Gold market terms in Jordan
The words you will hear in a jewellery shop or read in gold news, each explained briefly.
Karat
The share of pure gold in a piece out of 24 parts. 24k is pure gold, 21k is 87.5% gold, 18k is 75% and 14k is 58.3%.
Workmanship (making charge)
The cost of making the piece, added to the gram price at purchase and not refunded at sale.
Sell price and buy price
The sell price is what the shop charges; the buy price is what the shop pays when it buys from you. The gap is the dealer margin.
Syndicate bulletin
The daily reference price issued by the General Syndicate of Jewellery Shop Owners for every jeweller in Jordan.
Ounce
The global gold pricing unit, equal to 31.1035 grams of pure gold.
Rashadi and English lira
Two old gold coins sold in Jordan as a saving vehicle: the Rashadi about 7 g and the English 8 g, priced on a 21k basis.
Bar
A piece of pure gold (usually 24k) of a fixed weight (5 g to 1 kg) with a refinery certificate.
Hallmark
The standards-institution stamp on the piece proving its karat. Buy only hallmarked pieces.
Scrap (used gold)
Gold sold to a shop for melting, bought at the buy price per gram by karat with no fee.
Global (exchange) price
The ounce price on international markets, the basis for every local price.