Check this 7-point guide before buying gold jewellery on Akshaya Tritiya 2025

With gold prices hovering around ₹1 lakh, many buyers will have trouble deciding whether to buy gold jewellery this Akshaya Tritiya.

As of Friday (April 25, 2024), the retail price of 22 karat gold jewellery is ₹9337 per gram. And this is just the indicative retail selling rate for gold jewellery as per the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA)

The actual price of gold jewellery will be more, depending on making charges, GST, and other additional costs borne by the seller. But price is not the only factor that makes jewellery buying complex.

There are additional factors you should know to make an informed buying decision. In this gold jewellery shopping guide for Akshay Tritiya 2025, I have explained 7 key points to know before visiting a jeweller:

1. Buying gold jewellery is not an effective investment

First things first. Many people confuse buying gold jewellery with investing in gold. Well, you do get some gold in gold jewellery that you can sell later, if required, but it's not an effective way of investing in physical gold.

You will see later in the article that there are several additional costs in gold jewellery. If your sole purpose of buying physical gold is investment, then gold coins will serve your purpose better than jewellery. Gold coins have lower making charges, plus you can buy 24 karat fine gold coins, and they are easy to store.

In case you are interested in digital gold investment options, you may go for gold mutual funds and gold ETFs. They can be more effective than gold jewellery as an investment. But you should invest in them only after knowing all the risks and charges.

2. Gold jewellery costs you more than the actual gold

The price you pay for a piece of gold jewellery is more than the cost of the actual gold present in it. GST, making charges, and hallmarking charges are included in the final bill.

The final cost of your jewellery includes following:

• Cost of the actual gold in your jewellery (price of gold weighted in grams)

• Making charges, which may be in the range of 5-10% of the total cost

• Goods and Services Tax @3% of the total cost

• Hallmarking charges

Making charges are higher for jewelry with complex designs. Moreover, while making complex designs, various other materials are used along with gold, which may be billed to you.

Therefore, at the time of buying, you should ask for the weight of actual gold in the jewellery compared to the overall weight. And make sure that the weight of the actual gold in the jewellery is mentioned in your bill.

3. You don't pay the Gold price that you see in the news or on Google

4. Don't buy before comparing

You may skip this point if you have a lot of money and don't care about price variations from one shop to another. But if you are a saver, you should compare prices at different stores before buying. There can be variations in prices from one jeweller to another due to factors such as transportation costs, making charges, insurance, and any other additional expenses incurred by them. You should not only compare the current prices but also the resale prices, as well as making charges at multiple jewellers.

5. Gold comes in varieties

Gold comes in varying levels of purity. While 24 karat is the finest form of Gold, it is not typically used in making jewelry. The gold used in jewellery is of lower purity, such as 22 karat, 20 karat, 18 karat, and 14 karat. The price of gold declines as its purity reduces.

Therefore, when buying jewelry, make sure you are paying the correct price. Further, you should also ask your jeweller to confirm the resale price, especially when buying jewellery of lesser purity, such as 18 karat or 14 karat. This will help in case you need to sell in the future.

6. Don't buy without a BIS hallmark

Don't buy gold jewellery if it doesn't have a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) hallmark. The BIS stamp on a gold jewellery signifies the purity of the gold and includes information about the gold's karat and the jewellery's age.

7. Don't forget to read the terms and conditions

As Akshaya Tritiya is approaching, several jewellers will be offering tempting discount offers. However, these discounts are mostly on the making charges, not the actual gold. Therefore, you should carefully read the terms and conditions to fully understand what you are paying for. Further, the terms and conditions will also help you understand the return and exchange policy, which may come in handy later.