Gold jewellery is bought for dual purposes. One, to look stylish on special occasions and two, for investment. But in India, it is also bought for its auspicious relevance. It is believed that anything to start new, gold as a gift is a form of blessing. On the occasions like childbirth or wedding, gold therefore is one of the popular gift options. The item so frequently bought with so much belief and festivity has to be a happy memory and hence, knowing the basics of gold will help a great deal.
How to choose a jewellery store?
It is advisable to always buy from your family jeweller. But yes, if you have moved to a new city, go for branded shops. There are many reputed jewellery brand stores across India. You can also safely buy from online jewellery stores. While they present real jewellery images and sell only hallmarked gold jewellery, their return and exchange policies are also customer-friendly. Here again, we recommend you to go for only trusted names in the market.
Understand gold purity
While buying gold jewellery, it is advisable to check its purity. Note that the purity of gold is measured in karats. Every karat gold is equal to 4.2 per cent pure gold. By that measure, 24 karat gold is 99.9 per cent pure, 22 karat is 92 per cent pure, and 18 and 14 karat are only 75 per cent and 58.33 per cent pure respectively. Since 24 karat gold is not sturdy enough, either 14, 18, or 22 karat gold is used for making jewellery.
Compare making charges
This is essentially the cost of labour involved in crafting a jewellery piece. It is usually charged per gram gold basis. But it may vary from shop to shop. This is why always compare the making charges at various brand stores. Also, do ask the jeweller about the origin of the piece. This is because making charges of machine-made designs are always lower than hand-made jewellery. One more thing – from months before the purchase, keep a tab of offers on making charges. You never know, you may land a good deal.
Check the weight of gold
In all-gold jewellery, the major part of the price is of the weight of the gold and no matter what other materials are used to craft it, there is buy-back value for only the gold content. Hence, always be sure of the weight of gold in a jewellery piece. However, in case you are buying studded gold jewellery, get the weight break up of each component and accordingly, the overall buy-back value of the jewellery.
Buy back policies
Most jewellers these days offer the option of buyback. This allows you to exchange the jewellery for a new one at the same store. Even though trends change, the value of gold will always be in tune with the current market rate. So always ask the jewellery about their buyback policies. We hope that these tips make your gold jewellery buying experience a memorable one.