Cheaper gold introduced to Egyptian market

[DJKeefy]

Cheaper gold introduced to Egyptian market in bid to combat surging prices.

Egypt's government has officially launched new, lower-karat gold jewellery for cheaper prices in a bid to combat the recent dramatic surge in the price of the valuable metal, Al-Ahram news website reported on Tuesday.

The initiative to launch Gold 14 Karat (K) in the Egyptian market has been sponsored by the Saudi-based jewellery manufacturer L’azurde.

Egypt's government officially endorsed the move Tuesday with the aim of "reducing the burden on citizens in the face of rising global gold prices," Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Khaled Hanafy said during a press conference.

Gold sales in Egypt have been stagnant due to skyrocketing prices that hit 67 percent since January, according to Wasfy Amin Wasef, head of the gold department at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers Of Commerce.

The new type of gold, which came onto the market 10 days ago, is available in prices almost 22 percent cheaper than gold 18K — the once-cheapest unit of gold offered on the Egyptian market.

However, whether the new line of production will appeal to Egyptian customers remains unclear.

"There is a culture among customers in Egypt and other Arab markets that sees gold lower than 18K as non-valuable jewellery," Wasef told Ahram Online.

Gold 24K, the purest possible, currently sells for approximately EGP 522, while 21K sells for EGP 457, and 18K for EGP 391.7, according to Wasef. The new 14K sells for EGP 304.6.

Karat is a unit measuring the purity of gold alloys. Pure gold is too soft to be used for jewellery, therefore gold jewellery is made from an alloy of other metals such as silver or copper.


Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/238987.aspx

[DJKeefy]

Lets hope it does not add to another scam in Egypt, where you are sold 14K when you paid the price for 18K or above.

[carrie]

Oh yea of little faith

[Horus]

It was not that long ago that in the UK 9 karat gold was commonly seen in jewellers shops, especially for the gold on thin rings such as engagement rings with stones set in platinum as they would wear much better.

[BENNU]

I once bought two pairs of very cheap earrings in London. That was the first time that I ever heard about 9 carat gold!

I considered them fashion accessories rather than jewellery and don't even remember what one of the pairs looked like ... They have got to be somewhere around here ...

[BENNU]

I had two identical bracelets. One was stolen Luxor. I told an Egyptian friend who said:

"Come on, it's not Egyptian gold, it's worthless!"

It was a 14 carat red gold classic pattern that today would cost no less than £1500 in Denmark.

[Horus]

9 carat gold is used to make a lot of jewelry because of its hardness, chains fasteners etc. 24 carat is far too soft for most stuff, but is easily worked, even your 14 carat 'rose' gold is only gold with a copper additive, nothing special about it.

[BENNU]

I know that, but to think nothing of having a red gold bracelet stolen, just because it isn't Egyptian gold ...

I have bought and sold gold and silver for years, just never seen 9 carat before I found it in London.

[Horus]

As I said, 9 Carat gold was very common at one time especially for costume type jewelry, but I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have, although in the UK all gold is hallmarked, so you can be sure to know what grade you are buying, unlike Egypt.

[HEPZIBAH]

There still is a lot of 9ct gold sold in the UK.

As I said, 9 Carat gold was very common at one time especially for costume type jewelry, but I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have, although in the UK all gold is hallmarked, so you can be sure to know what grade you are buying, unlike Egypt.

I'm curious as to know why this would be.

[BENNU]

"There is a culture among customers in Egypt and other Arab markets that sees gold lower than 18K as non-valuable jewellery,"

Which is why I mentioned that an Egyptian friend said that having a £1500 14 carat gold bracelet stolen was nothing, just like Horus says, nothing special.

It was not that long ago that in the UK 9 karat gold was commonly seen in jewellers shops,

Which is why I mentioned that London was where I first came across 9 carat gold.

I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have,

That explains why it was so cheap then - for a tourist.

I leave my 22 and 24 carat in the bank when going to Egypt now. I have had too much jewellery stolen.

[Dusak]

I was a lover of gold in the UK, regularly 'treating' myself if something caught my eye. When I first started to come here as a holidaymaker and seeing how reasonably priced the higher carat gold was, bought quite a few rings. But, on inspection of the items I noticed that they had no hallmark. The explanation given was that they had to go to Cairo to get a proof stamp and this would take longer than the holiday. So no, in a lot of purchases you can be fooled in paying a higher price for a much lower carat. However, about five years ago due to my age and fingers getting thinner, I could not wear most of them as they slipped off very easily so I sent my friend off to the local souq to sell them and made a profit of 8,000Le above what I had originally paid for the items. This was when the price of gold had skyrocketed.

[Horus]

There still is a lot of 9ct gold sold in the UK.

As I said, 9 Carat gold was very common at one time especially for costume type jewelry, but I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have, although in the UK all gold is hallmarked, so you can be sure to know what grade you are buying, unlike Egypt.

I'm curious as to know why this would be.

Because Hepzi gold is graded on its fineness, or the amount of adulteration of other added metals which can be over 60% of added metals for 9 Carat gold. At the lower level (9kt) they add more Copper, Zinc & Nickel than at say 18 Carat which can contain zero amounts of these metals and mainly only Silver and Palladium are added. Many people are sensitive to Copper and Nickel & Zinc especially in close contact such as with pierced ears, so don’t like it for that reason as it irritates the skin. My wife would not be seen dead with 9 kt and even when she was, she was cremated wearing 22 carat gold and diamond studs.

[carrie]

My mum had a terrible allergy to metal, even her bra fastenings had to be painted with clear nail varnish before she could wear one. She loved her ear rings though and gold never caused a problem.

[HEPZIBAH]

There still is a lot of 9ct gold sold in the UK.

As I said, 9 Carat gold was very common at one time especially for costume type jewelry, but I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have, although in the UK all gold is hallmarked, so you can be sure to know what grade you are buying, unlike Egypt.

I'm curious as to know why this would be.

Because Hepzi gold is graded on its fineness, or the amount of adulteration of other added metals which can be over 60% of added metals for 9 Carat gold. At the lower level (9kt) they add more Copper, Zinc & Nickel than at say 18 Carat which can contain zero amounts of these metals and mainly only Silver and Palladium are added. Many people are sensitive to Copper and Nickel & Zinc especially in close contact such as with pierced ears, so don’t like it for that reason as it irritates the skin. My wife would not be seen dead with 9 kt and even when she was, she was cremated wearing 22 carat gold and diamond studs.

Ah! Thank you. Now I understand. Perhaps as well I don't have this allergy.

[Horus]

You may find this interesting:
Grade 8K ... . Percentage of gold 33.33% ... Fineness333 ... This is the lowest acceptable for jewellery.
Grade 9K .... Percentage of gold 37.50% ... Fineness375 ... Most UK jewellery is this grade
Grade 10K ... Percentage of gold41.67% ... Fineness417 ... Lower grade Continental Europe jewellery.
Grade 12K ... Percentage of gold50.00% ... Fineness500 ... Some older UK jewellery is this grade
Grade 14K ... Percentage of gold58.33% ... Fineness583 ... Most North American jewellery is this grade.
Grade 15k ... Percentage of gold62.50% ... Fineness625 ... Some other older UK jewellery also
Grade 18K ... Percentage of gold75.00% ... Fineness750 ... Most Continental European jewellery is this grade.
Grade 22K ... Percentage of gold91.66% ... Fineness917 ... Some coins and investment jewellery.
Grade 24K ... Percentage of gold99.99% ... Fineness999 ... Gold bullion / pure gold.

Which will explain why Bennu purchased the cheaper 9 carat stuff in London and why her own countries jewelry was of a higher grade.
Most of this stems back to the war and post war years when Britain had very little gold to spare for it to be wasted on Jewelry and so 9 k became the norm.

Gold is the 7th heaviest metal in the world and has the symbol Au. An interesting fact is that Gold being one of the heavier elements can only be created by the explosion of a dying star like our sun. The heavier elements thus created then form part of another star over eons of time and that new star eventually dies and turns into a super nova and blows the residue all over the solar system which again become incorporated into new stars that suffer the same eventual fate. It is only in this way that the heavier elements like gold can be created by being a part of several supernovas, so the gold in your jewellery has been around for a long time and is indeed a rare and precious thing.

[Dusak]

There still is a lot of 9ct gold sold in the UK.

As I said, 9 Carat gold was very common at one time especially for costume type jewelry, but I doubt if many women in the UK would have put something like that into their pierced ears, my wife certainly wouldn't have, although in the UK all gold is hallmarked, so you can be sure to know what grade you are buying, unlike Egypt.

I'm curious as to know why this would be.

Because Hepzi gold is graded on its fineness, or the amount of adulteration of other added metals which can be over 60% of added metals for 9 Carat gold. At the lower level (9kt) they add more Copper, Zinc & Nickel than at say 18 Carat which can contain zero amounts of these metals and mainly only Silver and Palladium are added. Many people are sensitive to Copper and Nickel & Zinc especially in close contact such as with pierced ears, so don’t like it for that reason as it irritates the skin. My wife would not be seen dead with 9 kt and even when she was, she was cremated wearing 22 carat gold and diamond studs.

Your post brought to mind an incident at the crematorium in my home town some decades ago. The man responsible for the final push into the oven was found guilty and imprisoned for stealing the jewelry that the loved ones wanted to have cremated with those that had died.

[Dusak]

Keeping with the theme of currant sporting events and the posts topics I give you this.

A man is out shopping and discovers a new brand of Olympic condoms. Clearly impressed, he buys a pack.

Upon getting home he announces to his wife the purchase he just made.

"Olympic condoms?", she blurts, "What makes them so special?"

"There are three colors", he replies, "Gold, Silver and Bronze."

"What color are you going to wear tonight?", she asks cheekily.

"Gold of course", says the man proudly.

The wife responds wryly, "Why don't you wear Silver? It would be nice if you came second for a change."


And one to show that not all things that tempt should be pursued.

Once upon a time, and far, far away lived a beautiful Queen with voluptuous breasts.

Nick the Dragon slayer knew that the penalty for his desire would be death should he try to touch them.

One day Nick revealed his secret desire to his colleague, Horatio the Physician, who was the King's chief doctor.

Horatio the Physician, exclaimed that he could arrange for Nick the Dragon Slayer to satisfy his desire, but it would cost him 1, 000 gold coins to arrange it.

Without pause, Nick the Dragon Slayer readily agreed to the scheme. The next day, Horatio the Physician made a batch of itching powder and poured a little bit into the Queen's brassiere while she bathed. Soon after she dressed, the itching commenced and grew intense.

Upon being summoned to the Royal Chambers to address this incident, Horatio the Physician informed the King and Queen that only a special saliva, if applied for four hours, would cure this type of itch, and that tests had shown that only the saliva of Nick the Dragon Slayer would work as the antidote to cure the itch.

The King quickly summoned Nick the Dragon Slayer. Horatio the Physician then slipped Nick the Dragon Slayer the antidote for the itching powder, which he quickly put into his mouth, and for the next four hours, Nick worked passionately on the Queen's voluptuous and magnificent breasts.

The Queen's itching was eventually relieved, and Nick the Dragon Slayer left satisfied and touted as a hero.

Upon returning to his chamber, Nick the Dragon Slayer found Horatio the Physician demanding his payment of 1, 000 gold coins.

With his obsession now satisfied, Nick the Dragon Slayer couldn't have cared less and, knowing that Horatio the Physician could never report this matter to the King, with a laugh just told him to get lost.

The next day, Horatio the Physician slipped a massive dose of the same itching powder into the King's underwear. The King immediately summoned Nick the Dragon Slayer.

And one that sounds like chamber music.

A man came home drunk at four in the morning, and his wife was all over him, yelling at him, crying because she thought he was with another woman."No, honey, I swear, I was at this bar, and it was so fancy that even the urinals were made of GOLD!"She said she didn't believe him, so she called the bar."Hello," she said, "I just want to ask one question. My husband claims to have spent the night at your bar, so my question is, are your urinals covered in gold?"To which she heard the bartender say, "Hey, Clarence, - I think we found the guy who p***** in your saxophone!"

[Horus]

All very good Dusak

[Brian Yare]

You may find this interesting:
Grade 8K ... . Percentage of gold 33.33% ... Fineness333 ... This is the lowest acceptable for jewellery.
Grade 9K .... Percentage of gold 37.50% ... Fineness375 ... Most UK jewellery is this grade
Grade 10K ... Percentage of gold41.67% ... Fineness417 ... Lower grade Continental Europe jewellery.
Grade 12K ... Percentage of gold50.00% ... Fineness500 ... Some older UK jewellery is this grade
Grade 14K ... Percentage of gold58.33% ... Fineness583 ... Most North American jewellery is this grade.
Grade 15k ... Percentage of gold62.50% ... Fineness625 ... Some other older UK jewellery also
Grade 18K ... Percentage of gold75.00% ... Fineness750 ... Most Continental European jewellery is this grade.
Grade 22K ... Percentage of gold91.66% ... Fineness917 ... Some coins and investment jewellery.
Grade 24K ... Percentage of gold99.99% ... Fineness999 ... Gold bullion / pure gold.

Which will explain why Bennu purchased the cheaper 9 carat stuff in London and why her own countries jewelry was of a higher grade.
Most of this stems back to the war and post war years when Britain had very little gold to spare for it to be wasted on Jewelry and so 9 k became the norm.

Gold is the 7th heaviest metal in the world and has the symbol Au. An interesting fact is that Gold being one of the heavier elements can only be created by the explosion of a dying star like our sun. The heavier elements thus created then form part of another star over eons of time and that new star eventually dies and turns into a super nova and blows the residue all over the solar system which again become incorporated into new stars that suffer the same eventual fate. It is only in this way that the heavier elements like gold can be created by being a part of several supernovas, so the gold in your jewellery has been around for a long time and is indeed a rare and precious thing.

not forgetting
Grade 21K ... Percentage of gold 87.5% ... Fineness 875 ...

When I got married it was normal for the groom's ring to be 9ct and the bride's ring to be 21ct. But that was many years ago (1971 and 1984) so things may have changed since. (°¿°)