C Krishniah Chetty and Sons launches new 'Rate Protection Plan

Leading Bangalore-based jewellery house C Krishniah Chetty and Sons has introduced a unique 'Rate Protection Plan', referred to as the ‘C. Krishniah Chetty and Sons - Gold Standard 1869 Rate Protection Plan’. This plan is applicable for buying/ saving of gold, silver and diamond jewellery. It works both ways as a systematic savings and planning programme and also protects the consumer by calculating the rate of the 3 main precious jewellery materials - gold, silver and diamonds. The programme automatically averages the rates of gold, silver and all sizes of diamonds that they handle.

Investment in gold has been an affinity with the Indian consumer, which only seems to be egged by the recent fluctuation in bullion prices, which has prompted this new initiative by the company. Their Rate Protection Plan (originally in 1999 for their private clients and now launched to all members of the public) safeguards their customers from any drastic dip or rise in prices. Official consumption of gold in the last quarter stands at 300 tonnes, the highest in last several years, which may cross 1000 tonnes for a 12 month period. According to a chief analyst at Geojit Comtrade in an interview conducted in July 2011, many investors worry about paper currencies and feel safer to keep in a metal they trust. The Rate Protection Plan provides a secure option for consumers.

The C. Krishniah Chetty and Sons - Gold Standard 1869 Rate Protection Plan carries the following significant benefits:

- Amounts paid per installment may be changed to higher amounts at any time by the consumer, based on convenience and cash flow.

- Period of savings may be from just 12 months to 60 months (5 years).

- An option to pay one installment and take the benefits later by blocking the rate of metals and giving a discount later on the jewellery.

- Giving the consumer a chance to decide what to buy at the time of maturity without having to specify this at the beginning.

- Getting additional discounts and offers from time to time, at time of maturity.

- Allowing consumer to skip installments and keep the maturity period fixed thereby all on-time payments get the benefits.

- Having no upper limits, consumers may pay up to and above Rs1 lac or Rs 5 lacs or more per installment. (Mandatory PAN card numbers will be insisted for purchases over Rs5 lacs).

- Offering multi-option payment methods such as cash, post dated cheques, DDs, bank transfers, Credit Cards and soon On-line.

- Allowing extensions by 3 months or more (minimum 3 months at a time) before last installment is paid.

- Being able to place custom-manufactured special orders with special designers.

- Allowing purchases at maturity to be made at average gold/ silver/ diamond rates which is the rates averaged based on the due dates of payment (provided payments are made on time) or customers can also shift to the cash benefit method, whereby they can buy at 'current' day’s rate prevailing at their stores, whichever is beneficial to the consumer.

“The C. Krishniah Chetty and Sons' Gold Standard 1869 Rate Protection Plan is symbolic of our commitment to our customers. It is a unique Rate Protection Plan best suited for salaried and business people alike’, said Vinod Hayagriv, Managing Director, C. Krishniah Chetty and Sons.