Gold lovers want clues to ensure quality

Exactly one week from now, gold buyers will be queuing up to the counters of jewellery shops on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya ��� an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar ��� for investing in the yellow metal. But while buying gold, the knowledge of gold prices is important and so is the making charge. Making charges tend to vary from city to city. Also, more minute and detailed the design, the higher the making charges.

Often the jewellery shop has a placard saying BIS certified, hallmarked jewellery. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) is a national standards body that assures the quality of the product purchased. But what exactly is hallmarked jewellery? Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of gold in the ornament. Hallmarks are thus the official marks used to guarantee the purity of gold jewellery.

But how does customer determine a hallmarked piece?

Every piece of hallmarked jewellery will have embossed thereon five markings, namely; the triangular-shaped BIS logo; a number corresponding to the purity of the gold content; the logo of the centre which has hallmarked the jewellery; the code representing the year in which it has been hallmarked and the jeweller���s logo. While these details may appear to be barely visible to the naked eye, one can always ask the jeweller for an eye glass to see them clearly.

Hallmarked jewellery assures a good resale value and often banks emphasise on them as a security for granting loans. Gold units seem to be better than the real thing. Gold ETFs (exchange-traded funds), with their cost-effective way of acquiring gold and paper mode of trading, seem to be the best form of investing. So if you are planning to buy gold, not with the intention of making jewellery but to hold it as an investment, consider a gold ETF. It works out to be 15% cheaper than buying gold coins from a bank.

For the uninitiated, gold ETFs are nothing but mutual fund units that are traded on the exchange just like a listed share of a company. During market trading hours, investors can submit ���buy��� or ���sell��� orders, which are executed by market makers. If investors require cash, they can redeem their ETF units, though they have to incur some cost for redemption.

Gold ETFs have emerged as one of the most cost-effective ways. Not only do they provide ease of trade, the high profit margins of jewellers and banks are easily done away with since they are traded at near-market values. Globally, investors choose gold ETFs for being a good hedge against stock market volatility. Also, not to mention, the depreciation of the dollar.