How to buy gold on Dhanteras

Dhanteras—the festival of wealth. The occasion marks the start of the Hindu festival of Diwali and is considered an auspicious time to invest in gold and other precious metals.

Here are some tips for you if you are planning to buy gold this Dhanteras:

Know the purity level

You should never purchase gold jewellery without checking its purity. However, keep in mind that 24 karat gold is not suited to make jewellery, which is why jewellers use either 14, 18 or 22 karat gold.

Check hallmark on jewellery

To be safe, it is advisable to purchase hallmarked jewellery. The process of certifying the purity of gold called is called hallmarking.

Check for these four BIS hallmarking components to ensure the purity of gold -- BIS mark, purity in Karat and fineness, assaying and hallmarking centre's identification mark/number and jeweller's Identification mark/number.

Know the gold prices

Gold pricing is determined based on the purity of gold. The price of gold changes every day based on the market rate.

All jewellery stores display the daily bullion rates for consumers. You should first look at the bullion price and then discount it based on the purity of gold.

Making charges

Making charges vary depending on the type and design of goldjewelleryand also whether they are machine made or handmade.

Machine-made jewellery tends to be cheaper than man-made jewellery. Making charges are also charged per gram and are linked to gold rates.

Check the stones in jewellery

Most gold jewellery is sold by weight, which means that heavier pieces cost more. Gemstones are often added to gold jewellery, which makes them heavier.

But most jewellers weigh a piece in its entirety. Therefore, you may end up paying for gold that is not really there, but when you go and resell it, you only take the weight of real gold after removing the studded stones. Therefore, keep this in mind when buying studded jewellery.