It’s no secret that India loves gold. With Akshaya Tritiya here upon us, most of us consider it to be an auspicious day to buy gold due to the long-held belief that it brings more wealth and prosperity.
From time immemorial, investing in gold has been something of a tradition. So, if you plan to shop for the shiny stuff this festival, you should keep these pointers in mind.
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Is It Pure?
We measure the purity of gold in karats. 24 karat gold is 99.9% pure while 22 karat gold is 92% pure. Every gold karat is equivalent to 4.2% pure gold, which in essence means that 14 and 18 karat gold contains only 58.33% and 75% pure gold respectively.
Although 24 karat gold seems like the better pick as far as making jewellery is concerned, it isn’t actually suited for this purpose. Shocked? Next time your favourite jeweller makes false claims about using only 24 karat gold when making jewellery, you can always question them.
Since 24 karat gold can’t really be used to make jewellery, jewellers tend to use 14, 18 or 22 karat gold. Whenever you plan on buying gold jewellery, you need to check its purity.
That’s why you have Hallmark to protect you from instances of fraud. Hallmark indicates that the gold you’ve bought is pure. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase hallmarked jewellery as these pieces are tested by competent agencies.
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Making Charges
You must’ve heard this term quite often in all those high-end jewellery ads. But, do you know what it actually means? ‘Making charges’ are associated with every piece of gold jewellery, and the measure essentially represents the cost of labour involved in creating it.
The price of price of a piece of jewellery consists of the gold price plus the making charges. So, if you aren’t aware of the gold price on a particular day, there’s a possibility you could end up paying a high amount in making charges. Therefore, acquiring information about the latest gold and silver rates is essential. Insisting on fixed making charges could make gold purchases cheaper and is definitely a smart way of purchasing gold.
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Man-made Vs Machine-made Ornaments
Unlike the old days, machine-made gold jewellery has become quite popular in recent times. Since making charges are all about the labour costs involved (like we mentioned earlier), charges are lower on machine-made ornaments as compared to hand-made ones.
Remember to ask about the origins of that sparkly neckpiece you’re looking to buy before you actually swipe your Debit or Credit Card for it.
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Check The Weight
Not your weight. We’re talking about the gold jewellery you’re about to purchase. In India, gold jewellery is more often than not, sold on the basis of its weight. Therefore, the heavier the piece, the more it costs.
Since most of us love bling, precious stones like diamonds and emeralds are often added or infused with gold jewellery. This makes the jewellery heavier. Jewellers weigh a piece in its entirety, which means that you might end up paying for gold which isn’t actually there.
This is exactly why you need to be more careful while buying jewellery, especially if it comes with additional precious stones.
Sales And Offers
Gold purchases tend to hit a peak during certain occasions, which in turn pushes prices up. Like everything else, it’s always a good idea to anticipate events like this in advance and purchase gold jewellery during the off season when prices are low and discounts are aplenty.
You may have to bide your time, but that shouldn’t be a major concern considering you get to save a fair amount of money.
Buy Backs
You might have heard your jeweller making promises about buy back options. They often try to lure you in by telling you that you can exchange your old gold jewellery for new ornaments.
While it may be a good option to consider, make sure you’re getting the right value. This offer is particularly great for those who tend to get easily bored with old designs.
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Reputation
In India, you can find a large number of jewellery stores in every nook and corner of the country. However, while purchasing gold jewellery, you need to be careful about where you buy your gold from.
Instead of settling for a great deal from a tiny shop (of possibly questionable repute) somewhere in the corner of your city or town, it’s always advisable to pay a little extra and make your purchases from a reputed jeweller. You don’t want to spend a bomb thinking you landed yourself a great deal before realising the gold you bought isn’t even more valuable than copper.
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Phew! That was a long list. But hey, these pointers can certainly help you get a great deal.
Now that you’re clear with what needs to be kept in mind before buying gold, let’s see if it actually is a good idea to purchase gold on Akshaya Tritiya.
If you downplay the ‘auspicious’ factor, most people look forward to buying gold because of the rising rupee. If you look at the stats, the overall demand last year was estimated to be around 20 tonnes.
But, because of the 42-day strike across the country prior to Akshaya Tritiya, the hype didn’t live up to expectations. This year, however, gold prices have increased by 4.5% in the international market.
According to Prithviraj Kothari, Director, RiddhiSiddhi Bullions, investing in gold might be a good decision due to the rupee’s appreciation against the dollar.
All set to invest in gold and bring some glitter to your life? Check the gold rates and plan your purchase.