Who doesn’t love to own beautiful jewellery? It not only adds aesthetic value and makes you feel special but also is a great investment. This includes jewellery made of precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum that act as a security during times of economic uncertainties.

Since they are quite a significant investment, precious metals need to be bought with utmost care. You need to know how to buy them, the risks that they entail, and how to make this jewellery work for you.

Read on to know the most important things to keep in mind before you invest:

1. Check the purity: This is the most important thing to consider before investing in those lovely pure gold earrings. The purity of gold is determined by its caratage with 24kt being the purest. It then descends to 22kt, 18kt, and 14kt. Similarly, silver is also characterized by grades such as 999, 958, 925, 800, etc., and carries the BIS hallmark along with the jeweller’s identification mark. If you are buying platinum, look for hallmarks such as PL950.
2. Know how it’s priced: The price of any precious metal jewellery is a combination of a lot of factors. The first thing to know is the cost per gram as per the government rates. This applies to something as tiny as a pure gold nosepin or a chunky necklace set. Then comes the cost of the alloys that are added to the metals. This also includes the making charges and the relevant state-wise taxes. It is always advisable to take quotes from several reliable jewellers to get the best possible dealsbefore making a decision.
3. Know the weight: The weight of the metal will decide not only its cost but also its durability. The higher the grammage, the higher will be the weight. Always ensure that when the weight of your piece is measured, it doesn’t include gemstones’ weight. This should be added up separately to avoid paying up more than you should.
4. Buy from a reliable jeweller: We understand that you would want to buy the fanciest looking jewellery for yourself. Due to this, we often forget to pay heed to the source. The importance of buying jewellery from a trusted jeweller cannot be stressed enough. This also includes online jewellers. The foremost thing to ensure is that the jeweller should be a BIS-Hallmarked one. This will guarantee that you are getting only the purest jewellery. Next, go with a jeweller who has a positive and established reputation. One of the best ways to do this is to ask your friends and family for references. These are the sellers who will always stand by their products. They will ensure that they are there at the time of repairs, future purchases, customised jewellery needs, and in case you want to return your pieces.
5. The buyback policies: Every season brings in new trends jewellery. Those who love trying out new styles are always on the lookout for these and prefer buying the latest in-season designs. Whatcomes in handy are the buy-back terms for the jewellery that you currently have. Selling back your jewellery to the store that you originally bought it from ensures that you get 100 percent of its net value. However, this is minus the making charges that you paid at the time of buying the jewellery.

Other obvious but important tips to keep in mind include never buying jewellery without a proper bill with a breakdown of the charges. Also, never get swayed by discounts when purity is a question mark.