Gold fascinates both men and women from ages. It is the symbol of purity, culture, and sophistication. From the empires and empresses of middle age to the 21st-century men and women, gold has gifted everyone with its beauty. Unfortunately, as they say 'all that glitters isn't gold'. Hence, proves to be true with gold jewelry these days. You might pay good cash for your gold but unknowingly you fall into the trap of the jewelers.
Here are a few strategies that one should follow to buy gold jewelry.
As pure as gold: How much pure is it actually?
Gold is a very soft metal. Its purity is measured in a karat. The purest form of Gold is 24 karat, that is 100% or 99.99% gold. It is not possible to make jewelry of 24 karats pure gold because gold is very soft in this form. Thus to make a jewelry, some alloys ( such as zinc, copper, cadmium, silver ) are added to gold to make it hard and strong.
A 22 karat gold is the best available form of gold for making jewelry. It is 91.6% gold.
Thus an 18 karat is 75% gold, so this has 25% of alloy mixture. Hence making the gold harder, but less with gold.
The gold hallmarking system
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has made gold hallmarking compulsory in India. Only genuine gold jewelry can hold the hallmark symbols on it. There are namely 5 symbols that signify a hallmarked harder buy if any of the 5 symbols is not present. The hallmark signs are 1. The BIS mark 2. Fineness no of the corresponding karat 3. Hallmarking center mark 4. Jeweler identification mark 5. Year of marking.
Always buy hallmarked gold to avoid fraudulent cases.
White gold has a brighter hue than silver. It is obtained by mixing palladium or nickel with gold.
Pink or rose gold has a soft rosy tint. Copper, when mixed with gold, makes pink gold.
Green gold is one of its kind. Mixed with silver alloy, gold jewelry appears in green color. This kind is expensive compared to the other colors of gold.
Always buy hallmarked gold to avoid fraudulent cases.
Color variations of Gold
Wearing a gold jewelry in a different color is a fashion statement. While the genuine golden glow of gold is mesmerizing, some people choose to wear gold in a different color.White gold has a brighter hue than silver. It is obtained by mixing palladium or nickel with gold.
Pink or rose gold has a soft rosy tint. Copper, when mixed with gold, makes pink gold.
Green gold is one of its kind. Mixed with silver alloy, gold jewelry appears in green color. This kind is expensive compared to the other colors of gold.
Make a good bargain
The market value of gold is rising high every year. With its price rise, gold is becoming a more and more valuable metal. In India, jewelers charge for a jewelry item, in this rule : (current price of gold X weight of gold) + making charges + 3% GST on (price of jewelry + making a charge). Thus next time you buy a jewelry calculate the charges yourself.
Enquire the making charges
Women get attracted to latest trendy designs. These designs cost higher because of their making charges. Sometimes they put 30-40% charge, which is too high. Often jewelers hide the making charges from the customers. It is a wise move to ask for the charges before purchase. A making charge of 10-20% is acceptable, higher than that is a loss for you. In case you want to resell your gold item or want to exchange it for new gold, the making charges are removed. Hence know the price breakup from the jeweler.Studded jewelry
American stones or similar valued colored stones are often studded with gold jewelry. These stones are not too pricey. Yet, some dishonest jewelers charge these stones at the price of gold. They weigh the stone along with the gold and add its weight to the total weight. You will also never get resell value of these stones. It is a better choice to avoid such artificial stones.Gold coins or bars to jewelry
Exchanging old gold with new ones
This area is very delicate. Old jewelry has lots of emotional attachments with them. So make sure your emotions are not thrown in wastage. Whenever you go to exchange any old item, firstly making charges are removed, that reduces the price of gold. Nextly, jewelers will say your gold has lots of impurities in it. Hence it is almost valueless nowadays! But remember gold is gold, and 'old is gold'. So open your eyes and beware of being cheated. Question the jeweler how much is he deducting for taking a charge, and what percent of impurity did he detect in your gold. Ask him what karat of gold is it according to his perception.
Well, that's a lot of information to make a good deal. In case I missed anything, please leave your comments below.
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