Whats in your Jewelry bills - Making Charges, Wastage...

With gold prices dropping a bit, buyers would look for Gold as a good investment option. However, buying Gold as Jewels is not a recommended one as an investment point of view when compared with Gold Coins, Bars, ETFs. This is because Gold Jewels draw additional costs in the likes of Wastage, Making charges etc and you end up losing money while venturing into short term trading. So, whats actually in your Gold Jewellery bills. Besides the gram rate, you would find Wastage charges, Making charges, Stone charges, Valued Added Tax (VAT) added to price of the Jewelry.

Wastage - While making gold jewels, some percentage of Gold is lost, hence Jewelleries charge the lost gold and it ranges between 10% to 35% based on the complexity of making the jewel. Although, the gold smith would take extra care not to loose gold, but the wastage charge is still passed on to the buyers.

Making Charge - The craftsmanship is a separate component included in the price tag

Stone Charge - Jewels with embedded stones would have the stone charge

Value Added Tax (VAT) - For gold, silver ornaments 1% of the total price is charged

Srikanth Ramu

Gold prices are dropping

There seems to be some respite for the yellow metal buyers as gold prices were cooling a bit. For the past few days, the market witnessed a downward trend in gold rates. In the internaltional market the rates for per ounce of gold dropped to $1120 (approx.) from $1160 (approx.) at the start of the week (7/Dec/2009). In Chennai market too, there is a drop of close to Rs: 80 - Rs:90 in the gold prices for 22 Ct 1gm. The current rate is at the range of Rs:1580 which was prevalant during second week November 2009.

Please note the rates mentioned here are based on MJMDA, however the prices at Jewlery marts might be slightly different.

Srikanth Ramu

November 2009 Gold Price update

The increasing trend in gold prices in October continued during November as well. For instance, if you had bought a gold coin during fist week of November 2009, by November end you would have gained close to 11%. That's the appreciation gold has got during 4 weeks.

Lets take the global gold price trends for November 2009. During the first week of November gold prices in dollars for 1 ounce was close to $1060, however, by the end of November the gold rates were hovering around $1180, an increase of about $120. For more details refer the Kitco chart.

In the Chennai market too the scenario was no different. During November, the minimum price for 1 gram of gold in Chennai was Rs:1505 and it shot up to Rs:1683. For more details on the pricing at Chennai refer mjdma.com.

Srikanth Ramu

Commonly used size/quantity of Gold

Gold is right now the most sought after commodity and darling amongst the traders. This yellow Precious Metal is handled in different size/quantity and I've listed a few commonly used units of size of Gold:

• Gram(s)
  
• 1 Sovereign (பவுண் in Tamil) = 8 Grams
• 1 Ounce(Oz) = 28 (approx.) Grams
  
• Troy ounce
• Gold Bar
• Chip Gold

Below are the units used previously in India:

• 1 Tholam (தொலாம் in Tamil) = 12 grams
• Varaham
  

Btw, refer my last post about Purity of Gold.

Srikanth Ramu

Purity of Gold

Have you ever wondered what words like 916, Carat, Hallmark mean, well, these are related to Purity of Gold. Gold metal in its pure form is very soft in nature, hence it is alloyed with metals like Copper, Silver, Nickel etc., to make it suited for Jewelry and other usable purposes. The common notation for purity is Carat (Ct.)/Karat.

Pure gold has a purity of 24 Carats, with 99.9% of Gold and remaining alloyed with other metals. In India, 22 Ct. gold (91.6%) is widely accepted for Jewelry, however 18 Ct. and 14 Ct. gold jewelry are also available. The other notation of purity of gold is millesimal fineness i.e Gold in parts per 1000. For instance, fineness of 999 refers to 24 Ct. gold and the commonly used 916 refers 22 carat gold.

Hallmarking is a way of tagging the purity of gold for universal acceptance and in India, BIS is the hallmarking agency. So, next time when you buy any gold jewelry do check for hallmarking.

Srikanth Ramu

Gold Semma Hot machi!!! - Prices touching new heights

Gold seems to be the hottest commodity, as Gold rates breached Rs: 1600 mark in local market in Chennai for 1 gram 22 Ct. of Gold. In global market, the per Oz Gold price, went past $1100 mark and its now, little short of $1150. In Chennai market, the prices of 1 gram 22Ct. gold leaped to Rs:1600, an increase of Rs:100 in two weeks i.e from November 1st.

Please note that, the Chennai rates specified are as per The Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants Association. For specific jewelry mart rates, visit specific the shops.

Srikanth Ramu

Auspicious Days to buy gold

Its been close to a month since I started writing about Gold @ http://golddata.blogspot.com/. Unlike Wordpress, in Blogger.com there is no built-in analytics option, hence, I singed up with StatCounter.com to analyze the web stats of my blog. Interestingly, StatCounter.com shows good stats like Number of visits, Regions, Referrer link, Keyword details etc. Analyzing search keywords helps a blogger to understand reader preference and write about it, and this posts does exactly that. From the recent search keyword stats, couple of searches were on auspicious days to buy gold, so here it is:

Auspicious Days that are considered good for gold purchases are:

1. Akshaya Tritiya
2. Dhanteras
3. Pushya Nakshatra days
4. Gurupushyamrit
5. Vijayadasami
6. Shubha Muhurtham Days
7. Regional New Year like: Gudi Padwa , Yugadi etc.

It is believed that when you purchase Gold on these auspicious days, you would have a prosperous year ahead. And, you would be blessed with wealth and happiness. No matter you believe on auspicious days are not, its always good to manage your funds by diversifying your investments periodically. And, gold is one such investment option.

Now, to the keyword analysis, it is surprising to see for some search keywords, my blog http://golddata.blogspot.com/ is listed on the first page of search results. Below are a few search keywords:

1. Gold prices, 22ct, India, November 2009
2. rate of gold in India in the month of October
   
3. 1gm gold chennai 7 november
4. trend in gold coin rate
5. gold price graph chennai
   

Srikanth Ramu

Gold prices touches the magical $1100 mark

At a time when the world economy is still at the clutches of recession, and investors favoring Gold as alternate commodity to dollar, you only expect the prices to surge. Today (6/Nov/2009), the gold per ounce price breached record $1100 mark. Although Indian Rupee strengthened against US Dollar, the gold prices in the local market were still at a record level. As per The Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants Association, the per gram 22ct gold rate in Chennai was about Rs:1563. The peak price of gold (1 gram 22ct) was Rs: 1482 during first week of October, however November first week witnessed an increase of approximately Rs:80.

Srikanth Ramu

India buys 200 tones of gold from IMF

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) buys 200 tones of gold from International Monetary Fund (IMF). More details @

http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09381.htm

IMF plans to sell 403.3 metric tons, representing 1/8th IMF's holdings.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/faq/goldfaqs.htm

Srikanth Ramu

October 2009 Month Gold update

Overall, for the month of October 2009, the Gold prices saw an increasing trend with marginal fluctuation during mid of the month. The least price of Gold per gram was Rs: 1447 recorded on 5th/Oct and the highest rate touching Rs: 1496 on 23rd/Oct. During second half of the month, the rates predominantly remained above Rs: 1480 mark. In global scenario, the yellow metal prices per ounce remained above USD 1000 hovering around $1050 - $1060 mark. Moreover, October month saw Gold prices breaching record high over $1060.

Amidst the furor over the surge in Gold prices, India celebrated important or rather auspicious days for buying gold during October. However, there were some sporadic good news as well, following the global cues, the local market witnessed a slight drop in prices on 27th/Oct recording Rs:1486, but subsequently had an upward trend.

Srikanth Ramu

Gold as a decorative material for exteriors/interiors

How many of us would think Gold as a decorative material for exteriors/interiors of a building? Well, lemme give my answer - very few!! Nevertheless, you do find buildings/temples/monuments and the likes, plated with gold, at least some portions if not the whole structure. Although gold is a precious metal and comes with a high cost, its characteristics like non-corrosive, ductile, malleable, shiny looks etc., makes gold a good option for exteriors as well. I've visited couple of temples made of gold and I must confess its a treat to watch those structures with the glittering yellow metal. I've listed some of the structures plated with gold and there are more palaces and structures:

1. Tirupati - Thirumala Balaji/Venkateswara Temple
2. Vellore - Sripruam - Lakshmi Narayani Temple
3. Chidambaram Natarajar Kovil
   
4. Amrissar - Harmandir Sahib - Golden Temple
5. Goa - Basilica_of_Bom_Jesus - Interiors decorated with Gold
6. Japan- Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji
   
7. Jerusalem - Mosque - Dome of the Rock
8. Moscow - Cathedral of the Annunciation
9. Rome - St Mark's Basilica
10. Iraq - Al-Askari Mosque
    

When you talk about temples in India and gold, not mentioning Panchaloha would make the point incomplete. As it was a common practice to make the idols of the deity with a mixture of 5 metals. This alloy form is called Panchaloha comprising - Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper and Iron.

Srikanth Ramu

Gold Coin as an investment option

Traditionally, Gold is considered to be a safe investment option as it is neither perceived risky as stocks nor requires huge investment as in reality/property sectors. And when you consider Gold as investment option, then buying Gold in the form of coins has its own advantages.

1. The associated wastages and making charge is much lesser when compared with Gold Jeweleries
   
2. Coins could be easily converted to Jewelries when required
3. Convenient handling
   
4. Its a good option for Gifts, normally, I prefer gold coins for gifts, as you need not worry about the color, design, size, utility of the gift
   

Source of Gold coins for purchase: Gold coins can be purchased from below options, however, each have their own specifications, rates, discounts etc.

1. Jewelry marts or stores sell custom made coins besides selling jewelries. The price include following components:
   
1. Wastage Charge ranging from 1% - 5%
   
2. Tax (Sales Tax/VAT) - 1%
   
3. Few stores charge making charge as well
   
   Please note that the above are only an indicator, you may have to check with stores directly for accurate pricing. One advantage in buying from these stores is, you could sell the coins back to them. When you sell coins, mostly you would be offered jewelries with same weight, and in some stores you could also get cash back.
   
   
2. Banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank offer Gold coins mostly imported from Switzerland. These banks only sell coins but do not accept/buy coins from consumers
   
3. Selected Post Offices

Hope, this post gives you some idea about Gold Coins as an investment.

Srikanth Ramu

Jewelry Stores @ T. Nagar

With the Diwali celebrations gone by, the festive season has just begun, as more festivals such as Karthigai Deepam, Eid, Christmas, Pongal are on the cards, with in next 3 months. Need less to say, people would go for a shopping spree with the shops offering attractive seasonal offers. When you talk of shopping at Chennai, the first place comes to your mind is T.Nagar/Thyagaraya Nagar - Chennai's Shopping Hub. If you live in Chennai, then you would hardly miss visiting T. Nagar for your purchases, especially for those big festivals and celebrations. Moreover, you would find an array of Jewelry Stores ranging from tiny shops to multi-storey palaces.

Recently, one of my friend came down to Chennai from Hyderabad and called me at 6:30 A.M, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from him and that too early in the morning or in my lingo it was Mid night!!. Well, he wanted to know the route to visit T.Nagar, as his wife was desperate to do shopping at T.Nagar. Poor chap didn't realize that it would be a costly affair, but then, you cant stop the inevitable. Sensing the urgency at the other end, I guided him and suggested few options as well. Some of the Jewelry marts @ T.Nagar are listed below in no particular order:

1. GRT Jewellers
2. Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers
3. Lalitha Jewellery Mart
4. Bapalal Jewellers
5. Prince Jewellery
6. Joyalukkas
7. Khazana Jewellery
8. Saravana Stores Gold Palace
9. Sree Kumaran Thanga Maligai
10. LKS Gold House
11. Tanishq
12. Original Kerala Jewellers
13. Kerala Jewellers
14. NSC - Nathella Sampathu Chetty
15. Rathna Stores Firm Thanga Maligai
16. Jayachandran Gold House

Srikanth Ramu

Thangam, Swarnam, Sona, Kanak, Au - All mean Gold

Today (15/Oct/2009), Dhanteras festival is celebrated in some parts of India and the day is considered auspicious to take up new ventures and buy gold. I am starting my new blog http://golddata.blogspot.com, and this is my third blogging initiative, while others being http://srikanthramu.com (http://srikanthramu.wordpress.com) and http://ggears.blogspot.com. So, why a blog on Gold? Well, this metal is a fascinating one and Gold rules the market with its prices touching new heights. Some consider Gold as auspicious, some see it as an investment, few choose it for fashion, but you would hardly find a person disliking Gold. Need less to say, its the favorite metal for majority of people.

In this blog, besides writing about Gold, I've included the Gold price chart from kitco.com that shows the trend in gold prices for the last 6 months. The Graph shows the Gold rates in USD per ounce (oz) of Gold. Also, I've included a link from The Madras Jewellers & Diamond Marchants Association, that shows Gold rates for 22ct and 24 ct in Rupees (INR).

BTW, Wish you all a Happy and sparkling Diwali/Deepavali.

Srikanth Ramu