Gold = face for the family, so it is not something that she would compromise on!
Gold price is approx. $61/g for 916 and $65/g for 999 (it is estimated to be likely to increase due to the unstable economic conditions, hence investors will shift from stock market to commodity investments). But I think the price would hover around that range, hence don't think too much and just buy if you need to. You can monitor the trend here.
Lets be practical, what are the factors that one will take into consideration when purchasing the si dian jin?
1) Price
Wedding is costly enough, make sure that the couple is agreeable on the amount to spend on si dian jin. Si dian jin should be paid by the groom's parents, but in the current society today I think most couple would be buying it themselves. For me, we have to be self dependent (esp when my PILs are retired).
2) Type of gold? 999 or 916?
999 gold has designs that are more traditional and is more costly due to higher 手工费 (workmanship cost). It is softer due to higher purity thus more prone to damage. 916 is harder and easier to be shaped so more designs are available.
3) Design
四点金requires 4 items namely a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a ring.
Otherwise you can purchase a 龙凤镯 （dragon/phoenix bangle).
Some people will buy according to their dialects but recent trend is people tend to buy things they like (:
Traditional designs are things like flowers, dragon/phoenix and 双喜wordings etc. SK jewellery has a WIDE selection which I find fascinating. Trendy designs can be anything (I love gold heart's 916 series design as I find them very fashionable).
4) PracticalityIs what you are buying something that you can wear on daily basis? Or for events? Or its going to sit in your cabinet forever? With that, your sourcing criteria will change!
Initially I was looking at 999 gold (because im worried my mum wouldn't accept 916 gold). LOL! But after discussion with my mum, she told me that 999 gold series is ugly and we should get 916 gold (:
I would want to tell every couple, always LOOK LOOK and LOOK + compare prices!
Price of gold is standard, but the 手工费 is the expensive one!
I have heard that 2 gold shops in Singapore does not have GST charge, so it is more worth it to buy from there! You can google more about it (many blogs have information on that).
One of the strategy is to ensure that the shop itemize the cost of the 手工费 per item and negotiate from there. I went to SK jewellery @ JEM to look at the si dian jin set and the sales person refused to itemize the 手工费 for me so I walked out without a 2nd thought. Went to SK jewellery @jurong point and was told that the 手工费cost $419 per bangle (crazily expensive). I would think that those big branches of jewellery shops are not going to give me a good deal when it comes to gold accessories, so I started to look at less prominent gold shops.
Another of my strategy is to bring my mum there with me to negotiate for me! LOL! I will feel paiseh to negotiate too much but my mum is very good at it! ;p
For now, my favourite shop is Royal Dragon @ Jurong point! Some of their items do not have 手工费 so its a good deal! On top of that, you can negotiate with them on the 手工费 if there is any (: if you are willing to pay by cash or nets, they are willing to make a further cut for you! You can look for an auntie there wearing spectacles (I think she is very experienced), I forgot her name ;x think its ivy or something...
I overshot my budget of the bangles by almost twice my budget ;x but got something that I really like (: My 手工费 per bangle is less than $100 (for your reference) so that BTBs can use it as a baseline to make a judgement if you are overcharged for 手工费!
