When buying Gold...

This applies mostly to the people in India. 

Many of us buy gold as an investment and also to wear it. When we buy gold none of us are educated about the value of the jewellery. Only when we go for an exchange or return, comes all the education. It has taken me years to understand this. :)

1. Ornaments with many stones will not have any value while reselling, unless they are precious stones. Keep this  in mind when buying gold for investment. And when you are told as original rubies and emeralds dont get carried away. Most of them are lab grown. Each original stone cost more than a lak. Ofcourse it depends on the number of carat each stone represents.
2. Check if there are precious stones in the ornaments, if so then they should be certified. I once bought a necklace full of emerald stones ( that is what they said), but when I gave it back they removed the stones and gave the stones back to me telling that they will not take it. Remember if they are originals people will buy it back.
3. When billing, check if the weight of the stones is mentioned.
4. Very thin filigree designs involve a lot of labour charges and wastage as the work is very labour oriented. If you are buying gold as an investment, please keep this in mind.
5. Enamels add weight to the jewellery. It looks very attractive and elegant. But again its like stones. Adds no value while returning.
6. Check for the Hallmark and purity seal. For example if it is 22k then 91.6k seal will be there. 
7. Ask questions to the sales person. You will be surprised how less they know about the facts. Atleast this is what I experienced. Once I went to a reputed jewellery showroom. One of the ladies asked the sales girl if the corals in the necklace were original. The girl said yes its original. The lady was satisfied and moved away. I asked the girl what does she mean by original and where does that come from? She was quiet, she did not have an answer and she went looking for her manager:)

The manager came and asked me what help I needed. I told that I wanted to know the source of the corals. He said they all came from Burma. I was like Oh!. But I have read that Burma is a place for rubies! 

Ask questions about your jewellery. You are paying a huge amount on this. You have the right to know more about it.