as a metal is considerably malleable (soft). Hence gold is often mixed with other metals to offer durability and strength to the gold jewellery being made.
Purity of gold is measured in Karat. 24 Karat is considered as the purest form of gold. If you are planning to buy gold coins or gold bars for a special occasion then buying gold in this pure form is advisable. However, higher the purity, higher is the cost of this yellow metal.
Gold jewellery made from 22 Karat (usually marked as 916 implying 91.6% pure) is the most preferred and valuable option. Indians (both buyers and jewellers) often prefer gold jewellery pieces in this form, as they fetch good resale value.
2) Standardization / Hallmark:
Promises and guarantees from jewellers regarding the authenticity of gold were and even are (in some cases) the usual norm for buyers when purchasing gold jewellery. However, this has also resulted in quite a lot of cheating and duping cases by the jewellers. To avoid such a scenario, it is always best to buy gold jewellery from reputed jewellers who sell hallmarked gold jewellery.
Hallmarked jewellery consists of five parts which are imprinted in fine print in the inside or backside of the jewellery (which may not be very clear to the naked eye). The 5 parts of a hallmarked jewellery are — the logo of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), purity of gold (marked as 916 implying 22 Karat, 750 implying 18 Karat, etc.), Logo of Hallmarking Centre, alphabet indicating Year of Hallmarking (example: ‘A’ implying 2000, ‘B’ implying 2001, ‘C’ implying 2003, etc.) and jeweller’s own identification mark. To be on the safe side, always check the BIS logo whenever you plan to purchase a gold jewellery piece.
3) Making / Wastage Charges:
Making and wastage charges are the most common terms that you would come across while buying or selling gold jewellery. Making charges (actually labour charges) mean the cost incurred while converting raw gold into gold jewellery pieces. It is typically denoted in Rs/gm. Wastage charges on the other hand mean the charges in lieu of the quantity of gold wasted when the goldsmith makes jewellery pieces after melting, cutting and shaping the yellow metal.
In olden days when jewellery pieces were all handmade, wastage charges as high as 18%-26% was not unheard of. But nowadays, when designer gold jewellery are made by machines, the wastage is minimal. However intricate gold designs that are made by hand still result in wastage of gold, resulting in 6% to 20% of wastage.
The total cost when buying a gold jewellery is thus high as making charges, wastage charges, cost of stones (if involved) and VAT if applicable are all taken in account, apart from the current gold rate and purity of the metal.
4) Insist for a Bill:
Getting a bill after making a gold purchase is one of the best tips any expert would give you. A bill not only gives the buyer a break-up of the total cost of purchased gold jewellery, but it also comes in very handy when you intend to sell/exchange the jewellery piece later on for making some contemporary gold jewellery pieces. Make it a point to keep the bill safe with you for future use.
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