In a new book, personal finance experts advise how to invest in gold, and its pros and cons

On my wedding day, I wore a beautiful Rani Haar, a kind of long, elaborate necklace that is often donned by brides in India. Beyond being embellished with gold, precious stones and pearls, it was meant to symbolise the years of my parents’ hard work and their life’s savings. Running my hands over its intricate patterns, I could feel the love which had been poured into it. Even before I was born, my parents used to purchase small amounts of gold as security, and when they had a daughter, they doubled down on their purchases. They’d wait for any occasion or any other excuse to buy gold – my birthdays, Diwali, and whenever gold prices fell.

I often questioned why. In my teenage years, my mother would often say, “Beti ki shaadi ke liye 10 tola jama karna hai”, which meant that she wanted to gift me at least ten tolas of gold on my wedding day. Most Indian families have a figure like that in their mind for the amount of gold they want to gift to their daughters or daughters-in-law. A tola is a traditional Indian measure of weight for measuring precious items such as gold and is still widely...

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