Can gold be a good investment?

Gold is unarguably a perfect metal for designing jewellery; the most obvious reason being the colour, but also as it is easy to work with, does not age or tarnish, alloy well with other metals and can easily be recycled and reworked into something else if melted down. In addition to this, gold can offer security during economic turmoil as it provides a more diverse investment portfolio. If you have assets tied up in company, they will become worthless if the company collapses, gold investments will not. Prices may rise or fall but are extremely unlikely to hit zero value. Gold is also easy to store and travel with as well as a way of generating quick cash if sold or borrowed against with a pawn broker.   

How do I know what carat my gold is?

We measure gold purity in carats with 24ct being the highest pure gold not mixed with any other metals. High carat gold has a soft surface and can easily scratch. Therefore, it is more suitable for gold bars, nuggets and coins rather than jewellery.

The hallmarked number (if any) indicates the percentage of gold mixed with other metals. For example, 375 is 9ct and suggests gold purity of 37.5%, 585 is 14ct and 58.8% pure etc. Other hallmarks frequently found on jewellery are 750 for 18ct and 916 for 22ct. If your yellow metal is unhallmarked the general rule is: the darker the yellow the higher the carat is. Europe and North America tend to favour the lower carats whereas the rest of the world 18 carats and above – it is more of a concept here to buy gold for long term investments. Regardless if you are buying gold as an investment or as a piece of jewellery to wear. There will always be a value in gold.