Here's what you should know to exchange old jewellery for new

If the jewellery isn't hallmarked, it is melted to determine the purity level and arrive at its exchange price

- Shipra Singh

• Hallmarking accurately determines and records the content of different metals in an ornament

Gold is seldom sold, goes a popular saying. Yet, many people sell off their old gold jewellery for various reasons. That includes buying newer ones that can make a fashion statement. Every time you buy new gold jewellery, the main concern is about its purity. That, along with its weight, is mentioned in the invoice given by the jeweller. The invoice comes in handy when you want to exchange the ornament with new jewellery in the future

Where such exchange is involved, the process should be straightforward—the old ornament is tested for purity and valued based on the current price of gold. This amount is then adjusted against the price of the new jewellery bought. However, in reality, the exchange is not that simple.

Pune-based Archana Manjavkar realized this when she visited jewellery brand Tanishq recently to exchange her mother’s five-year-old gold jewellery bought from a different jeweller. She was informed that the ornament’s purity will be evaluated in two steps. First, the ornament in its current form is scanned in a Karat metre machine that measures the purity of the outer layer of the ornament. Second, it is melted and checked again to ascertain the purity of the entire gold piece. Manjavkar agreed to go through the process, but was left unsatisfied. "The melted gold was scanned thrice and each time the purity grade reading was different. The jeweller valued the gold at the lowest purity grade. How can I believe the accuracy of the machine," said Manjavkar.