Gold Jewellery Buying Tips: Wastage Charges, Making Charges, VA, Karat, 916, and more

Gold jewellery is one of the most traditional forms of investment for Indians. People consider it as their wealth. The more gold a person possesses, the more affluent they are regarded in society. People also use it as an heirloom that they pass down to generations. Besides that, gold jewellery is an excellent gift option for near and dear ones. More importantly, in times of financial emergencies, people resort to encashing their gold jewellery to get quick funds.

With so much importance attached to gold jewellery, you must be extra careful while buying it. For instance, while purchasing gold in Vijayawada, check the current gold rate in Vijayawada and shop for your gold accordingly. Remember, the gold price keeps fluctuating each day, so it is critical to keep this in mind. 

Here, you will find some gold jewellery buying tips to help you buy gold with high value.

Understand Gold Karat:

The purest form of gold is 24 Karat. Also, don’t confuse Karat with Carat. Carat is applicable for gemstones and diamonds, while Karat is a unit to measure the purity of a precious metal. Well-known gold purities are 24, 22, 18, 14, and 9K. The higher the gold purity is, the more value it will get from a gold buying company when it comes to selling it.

Know Your Gold’s Purity:

The gold obtained from mines is very soft, and jewellery made from it can potentially bend or break off. Therefore, jewellery makers mix other metals into pure gold to increase their strength and durability. These metals may be silver, copper, or cadmium. After mixing other metals, the gold Karat value comes down to 22, 18, 14, 10, or 9K, depending on the percentage of the other metal added to it.

Calculating Gold Purity:

To calculate the purity of your gold jewellery, divide its Karat value by 24. For instance, if your gold jewellery is 18 Karat, divide 18 by 24, equals 0.75. Therefore, 18K gold is 75% pure gold. The remaining 25% is other metals. When you sell your gold jewellery, the buyer will measure the gold weight and take 75% of it while calculating its price with the current gold rate in Vijayawada.

Identify Hallmark Sign:

Using the calculation for gold purity, one can easily find a hallmark for the jewellery. For instance, 22K jewellery means 22/24K = 0.916. As a result, 22K jewellery has 916 engraved or indented on a hidden part. 22K gold jewellery is the most valuable and has the maximum resale value. Although 24K is the purest gold, jewellery is often not made from it.

Ask About the Making Charges:

Making charges apply both while buying and selling gold jewellery. Jewellery makers ask for making charges to transform raw gold into gold jewellery. Often expressed in a single unit, it is often a few rupees per gold gram, ranging from ₹ 22 to 35 per gram.

Ask About the Wastage Charges:

When goldsmiths made gold jewellery in the olden days, they could not save tiny gold pieces from getting lost during the procedure. They did not have the technology to preserve these pieces at that time. Therefore, wasting charges were pretty reasonable. Now, goldsmiths have well-equipped technology that prevents gold wastage to the minimum, but they continue asking for wasting expenses. 

However, there are restrictions on the maximum wastage charges jewellers can ask. It should not exceed 3.5% for studded designer jewellery and 1.25% for rare gold coins, biscuits, medallions, coins, and bullion coins. In any case, it should not be more than 9% of the metal’s net weight.

What is VA? 

VA stands for value addition, which many showrooms use to club together with the making and wastage charges. The higher the VA charges, the fewer gold grams you will get. While the market conditions determine the gold rate in Vijayawada, individual sellers are free to dictate the VA charges. Therefore, finding a jeweller with low VA charges will give you maximum gold from your money.

If you plan to buy gold jewellery, use these tips to make an informed decision. Purchasing the highest purity gold with the lowest making, wastage, and VA charges will give you the maximum value when you decide to resell it. Here, the key is also choosing a gold buying company with transparent terms and conditions that works for its client’s interests.