All that glitters is not gold, but during this time of the year, it is shining gold everywhere in the city at attractive prices. With the celebration of Akshaya Tritiya, and gold and silver prices hitting new highs, jewellers are doing everything to lure customers — from introducing light-weight jewellery to offering free gifts with purchases as well as heavy discounts.
Some are even offering gold at the “local Chennai market price”, rather than the higher national rates. Rakesh P.K. of Joyalukkas says, “We are ensuring that our clients get a good deal by charging them at the Chennai rate rather than the Hyderabad rate, which is a good RS.200 more than Chennai.”
One of the most interesting schemes is a buy-back offer, which proposes a higher price for old gold against new. Jewellers at the Chennai Shopping Mall are offering customers Rs.2,200 for one gram of old gold as against Rs.1,976 for a gram of new gold. Shamesh from the mall explains, “New gold has more wastage than old, so we are giving customers more money for the old gold. However, the final price will be determined by us depending upon the purity.”
Most jewellery shops determine purity of gold through machines or if the gold is more than five years old, it is based on the evaluation of their goldsmiths. “All the jewellery shops are looking for footfalls,” says Karan Jetwani of Meena Jewellers. “We are prepared to work with low margins to give shoppers affordable rates.” he adds.
But jewellers are not following the discount trend. Navin Modi says, “We are giving a 50 per cent discount on our making charges but not on the gold rates. We don't compromise on quality and our wastage on new gold is about 8-15 per cent, while others have gold wastage going up to 32 per cent. We also offer a flat 50 per cent discount on pearls.” Wastage of gold is the amount of gold that is lost in the making of jewellery. Alloys used also constitute wastage.
If you are looking at gold for investment purposes alone gold investments are recommended using a combination of gold bars, coins and gold exchange traded funds.
Financial expert Vishal Dhawan advises, “Since gold prices have run up significantly, it would be a good idea to enhance your gold exposure in small quantities, rather than buy in one shot. Mutual funds that invest in gold ETFs can be considered as they allow the benefit of averaging through the use of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) and Systematic Transfer Plans (STPs). Ensure that the overall exposure to gold in your portfolio does not exceed 10 — 15 per cent. Buy gold from a longe-term perspective.”
Meanwhile, the shine of gold continues to blind!
Some are even offering gold at the “local Chennai market price”, rather than the higher national rates. Rakesh P.K. of Joyalukkas says, “We are ensuring that our clients get a good deal by charging them at the Chennai rate rather than the Hyderabad rate, which is a good RS.200 more than Chennai.”
One of the most interesting schemes is a buy-back offer, which proposes a higher price for old gold against new. Jewellers at the Chennai Shopping Mall are offering customers Rs.2,200 for one gram of old gold as against Rs.1,976 for a gram of new gold. Shamesh from the mall explains, “New gold has more wastage than old, so we are giving customers more money for the old gold. However, the final price will be determined by us depending upon the purity.”
Most jewellery shops determine purity of gold through machines or if the gold is more than five years old, it is based on the evaluation of their goldsmiths. “All the jewellery shops are looking for footfalls,” says Karan Jetwani of Meena Jewellers. “We are prepared to work with low margins to give shoppers affordable rates.” he adds.
But jewellers are not following the discount trend. Navin Modi says, “We are giving a 50 per cent discount on our making charges but not on the gold rates. We don't compromise on quality and our wastage on new gold is about 8-15 per cent, while others have gold wastage going up to 32 per cent. We also offer a flat 50 per cent discount on pearls.” Wastage of gold is the amount of gold that is lost in the making of jewellery. Alloys used also constitute wastage.
If you are looking at gold for investment purposes alone gold investments are recommended using a combination of gold bars, coins and gold exchange traded funds.
Meanwhile, the shine of gold continues to blind!
