Buy only from a trusted Jeweller...

Jewellery can basically be classified into monobloc or jewellery without solders (joints), jewellery with conventional soldering, cadmium soldering and jewellery with stones.

If you are buying jewellery as an investment, go for solid monobloc jewellery without soldering. If you are buying for utility value or design buy any variety, but you need to be ready for the losses on melting (ask the jeweller for the extent of losses and be prepared for it). The jewellery should also have resale value with the particular jeweller you are buying from, and the intrinsic value should be realisable anywhere else.

While shopping for jewellery be aware of a few details:

Skin purity: or purity of gold as it is.

• Melting purity: or purity of gold after melting. If jewellery consists of soldering content in joints, the melting purity will be less than skin purity - if conventional soldering material is used. This is not the case of monobloc and cadmium soldered jewellery.
  
  
• Weight of the gold.
  
  
• If there are any stones, find out if they are precious, semi-precious or synthetic. (Synthetic and semi-precious stones may not have resale value).
  
  
• There are two ways you can test purity of gold jewellery. One is the commercial touchstone method where the buyer depends on the expertise of the jeweller. Another is by melting and purifying the ornament which is not practical because the ornament gets disfigured. There is practically no way for a layman to judge the purity of gold by visual inspection or any simple test.
  
  
• Storing jewellery needs to be done with proper care. The ornaments should be kept in separate boxes or in separate compartments in a box. Do not dump them in one container as this may cause damage like dents, or the stones may be pried loose. While wearing jewellery, take extra care of bangles and rings as they are prone to higher wear.
  
  
• If you are transporting jewellery to a different place, wrap them individually in tissue paper before putting them in a pouch. For cleaning jewellery, natural soaps like Aritta should be used. Alternately, give them to a trusted jeweller for polishing. Check the weight of the ornament before and after the polishing. If dirt has accumulated on an intricately designed ornament, the weight will reduce after polishing, because of the dirt removed.
  
  
• Make sure you procure a proper bill at the time of purchase, which is the only surefire way of confirming the purchase at a future date

Good leather should not have too many wrinkles.

When you buy leather goods:

Look for smooth and wrinkle free leather. Avoid leather products with a heavy odour. Good leather products should not sag.

Unless the product is of antique finish leather, don't go for patchy colours. Check for uniformity on the grains of the product.

See if the fittings are of good quality, which will not damage the leather in the long run. Check if the zippers, clasps, etc., funtion smoothly. Check if the handle is strong enough in a bag, for its size and the load you intend to carry.

See that the number of pieces which have gone into the making of the bag are as few as possible, unless the design demands more pieces. There are lesser chances of the bag coming apart this way

Don't buy Shoes strictly by size.

Here are a few things to remember before you buy footwear:

• Don't buy shoes strictly by size. Walk around in them for several minutes before making a final decision. Shoe sizes can vary, depending on the style and manufacturer, and your feet can swell up to a half size larger if you've been walking a lot.

• Resist the temptation to wear your new shoes until you have polised them. (This tends to darken the tan of your leather shoes).

• If your shoes are a little tight, saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub it inside the shoes at the tightspot.

• If your shoelaces are constantly coming off, dampen them before you tie them.

• Don't wear the same shoes two days in a row. Give them time to recover their shape and get rid of accumulated odours.

• For wet shoes, stuff them with paper/cloth, polish them first, then apply a light coat of floor wax.