A couple of 14-carat gold wedding rings. Picture taken in Brazil, where 14-carat is the most common kind of gold used in jewelry. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
While gold coins may look better on paper, for those who
want an investment that they can actively enjoy, gold jewelry is an excellent
choice. Many people choose gold for women’s and men’s wedding bands, but you
don’t need to stop there; gold jewelry can easily supplant the bulk of your
costume jewelry as well. Here are four tips on buying gold jewelry as an
investment.
Choose a higher karat
grade. Gold is a naturally soft metal, and as such it must be alloyed with
a harder metal if its intended use is as jewelry that will be worn on a regular
basis, such as wedding rings for men or women. Pure gold is 24K, but the most
common karat purities seen in gold jewelry are 10K, 14K and 18K; the higher the
karat grade, the more pure gold used. To quickly calculate how much pure gold
is in a particular karat purity, simply divide the karat grade by 24. For
example, 18K gold is 18/24, or 75% pure gold. Needless to say, higher karat
grades are more expensive due to the presence of more pure gold.
For gold jewelry that you intend on wearing frequently, 18K is your best bet
for both investment and durability purposes. While 10K and 14K gold jewelry may
be harder and somewhat more durable due to the increased presence of alloying
material, both of these karat purities are significantly less valuable. If
purchasing gold jewelry that you intend to wear less frequently, or jewelry
that is less likely to acquire any damage through wear (such as earrings or a
necklace), you might also consider 22K gold, which is fairly soft but very
valuable.
Be discriminating
when it comes to alloying material. Not all alloying materials are created
equal when it comes to gold jewelry. Higher karat purities of gold like 18K and
22K tend to use higher quality alloys, but you will still want to find out
exactly which alloy or alloys was used prior to making a gold jewelry purchase.
Alloying material will to some degree depend on the color of gold that you are
purchasing; gold is naturally yellow, but other common colors found in gold
jewelry include white gold and rose gold. For white gold in particular, the
quality of alloying material can vary greatly, from less expensive nickel to
high quality precious platinum group metals (PGMs) like platinum and palladium.
The quality of the alloying material should ultimately factor into the price
that you pay for your gold jewelry.
Buy wholesale.
When purchasing gold jewelry as an investment, the last thing you’ll want to do
is to pay full price at a high end jewelry store. While some designer brands
like Tiffany or Cartier are considered to hold a certain value that is
completely independent from the material used, the higher cost of these items
may start to detract from the overall investment value.
To get a sense of how much you’re paying for a particular piece of jewelry
versus the actual value of the gold that it contains, use the weight of the
item and current gold prices to calculate worth versus cost, taking into
account that lower karat purities will not have the same value as pure gold. If
you are buying an item that you have no immediate intention of selling (such as
women’s or men’s wedding bands), do some comparison shopping online to make
sure that you are getting the best price for your desired item.
Watch the market.
Part of what makes gold jewelry such a good investment is its consistency in
the market, especially when compared to more volatile precious metal
commodities like platinum. Nonetheless, gold prices still experience normal
market fluctuations, so try to buy gold jewelry whenever there is a dip in gold
prices. On the flip side, if you are thinking of selling your gold jewelry,
make sure the market favors you before unloading it. In an ideal world, you
will be buying wholesale during a dip in the market, and selling retail when
the market is high.
Tanya Naouri writes articles on gold men’s
wedding rings for men for JustMensRings.com.
nice article ...for investment...
ReplyDeleteahhh..i follow the same technique "buying the gold when it is a low price"...
ReplyDeleteTo make your jewlery cost low ...always opt for smaller stones.
ReplyDelete