Indian people have a special love for gold which is beyond realism. People love to invest in gold. Purchasing of Gold for Indians mean only one thing i.e., Gold jewellery. Whether there is a wedding ceremony, birthday party, marriage anniversary or festival, you can see everyone wearing a heavy gold necklace, rings, or earrings and others. Gold is considered as one of the most precious metals and there are few factors that have to be considered in mind before buying gold jewellery as gold may vary depending upon its price, quality and purity. Wedding season is in full swings. You might be heading to a jewellery shop for buying gold accessories either for your loving daughter who is going to get hitched in few weeks, for your daughter-in-law, or for your would-be-wife.
Things to be kept in mind before buying gold jewellery:
Purity
The purity of gold is denoted in carats or K where 24K is said to be the purest form of gold or 99.9% pure. Since pure gold is too soft to make jewellery, it is not suited to make jewellery and therefore is alloyed with other metals like silver, copper, etc. which in-turn reduces the carat to 18K or 22K. The higher the carat, the higher the value of the gold. Please check the purity of gold before buying any kind of gold jewellery or you may regret later.
Price
The price of the gold depends upon the alloy the gold is mixed with and the amount of gold used. Price may also vary depending on various factors such as labour and skill charges termed as making charges. The better the design is, the more the making charges. Insisting on fixed making charges could make jewellery piece purchase cheaper. So, ask about it before. Charges also vary between handmade and machine-made ornaments. Handmade Ornaments tend to be more intricate in design and more expensive.
Colour
Nowadays Gold is available in various colours such as white gold rose gold, or yellow gold, etc. It depends upon the alloy material chosen for mixing with gold for making gold ornaments. Since there are so many varieties available in the market, yellow gold or can say the common form of gold is the most preferred form.
Weight
One must check the weight of gold ornaments before purchasing them. In some parts of India, gold is sold by weighing the specific item. Jewellery of gold is studded with a precious stone. Weighing them altogether results in higher cost instead of less amount of gold used in making. Please ensure the weight of gold or you may end up paying more amount than actual.
Return policy
Look for a jeweller that guarantees buyback. This tends to make your decision easier. Most jewellery offers buyback in which you can exchange your old jewellery with a new one by norms. Ensure that the jeweller has a return policy if in case you don’t like the purchase of gold jewellery.
Identification
In many countries across the world, gold jewellery has to bear a clear stamp of the caratage of the gold used in the jewellery, as per law. This identification is controlled by the hallmarking system that is a sign of the quality of gold. The government has identified BIS as the sole agency for hallmarking scheme and license is granted to jewellers under this scheme. BIS certified jewellers get their jewellery hallmarked in any of these BIS recognized or hallmarking centres.
Apart from the factors that are mentioned above, the reliability of the jewellers also matters. Always try to buy it from a well-established brand or reputed store to avoid any unnecessary problems. Some local jewellers may use impure gold or copied designs of great designers that is of no benefit.