WHere would you go to get your jewellery weighed inorder to calculate zakat on it? I dont have any desi stores in my area. Or should i buy some sort of scale. Any suggestions on the kind of scale then? 
Re: getting jewellery weighed
ira, it's very tricky to weigh gold jewellery with stones. When you come to chicago next time, have 1 of the jewellers check weight of each piece of jewellery and you write it down on a piece of paper and keep it in safe place so whenever you're paying zakat you can just calculate it according to current rate. Simple!!
Re: getting jewellery weighed
IRA...i don't know if it will be possible to do so,but my mom keeps the receipts for all the jewelery items....they state the exact weight of the gold and stones etc...whenever she gets sth new she can update her records...so as CA said u can write them down in a book or so and use to calculate zakat every year...
for items that were a gift etc or whose receipt is not available,and its not even possible to weigh them i have heard that people use approximate estimates too...not sure about it though...
Re: getting jewellery weighed
Married i think i might have to do that. But what kind of scale do you have ,is it one of the kitchen ones?
Corrupt: I have weights written down for some of the jewellery but some of it i dont. Now i am worried about a pair of karay that have a metal rod inside them which makes them really heavy but only part of it is gold. Wouldnt know how to figure out the weight of those 
Re: getting jewellery weighed
Oh btw i only have one set that has stones in it. Everything else is gold in different tones so stones arent a concern.
Re: getting jewellery weighed
look for this one 
I guess you’ll just have to estimate the weight of gold in your kara’s…there seems to be no other way.
Re: getting jewellery weighed
shouldn’t you be doing zakat in Ramadan? Anyway, I just asked ammi and like chipsy’s mom she had all the hisab kitab written down (even the jewelry that was given by my in laws) so I gave that weight to hubby and he paid the zakat on it as per current rate.. by the way, just to let you know loser me suggsested that since I dun wear gold, lets replace it all with diamonds.. stones pe thuri zakat hoti 
(hubby shushed me by saying: khuda ka khof karo :-()
Re: getting jewellery weighed
Thanks MarriedNY.
CA, yeah hubs thinks i should just go with half the weight of karas. Maybe next time i can have a jeweler estimate the weight.
Gemini: I say keep the gold AND get the diamonds :D Also, zakat is done once every year, most ppl do it every ramadan but its not necessary as long as you pay it once per year.
Re: getting jewellery weighed
my in laws have this gram weigh machine... it can weigh lesser weights like .25 gram and so on... so look into something like that... and go for the digital kind.. the one that has the needle pointing to the weight can be dodgy for something as light as jewellary sets.
its good u dont have stones so u can get off easy..
i have stones in every friggin set.. i got every single pce of gold i had weighed in arabia and wrote the weights on a pce of paper...
Salam Ira,
I weighed all my gold on my regular kitchen scale, and weighed all my gold with the stones and everything. I heard someone once saying that we as ppl have started doing so much napa tolee with Allah wonder what will happen if He starts doing the same with us. Also from my own personal experience and my mother's it doesn't harm you if you do end up paying a few extra dollars on the zakat. It is quite possible that sometimes we forget a small bracelet or earring or soemthing its better to go over but go under when it comes to zakat.... just my two cents. Also heard from a shaikh that whatever you give in the way of Allah, Allah gives it back and blesses your earning many folds. Rest Allah knows best.
I read somewhere there is zakat on precious and semi-precious stones...
Re: getting jewellery weighed
sadi79, yes you are right, it doesnt harm anyone if we give over a little bit. Btw, i once heard a lecture from our local sheikh who said there is no zakat on precious stones such as diamonds, rubies etc. That was his opinion and i remember being surprised at the time. I havent looked it up online but i do respect him so i am sure whatever he said he backed it up with claims buti dont remember the claims unfortunately.
Re: getting jewellery weighed
No zakat is on gold and silver, not diamonds, pearls, rubies, etc
My grandfather-in-law used to be a jewlery so he has weighed all my jewlery on his gold scales for me. I always add a little extra to it coz better safe than sorry, the extra amount just counts as sadaqa then. Ira if there is no desi jewlery in your neighbourhood, I think you can still go to a regular jewlery store and ask them to weigh the gold/silver for you
Re: getting jewellery weighed
I throw all my jewelry on a kitchen scale, stones, 10K and all, and then calculate. I'd rather pay more zakat to be on the safe side and it saves me a trip to the jeweler's every year.
Re: getting jewellery weighed
I have an Aunty who just uses her hands to wiegh gold. Its amazing, have no idea about her accuracy, but she just pus it in her hand and after some ummm and ahhhs comes up with the weight!
Re: getting jewellery weighed
Thank you ladies. I bought a kitchen scale and my life is soooo much easier.