Gold has remained an integral part of Indian culture for a long time. It is its aesthetic purpose and the investment value that makes it a precious metal. On October 25, people across India will celebrate the festival of wealth, Dhanteras. It is one of the times of the year that are considered to be extremely auspicious to buy precious metals—Gold and Silver.

So, if you have planned to go on a shopping spree or have decided to invest this Dhanteras, keep the following pointers in mind before buying any item (Coins or Ornaments).

Price: Before buying gold, you must study the trends for several days. Make sure to check the status of gold prices at the time of making a purchase. A majority of stores display the daily bullion rates for consumers. Make sure the prices on that and then discount it depending on the purity of the gold item.

Purity: Checking purity levels of the ornament or the coin is the primary thing to check. Gold’s purity is expressed in carats, represented by ‘K’. Gold’s highest form is 24K i.e. it is 99.9% pure gold. But, 24K gold is not suitable for making jewelry, therefore, most of the ornaments are made from 14K, 18K or 22K gold.

Hallmarking: It represents certification and validifies the purity of gold claimed by the manufacturer. The hallmarking on gold ornaments and coins began to protect the buyers from false promises. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards or ‘BIS’, certifies gold coins and ornaments that meet the standards of the convention as per norms of Indian government and International hallmarking convention.

The process of putting the stamp on the gold item is called hallmarking. The stamp comprises information about—purity of gold, identification of the jeweller and year of hallmarking.

Packaging:  It is important that you check the packaging before buying any gold item. It not only increases the credibility of the seller but also keeps you away from getting cheated. Usually, sellers don’t take responsibility for items with tampered sealing as there are chances that their quality or weight has tampered.

Making charges: It is primarily the charges for the labour’s efforts, hours, knowledge and art he has put in creating the gold item. The amount in this category varies depending on the design and whether it is man-made or machine-made. Usually, a man-made item costs more than the machine-made item. Making charges are also levied on per gram basis and are connected with the gold rates.

Diamonds and other stones embedded: Diamond ornaments look beautiful. But since the majority of the Indian sellers weigh the whole ornament piece, you end up paying for gold which isn’t there.  But when you try to sell back that same ornament, you will only get the price for the gold present on the ornament and nor the for the stones. That’s why most of the people opt for ‘only gold’ ornaments.

Jewellery Brands: It is important to consider the brand or reputation of the seller since there are chances you may end up buying an adulterated and contaminated item.

Expert Tip: A wise investor usually avoid to invest in the yellow metal during a festivity season as it is the time when its price soars high. Therefore, studying the prices of gold in advance is a must.