Today we had a new experience: we went into an Asian Jewellery Centre in east Lancashire. It couldn’t be more different from a high street jewellers.
Asian jewellers are all about investment in 24 carat gold. Gold is bought when funds allow and is then put away for future events, such as the future wedding of a new-born son. Much of the jewellery in the shop was simple gold bangles of various sizes. Customers often buy them and store them in a safety deposit box in the same Jewellery Centre, only to be brought out for special occasions.
The security is impressive. It was not too obvious from the outside but getting in involved passing through a bullet-proof ‘airlock’. Once inside the Centre, the security was more obvious. More bullet-proof glass, and thick doors so heavy that you could hardly move them. And getting into the safety deposit box area required both an access card and a fingerprint, as well as a unique key to the individual box
While we were there, a customer brought in some bangles and other items to be valued. Each item was checked with an X-Ray spectrometer which instantly confirmed the purity of the gold - it was all 24 carat, or 100% pure. At £79.74 per gram, the figures soon totted up until the total value of a handful of bangles and a couple of necklaces reached £37,000.
As a comparison, the jewellery in this photograph is worth about £15,000 - and easily fits on one wrist.
This is not H Samuel…