Academy · Tier 0
The Foundation
Eight lessons on what actually happens between you and a jeweller. Free, open, no sign-in and no email wall — because the person who needs lesson four is standing in a shop right now with a salesman waiting.
Each lesson stands entirely on its own. Read one, read all eight, or find the one that answers the question you came with. They are better in order and none of them assumes you did the last.
Lessons, roughly eight hours end to end.
Free, permanently. No account, no card, no wall.
Written India-first, because that is where the questions are. The arithmetic travels anywhere.
The eight
What is it → is it real → what am I paying → what will I get back
That is the spine. All eight are live. Start anywhere, or start at the top.
What the numbers on your gold mean
Karat and fineness as two ways of saying one thing. Why 916, 750, 585. Why India settled on 22k, the Gulf on 21k and Europe on 18k — and why a heavier piece can hold less gold.
Reading a BIS hallmark and checking a HUID
The three compulsory marks, how to verify a six-character HUID in the shop, your rights if the purity is short — and the four things a hallmark deliberately does not certify.
Testing gold yourself — and what each test cannot see
Magnet, density, touchstone, XRF and fire assay. The density arithmetic worked through in full, and why tungsten at 19.25 g/cm³ against gold at 19.32 defeats it single-handed.
How making charges and wastage actually work
The highest-value hour here. Why the same "10% making charge" produces three different bills depending on what the 10% is a percentage of, and nobody volunteers which base they used.
What you actually pay: the all-in per-gram number
London spot to the bottom of your bill in six steps — currency, duty, the board rate, making, hallmarking, tax. Ends with the worksheet that reduces any quote to one comparable figure.
Selling back, and old-gold exchange
Buyback terms, standard deductions on old gold, and why exchange is where the margin quietly sits. What to insist on: weighed in front of you, tested in front of you, deduction stated before the melt.
Bars, coins, and where the premium goes
Three products, three spreads. Where the mint premium goes. Why banks sell gold coins and mostly will not buy them back. A plain, unexcited look at digital gold.
Buying abroad: the India–Gulf question
Why gold is cheaper in the GCC, the duty-free allowance, souk making charges against Indian making charges — and the honest answer about whether the trip pays for itself.
All eight lessons, complete and free. Nothing is held back for an email address.
After the Foundation
Where this goes if you want to go further
The Foundation is the shallow end of a four-tier ladder. Every lesson here names the Diploma module it belongs to, and each of those modules spends ten to fifteen hours where the lesson spends one.
Educational content only. Not financial, investment or tax advice. Aurix does not buy, sell, store or broker metal, and does not quote executable prices.