Jewellery Code for Professionals, Angadia and the Economics of Gold Digging

Jewellery Code for Professionals
Are you getting ready for an interview? Not sure what jewellery to wear. As we adopt western attire at work we might as well pick some cues on how jewelry laden one should be. Virginia Tech has a simple guide on Interview Attire with excerpts here(via Jewelry Design Depot).


Jewellery code for Men:
Wear a conservative watch. If you choose to wear other jewelry, be conservative. Removing earrings is safest. For conservative industries, don't wear earrings. Observe other men in your industry to see what is acceptable.

Jewellery code for Women:
Wear a conservative watch. Jewelry and scarf styles come and go. Keep your choices simple and leaning toward conservative. Avoid extremes of style and color. If your industry is creative, you may have more flexibility than someone pursuing a conservative industry.

Angadia: Couriers of the Diamond Industry

If dabbawallas of Mumbai have attracted the attention of western media then angadias are next in line for their jaw dropping reliability in delivering diamonds across India.

Packets of diamonds called 'parcels' in industry lingo are carried on-person by these 'Human couriers' from the diamond hub of Surat and brought to major jewellery markets of India like mumbai, delhi, Kolkata and elsewhere.
For the value even a small diamond carries one would be hard pressed to believe that human couriers with not much of personal safety equipment can deliver reliably every day, every time and every parcel. It might seem archaic in these times to think of transporting these valuable goods without any lock and key but no ones complaining. Read more on JCKonline.


The Economics of Gold Digging
And finally, a must read from NYTimes' Freakonomics blog co-autohored by Steven D. Levitt talks about a different twist to The Economics of Gold-Digging. Enjoy.

Answers to the test

Ok time to go through the answers for the previous test. For the uninitiated its answers to the questions in the post below this one. I remember how I used to feel in my school days where soon after giving the test I would like to know the answers. Friends would huddle together to discuss them, of course now you have the internet to turn to.

One reason to give this test is to see how 'jewellery aware' the visitors or stumblers to this site are. I have no clue how many took the test and how many were even right. With not much actvity in that dept. I guess we are all left with wild guesses to make. I have a better response to the poll that is going on right now. The findings of that poll would be analysed in a post after this one.

So quickly the answers

1) c : there are 5 signs needed to identify a hallmarked jewellery. They are BIS logo, Purity fineness, Assaying or hallmarking centre's logo, Year of hallmarking and finally the jeweller's logo

2) d: the survey found 90% of the ornaments tested for the claimed purity to be grossly deficient in purity. More articles here.

3) b: The corresponding hallmark sign for 18k purity is 750. Want to know whats the sign for other purity levels? Read here

4) a: Hallmarking ascertains the purity of only the gold used in the ornament be it gold jewellery or diamond jewellery.

5) a: A consumer should lose only the making charges on return of gold jewellery.

6) a: Yes diamonds mounted on jewellery are certifiable . Thanks to the opening of diamond grading labs like IGI it is now possible to know the clarity and color of diamonds 'embedded' in gold.

7) b: A certificate by a reputed grading lab like IGI, GIA or EGL only indicates the characteristics based on 4Cs. It doesnt indicate the value of the diamond.

8) a: The 4Cs of a diamond are cut colour, clarity and carat. Diamonds sold with names as white, super deluxe or eye clean are a clever way of hiding the other qualities of a diamond.

Take this test to determine your jewellery quotient.

I have put up an impromptu test for you. Actually I thought of this test yesterday afternoon but decided on questions just now. What better way than this to quickly replenish your knowledge in jewellery 'must knows'. Leave your answers and email ID in the comments section.

Answers to this test will be revealed/explained in the next post. Here it goes:

How many marks does a hallmark jewellery have.
a) 3
b) 4
c) 5
d) 6

A survey conducted by BIS found how much(in percentage) jewellery were deficient in purity claimed
a) 20%
b) 50%
c) 75%
d) 90%

What is the corresponding hallmark for a jewellery made in 18k gold?
a) 916
b) 750
c)585
d) 958

Hallmarking ascertains the purity of
a) Gold
b) Diamond
c) Gemstones
d) Alloy

Best Practise Question: When returning gold jewellery how much does a consumer lose?
a) Only making charges
b) making +10%
c) making +5%
d) Nothing

Are diamonds mounted on jewellery certifiable?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Depends

A certificate of diamond also indicates its value
a) Yes
b) No

The main characteristics of a diamond are
a) Cut, Colour, Clarity, Carat
b) Cut, Colour, Eye-Clean, Carat
c) Shape, Colour, Clarity, Carat
d) Cut , Colour, Clarity, Deluxe quality

Let me give you a hint: Only one choice is correct in the above test.
You can use the internet and our blog to find answers to this test but you wouldn't know your real jewellery quotient then. So don't cheat.
More than one question is India specific and doesn't indicate behaviour/patterns in other countries.

Photo credit jubea via flickr.com

New Poll : Most important aspect when buying Jewellery

Dear Visitors to this blog. We have a new poll displayed on the right column. The poll 'Most important aspect when buying Jewellery' takes into account various reasons people shop at a jewellery store. You can select multiple options if you like.

The results are out. I am listing out the choices and the number of votes they received.

Purity --------7
Designs -------0
Occasion ------1
Gold Price ----1
Certification --2

The results indicated that the most important aspect while buying jewellery was Purity. Some kind of certification for the bought jewellery not just for the gold but also diamonds came in second. The occasion and price of gold tied for the 3rd place. And it seems it didn't matter so much as far as designs are concerned.

I am sure its not the same order for most of the people as jewelers like tiffany's have built business with their exclusive designs. You can be assured of the purity of gold by insisting on a hallmark jeweller. Gold and diamonds have different certification criteria. Gold is certified for its purity using 5 hallmark signs which are laser-carved on the ornament and doesn't come with an explicit certificate from the assay centre while diamonds are graded on 4Cs and should come with certificates from reputed institutions like GIA, IGI, EGL.