The first preliminary steps when you buy jewelry are to choose a jeweler by getting recommendations from friends, checking the stores credentials and finding out if they’re affiliated with any trade organizations. Is there a credentialed jeweler in the store? Some jewelry salespeople may be very knowledgeable and helpful, but someone in the store [preferable the owner or manager] should have gemological credentials.

Buy Gold Jewelry – Tips

When buying gold, the first thing to learn about is the word karat. The karat is the unit used to represent the proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry. Pure gold is set at 24 karats but there is no 24-karat gold jewelry because pure gold is too pliable to be fashioned into any form of jewelry. The popularly sold gold jewelry are 18-k (75% gold), 16-k (66.67% gold), 14-k (about 58% gold), and 12-k (50% gold). The smallest karat value for a piece of jewelry to be considered gold is 10-k (42% gold).

Buy Platinum Jewelry – Tips

Platinum is a precious metal that is usually mixed with other similar metals. Different markings are used on platinum jewelry based on the amount of pure platinum in the piece. For example, the marking 900 Platinum (as well as the marking 900 PT, 900 PLAT, PT900 or 900 Plat 100 Irid) means that the item is 90 percent platinum and 10 percent other metals.

• Be sure the item is stamped with its metal content and manufacturer.
• Be prepared to spend more initially because of the expert craftsmanship required to work in platinum.
• Be sure the sales receipt has “Platinum” written in the description.