Saturday, April 25, 2009

Tips to Buy Quality Gold Jewelry Pearls And Pearl Jewelry:


Having a gold jewelry is really fashionable and symbol of richness as gold is one of the most precious metals in the world. Quality of good gold makes it classier. So before buying gold or gold made jewelry, you need to learn some tips and advices.


First of all choose any good jewelry shop for buying gold or gold jewelry.

If you are planning to buy gold as fixed assets, then pick purest quality of gold. You can choose some less pure gold for making jewelry.

Check quality of gold. Gold purity is noticeable with karat quality marks. 24k gold is purest form of gold. And in 22k, 23k or 21k there are some impurity of other metals. So check carefully about gold mark as well as trademark on gold jewellery.

If you are planning to buy gold jewelry having stones like diamond and other metal, then check quality of both. Check the weight of gold in that jewelry.

Never buy gold plated jewellery as it contains negligible quantity of gold.

Always ask for receipt of jewellery you bought and make sure that the invoice you received has printed the karat quality of gold.



 

Gold has always been treasured for its value, both as a metal and in the form of ornaments. We all buy gold for both of these reasons, directly or indirectly. If you’re buying gold as an investment, go for the purest form that you can buy. If buying simply for ornamentation, you may opt to choose a less pure form.

The purity of gold is displayed in karats: 10, 12, 18 and 24 karat gold. The number indicates purity. 18k gold is comprised of 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of other metals. 12K gold contains 12 parts of gold out of 24 and 10K gold would contain 12 parts of other metals. 24K gold is the purest and does not contain any other metal.

Gold jewelry uses gold of one or the other karats. Always ask about the purity of the gold used in the jewelry you buy. Very versatile, gold can be shaped into different forms: wires, flat sheets, rings or poured into a mold for custom shapes. This is why gold is widely used in jewelry.

If buying gold jewelry with stone insets like diamonds, rubies, emeralds or any other gemstones, always ask about the quality and purity of the stones used. The jeweler should be able to provide you with a certificate of authenticity of the gemstone, preferably from the GIA, Gemological Institute of America or the AGS American Gem Society.

You may have heard of White Gold. White gold is a gold alloy containing a percentage of nickel or platinum. Some people experience allergic reactions to white gold. Jewelers are now shifting to palladium as the other metal used in white gold since it does not create allergic reactions. Always ask for gold mixed with palladium when you buy white gold.

Avoid gold "plated" jewelry, unless you plan on infrequent use. Gold plating usually consists of a very fine layer of gold. The thinner the plating, the faster it will wear off and begin to look tarnished and worn out.


Buying quality pearls and pearl jewelry is as important as buying any other types of jewelry items. One needs to know few useful tips that can help you get the right type of jewelry at right price.


 


Unlike diamonds that are evaluated on four factors: Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat popularly known as 4 Cs among diamond jewelers, pearls are graded from A to AAA depending upon the followings key factors:                              


 


 


1.Pearl luster - a combination of surface brilliance and inner glow. A very good luster means it has higher pearl value.


 


2.Pearl Size - Pearls are commonly measured in millimeters (mm) in their diameter. Large size pearls carry higher prices. Even 1 mm makes the difference. 80 % of the pearls sold in international market are between 6mm to 8mm. Small sizes often preferred by young girls.


 


3. Pearl Nacre - The iridescent internal layer of a mollusk shell. It is a natural substance that pearl oysters secrete to protect their sensitive flesh. The thin nacre is very prone to peeling and chipping whereas thicker layer means good high nacre and obviously will command higher price.


 


4.Pearl Surface - Outer surface should be absolutely clean and shining. That means no blemishes on the surface. Higher quality of pearls have mirror like finish and without any blemishes on its surface.


 


5.Pearl Color - Body color or Surface color. Most irradiated or dyed pearls have surface colors. The natural pearl colors are white, black, champagne, green, gray, aqua and gold. Again within each category there are common overtones. White pearls with rose overtones look great especially on fair skin and the cream or the golden overtones look fabulous on darker complexions. Most important is woman's own personal taste and preference.


 


6.Pearl Shape - The perfect round shape pearls command higher price than near or off round shape. Pearl jewelry is not restricted to round shape pearls only and other shapes like tear drop, pear, potato, coin and irregular baroque shape pearls are equally popular for variety of reasons.


 


7. Price - Finally the price. There are four types of pearls; Freshwater pearls, Akoya Seawater pearls, Tahitian Pearls and South Sea pearls. Each of these types comes with different price tags. The most affordable are freshwater and then comes the akoya.

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