Public Jewellery : Q & A

1. When was gold jewellery first worn by people?
   
   Until recently the earliest known gold jewellery was believed to date from the Sumer civilisation, which inhabited what is now southern Iraq around 3000 BC. Recent discoveries suggest however that goldsmithing first began on the shores of the Black Sea, in the land that is today Bulgaria.
   
   Articles displaying various techniques such as repousse, chain- making, alloying and casting have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, with the best known examples coming from the treasures of King Tutankhamun who died in 1352 BC. The Minoans on Crete produced the first known cable chain, still very popular today, and the Etruscans in Italy had developed granulation, whereby items are decorated with tiny granules of gold, by the 7th century BC.
   
   
2. Why do people wear gold jewellery?
   
   Wearing gold not only enhances strong emotional feelings for its wearer but also completes a woman's appearance - it makes women feel indulgent, beautiful, successful, confident and sexy. Women who wear gold jewellery consider it to be an integral part of their appearance, and consider it as a necessary item rather than just an accessory. There are also traditional reasons for wearing gold, such as for marriage, religion, and family gifting.
   
   Gold also has a lasting financial value, which supports consumers' decision when buying gold jewellery, and can often be the reason why women prefer gold to other jewellery or luxury products.
   
   
3. What is the carat (karat) system for gold jewellery?
   Because gold is naturally a soft, malleable metal, in order to make jewellery, it is alloyed with other elements to strengthen it. The carat code shows the percentage of pure gold your gold contains. The word carat comes from Arabic, meaning bean seed , because years ago seeds were used to measure the weight of gold and precious stones. Any jewellery- by law- has to exhibit both the finest quality mark that indicates the caratage, which is the percentage of fine gold contained in the jewellery. Now though, carat literally means the amount of gold an item of jewellery contains. For example, pure gold is 24k or 99.99% pure. In France and Italy, the lowest permitted standard for gold is 18k, while Germany is 8k and USA is 10k. In Malaysia, gold of 916 is a standard for jewellery without gemstone.
   
   
4. What is 916 Gold?
   A 916 mark indicates that the item is 22 carat with gold content of 91.6% purity.
   
   
5. Why Public Jewellery gets started by Public Gold?
   
   • Compatible with Public Gold business model.
   • Providing customers and dealers the best value for money.
   • Buy back jewellery at reasonable prices.
   • To offer customers an alternative for investment.
   
   
   
6. Why Public Jewellery only offer jewellery in 916 gold, but not in 835 or 750 Gold?
   916 Gold is a standard for jewellery without gemstone in Malaysia. The jewelry made from 22 karat gold is soft enough, but will not damage or bend when worn, please note that jewellery of any carat does not damage by wearing it on the body, but does so by storing it unsafely, 22 karat jewellery if stored properly can, last for years. Gold jewellery made in 22k purity, has be worn for generations in India, China, far east, middle east, most of Africa and many other parts of the world.
   
   
7. What are the advantages of buying jewellery with Public Jewellery?
8. • Fair and transparent transactions. Transaction will be processed according to real time international 916 gold price which will update at every 20 minutes basis.
   • As the saving generated by our direct to customer business model, our 916 gold jewellery is sold at wholesale price which is approximately * 15% lower than the market price. (*market price = gold price + workmanship)
   • No Workmanship charge.
   • The most competitive buy back rates in Malaysia.
   • Booking through Internet. Ordering can be carried out for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the convenient of your fingertip.
   • Quality assurance and authenticity of the Bunga Raya Hallmark by Penang Assay Office Sdn Bhd.
   
   
   
9. Why the margin spread of Public Jewellery is different with the margin spread of Public Gold?
   Due to the jewellery items are selling at wholesale prices, hence our selling price is much lower than the selling price recommended by the Federation of Goldsmiths. Furthermore, the buy back jewellery items cannot be sold again, and must be re-melted.
   
   
10. Why the price in Public Jewellery is cheaper than the market prices?
    Public Jewellery business model is based on the concept of selling directly to customers without having to go through wholesaler and retail outlets. Since there is no retail shop needed, huge saving from rental, salary, etc is transferred to customers in term of lower price.
    
    
11. Can the price of Public Jewellery 916 gold differs from the price recommended by Federation of Goldsmiths?
    The price recommended by the Federation of Goldsmiths is only served as the guideline to all Goldsmiths. It has no legal implication thus it is not compulsory to follow.
    
    
12. How to order or purchase the jewellery?
    
    
    • Internet booking through shopping cart at www.publicjewellery.com.my
    • E-mail
    • Telephone calls
    • SMS
    
    
    
13. When can I take delivery of my purchase?
    This will somewhat dependent on our product schedule but you can expect to collect your purchased item within 2 weeks.
    
    
14. Why the cost of transportation is charged RM20 for each item?
    
    • Price display in our website is ex-Penang.
    • Stock is sent to different states for a booking out of Penang.
    • Travel insurance while shipping stocks to other states.
    
    
    
15. Why Public Jewellery products do not have gemstone design?
    Because Public Jewellery offered buy back mechanism. Any buy back transaction will be based on the actual weight of jewellery.
    For example: 10.5g x RM122/g = RM1281.00
    Besides, the standard of purity of gold jewellery with gemstone is 18K and 14K. Jewellery which in 18K and 14K is worth less than 22K gold jewellery, the purity isn't as pure as 22K gold. Gold purity is measured in karats, 24 karats being pure gold. 18 karat gold is 75% pure - the rest being made up of alloys, 14 karat gold is 58% pure, etc.
    
    
16. How do I measure the size of bracelet/necklace?
    We only offered 5 different sizes for bracelet, which are 16cm, 17cm, 18cm, 19cm and 20cm. For necklace, there are 4 different sizes, which are 40cm, 50cm, 60cm and 70cm.
    You may use a yarn to measure the size of your wrist or neck, put it on a ruler to get the centimeter, and then compare with the standard measurement which publishes in our official website.
    
    
17. Can Public Gold dealers sell Public Jewellery products?
    Yes, Public Gold dealers will automatically become Public Jewellery dealers.
    
    
18. How if I only want to become a dealer of Public Jewellery?
    If the current price for 1 set of gold bars and gold dinar is RM40, 000, so he/she would need to purchase the jewellery in total RM40, 000.
    
    
19. Can a prospective dealer to buy RM40, 000 which includes gold bars, gold dinar, jewellery and silver bars?
    Yes.
    
    
20. How is the quality of Public Jewellery product?
    
    There is a Hallmark-certified purity of gold assayer accredited, which is Penang Assay Office Sdn Bhd.
    
    
21. How is the selling back price if the jewellery is not Public Jewellery products?
    There will be a discount of approximately 5% to 10% of the Public Jewellery buying price.
    
    
22. When can I start booking?
    1st of March 2010.
    
    
23. What's the best way to care for and clean gold jewelry?
    Your jewelry can be kept looking new if you follow a few simple guidelines: Avoid contact with bleach, soap, perfume, cosmetics, hairsprays, etc. Also, take your jewelry off at night and store it in a jewelry box with compartments that keep pieces from rubbing against each other.
    You can clean your gold jewelry in a bowl of warm, sudsy water with a drop of any mild liquid detergent. Brush the jewelry with a soft brush until you have created lather around it. With the jewelry on a plastic or metal strainer, rinse off with warm water (be sure not to clean your jewelry over the drain!) Pat your jewelry dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.