How To Tell If Gold Is Real
Check for a stamp. A real gold item will have a purity marking on the back or inside. This stamp is typically either a carat number, such as 18K, or 12K, in the shape of a rectangle with the corners cut off, and with a number inside. Here is the meaning of those numbers:
999 = 24 karat, 99.9% gold990 = 22 karat, 99% gold 916 = 22 karat, 91.6% gold 750 = 18 karat, 75% gold 585 = 14 karat, 58.5% gold 375 = 9 carat, 37.5% gold
How to tell if gold is real with a lighter. Hold your gold jewelry or coin to the steady flame of a lighter or oven .Real gold will get bright hot after a while, but will not darken. Fake gold will darken or otherwise change color when exposed to fire. Also, if the piece is gold-plated , the thin gold plating will melt, revealing the inner metal.
Test your gold with a magnet. Gold is not magnetic. Using an extra-strong magnet , see if your gold jewelry is attracted to the magnet. One side note, sometimes a real-gold bracelet or necklace will have a clasp that is not made of real gold, and will be drawn to the magnet, while the rest of the item will not.
Float test. Real gold will not float, and will not rust. Drop your gold into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s fake.
Skin test. Real gold jewelry will not turn your skin black or green.
Picking Engagement Rings Together
Do you plan to go engagement ring shopping together?
More and more couples are choosing to shop for the engagement ring together. Over 40% of women want to be involved in the ring selection process. Shopping together is a great way to be certain that she gets a ring that she’ll love.
If you really have no clue what kind of style she likes, then it’s even a good idea to let your girlfriend pick out her own engagement ring. This way, she has a say in what she likes instead of you taking a blind guess.
In fact, you can shop together and still keep the element of surprise. You can talk about stone and metal preferences and have your girlfriend pick out a few setting styles she likes. You can then choose the final design on your own and plan the surprise proposal.
Tip
How Much Should A Guy Spend On A Wedding Ring
According to the rule of thumb, a man will spend his two months pay on a ring. Now if the pay is meager, then it makes sense. But in the reverse, that may be an extravagance he cant deal with. So, we dump that idea.
Base your spending on two factors which are your financial capacity and the expectation of your girl.
Now, considering your financial strength, you must put your income into consideration.
- How much do you earn?
- Then how much basic expenses do you make per month?
- After that, how much can you afford to save after cutting out frivolity?
This is how you should see it because it doesnt make sense to get into debt over a ring.
Secondly, your girl dreamed all her life about when youd pop the question and how her ring would look. Itd be disappointing to see something way below expectations. Again, shes wearing that ring for most of her life, so it should be something she can show off.
Lastly, the ring is a proclamation of your love, it must be worth something. Create a balance between your cash and her expectations. Dont get into debt or ruin your future for rings.
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Karat Symbols And What They Mean
The symbols on the inside of your gold bracelet will either read 10k, 14k, 18k, 417, 585 or 750. These are called hallmarks and they represent the purity of your gold. The higher the number, the purer your gold is. This means that there is less of other non-gold metals mixed in with it.
You may have never heard of the three-digit numbers before. They all are representative of karats. Use the following as a gold karat guide.
- 10k or 417 = 10 karat = 41.7% gold
- 14k or 585 = 14 karat = 58.5% gold
- 18k or 750 = 18 karat = 75% gold
Anything that is less than 24K gold is a mixture of gold and silver alloy.
The markings GF, GS, HGE, and fractions in front of a karat indicate pieces that you likely wonât get much money for. If you see these on your bracelet, itâs likely costume jewelry.
What Is Gold Filled
Gold-filled jewelry is constructed in two or three layers: The core metal is brass, and a gold alloy is then bonded to one or both surfaces of the brass core with heat and pressure. Gold-filled jewelry contains a much thicker layer of gold than plated or vermeil items and will hold up better with wear comparatively.
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How To Sell Gold Bullion Online
Gold bullion, by definition, is pure gold for the purpose of investment. Bullion can be in bars or coins, or occasionally other forms like an ingot. Gold coin bullion can be sold the same as other scrap gold, including on reputable online sites.
A bar is better sold to a mint or local dealer.
A bar of gold bullion can be sold locally to a mint or local buyer.
If you have gold coin bullion, CashforGoldUSA.com is an excellent choice for selling all gold online. Their online gold calculator on their homepage accurately helps you estimate how much you will get for your coin, and easy steps for sending in your item, securely, for quick payment of cash.
Millennial Spending On Engagement Rings
Is $3,000 enough to spend on an engagement ring?
Millennials age 18-34 spend an average of just over $3,000 on an engagement ring, according to a TD Bank survey. This is far below the national average spending of $7,750.
In a survey conducted by CreditDonkey, we found that 59% of Millennials and 65% of Gen Z think that engagement rings should cost less than $3,000. 19% of Millennials answered between $3,000 and $5,000, while 22% said over $5,000.
43% of Millennials also said it’s okay to have a fake engagement ring. And 37% even said engagement rings are not necessary for marriage.
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How Pure Is Raw Gold
Raw goldis 100% pure gold in its natural state, and always contains some kind of impurities.
When these impurities consist of other metals, the gold is considered to be an alloy. The most common metal to be found with gold is silver, but gold can also be found with copper, iron, and lead impurities as well.
Raw gold is commonly found as 18 karat gold, it can be as low as 14 karats in purity.
Why Traditional Advice Is Meaningless In A Crisis
Traditional financial advice is that gold should comprise 5-10 percent of assets, or 10-20 percent if youre not including home equity. But Mike and I are convinced that amount wont cut it in the turmoil we believe is ahead. What passes for normal advice could be financially devastating in abnormal times. Furthermore, the lower your overall net worth, the less meaningful these percentages are. And in a time of crisis, you will need absolutes, not percentages.
If youve struggled to determine if you have enough physical gold and silver, GoldSilver has created a practical guide for you. This measuring stick is a more effective way to gauge if your allocation will be sufficient.
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How To Sell Gold
Depending on where you sell gold, the process varies. Here are posts with more detailing on various options you could consider:
If you want to get the most cash for gold, heres the gist of how to sell gold online:
CashforGoldUSA pays a 10% bonus if you send your item in within 7 days of the request, and sends payment within 24 hours.
Is Gold A Good Investment In A Recession
Gold has a reputation for being a recession-friendly investment when the stock market has a big pullback, the price of gold often goes up. But that’s not the full picture, says Deaton Smith, a certified financial planner and founder of Thayer Financial in Hickory, North Carolina. The idea is that its a safer investment than equities, but the long-term price valuations just havent been there.
In fact, when you look at longer time horizons, like the past 30 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average a good representation of the overall stock market has significantly outperformed gold. And while the stock market has its ups and downs, investing in physical gold can involve a lot of unexpected costs and considerations, including insurance and secure storage.
Adding gold to your portfolio can help you diversify your assets, which can help you better weather a recession, but gold does not produce cash flow like other assets, and should be added to your investment mix in a limited quantity and with caution.
» Stressed about the stock market? Heres what to do when the stock market crashes
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Sports Are A Multibillion
The US is entering the Olympics on the heels of some major developments in college athlete compensation. A Supreme Court decision opened the door to student-athlete payments, and an NCAA rule change allowed athletes to monetize their personal brands and seek out endorsements. These advances have been years in the making, and could potentially put wind in the sails of the conversation around how Olympians are paid. But one big barrier is that the Olympics are intermittent. While the athletes spend day in and day out training, the issue only arises among the public when the competition is actually happening.
I asked experts what they thought could be done to boost athletes financially and fix the system, and the answers ran the gamut.
Feldman, rather unsurprisingly, thinks it would be better if more athletes had agents. But he also suggested they should be able to bargain collectively or even establish some kind of a floor rate for appearing in commercials and advertisements, like SAG-AFTRA has for entertainers. It would be really great if there were some sort of entity, like a union, that would be negotiating on behalf of all of the athletes for a floor, he said. That at least, to me, gives Olympic and Paralympic athletes a better idea of what the minimum should be for any of the content that gets shot across the board.
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How To Buy Gold Stocks Mutual Funds And Etfs
Investing in a gold stock, ETF or mutual fund is often the best way to get exposure to gold in your portfolio.
In order to buy a gold stock or fund, youll need a brokerage account, which you can open with an online broker . Once your account is funded, youll be able to pick the gold-related assets youd like to invest in and place an order for them on your brokers website.
Keep in mind that individual stocks and ETFs are purchased for their share price which can range from $10 or less to four figures but mutual funds have a minimum investment requirement, often of $1,000 or more. Learn more about how to invest in stocks and how to invest in mutual funds.
» Need guidance? Check out our full roundup of the best brokerages
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How To Sell Gold Jewelry
Gold jewelry that is by a significant brand like Tiffany or Cartier may be sold to a jeweler at a premium because of its name. Most jewelry, however, is likely to be melted down for scrap based on its weight and carat. Options for selling gold jewelry include:
- Local jeweler
- Online jewelry and gold buyers
It Is Important To Know How Your Local Jeweller Calculates The Price Of Gold Jewellery Bought By You To Avoid Being Cheated Also There Are Various Things That Must Be Kept In Mind While Buying Jewellery
Final price of the jewellery = Price of gold X + Making charges + GST at 3% on Suppose the price of gold listed by the jeweller is Rs. 27,350 for 10 grams of 22KT gold. Now, if you wish to purchase a gold chain of 9.6 grams, then price will be calculated as:
- Price of 1 gram of gold = Rs 27,350 divided by 10 = Rs. 2,735
- Price of 9.60 grams’ gold chain = Rs 2,735 times 9.60 grams = Rs 26,256
- Add making charges, suppose 10 per cent, which comes to Rs 2,625.60
- Total price of gold jewellery = Rs 28,881.60
- Add GST at 3%: Rs 866.44
- The final billing amount will be Rs 29,748.04
Here are a few things you should be aware of while buying gold to avoid being tricked.
- Studded jewellery
- Purity of gold
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- Pricing of gold
If the price of gold is Rs 3,300 per gram then the cost of 22KT gold would be Rs 3300 X 22/24 = Rs. 3025 per gram. However, alloys are also added to make jewellery stronger. The cost of these can range between Rs 30 and Rs 60 per gram. Hence, the retail price for 22 kt gold will be Rs 3025 + Rs 60 = Rs 3085 per gram.
- Making charges
- BIS Standard hallmark for purity
| Gold purity in jewellery |
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Why Does The Price Of Gold Rise
Gold is seen as a safe bet by investors: unlike other investments, it doesn’t run the risk of completely losing its value if the global financial market collapses.
Because of this, demand increases for gold in uncertain times. As a result, the global price of gold rises. For example, the price of gold reached an all-time high during the 2008 global financial crisis, when investors were looking for a safe investment in an extremely precarious period.
If you want to get the best price for your scrap gold, keep an eye on the global news. You’ll get the best deal during times of international financial uncertainty.
Here’s How Much Gold And Silver You Need For The Crises
Most of you reading this are already convinced of the need to own gold and silver. But as you continue to accumulate, a question naturally arises: how much do you need?
Imagine the sick feeling in your gut if we get to the next financial crisis and you suddenly realize you didnt buy enough bullion to get through it. For this reason alone, its worth thinking about how many ounces you might need.
More and more investors are recognizing this, and we receive questions about it. The wording varies, but the basic question is the same: how much physical gold or silver should I own to be in good shape should an economic crisis hit?
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The Us Bimetallic Standard
The U.S. government continued on with this gold tradition by establishing a bimetallic standard in 1792. The bimetallic standard simply stated that every monetary unit in the U.S. had to be backed by either gold or silver. For example, one U.S. dollar was the equivalent of 24.75 grains of gold. In other words, the coins that were used as money simply represented the gold that was presently deposited at the bank.
But this gold standard did not last forever. During the 1900s, there were several key events that eventually led to the transition of gold out of the monetary system. In 1913, the Federal Reserve was created and started issuing promissory notes that could be redeemed in gold on demand. The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 gave the U.S. government title to all the gold coins in circulation and put an end to the minting of any new gold coins. In short, this act began establishing the idea that gold or gold coins were no longer necessary in serving as money. The U.S. abandoned the gold standard in 1971 when its currency ceased to be backed by gold.
How To Buy Physical Gold
If you decide that investing in physical gold is the right move for you, here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Find a reputable dealer. From working with pushy salespeople to falling victim to scams, navigating the world of buying and selling gold can be sketchy. Sellers can inflate their products value, or use persuasion tactics to create a sense of urgency to buy immediately. Doing some homework ahead of time can help you avoid a bad investment.
You can use the National Futures Associations Background Affiliation Status Information Center to check on a firm or individuals background.
2. Watch out for fees. Gold dealers typically charge more than golds spot price, or the price at which gold trades on a commodities exchange. This premium typically consists of a dealers fee and manufacturing and distribution charges.
3. Find secure storage. People joke about burying gold for a reason: Its valuable, and because it’s a physical commodity, people may try to steal it. Its important to anticipate storing your gold somewhere safe, whether that is a literal safe or a safety deposit box at a bank. Storing gold safely can get expensive. Depending on their size, safety deposit boxes at a bank can run from $30 to a couple hundred dollars a year.
4. Consider purchasing insurance. Insurance is an additional cost of owning physical gold. If you purchase insurance, be sure your policy covers the exact type of asset you have.
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