Guides
What we explain at the counter every day: how bullion is priced, checked, taxed, kept and sold in Singapore.
Getting started
Gold and silver as gifts: births, weddings and festivals
How to choose gold and silver gifts for births, weddings, birthdays and festivals in Singapore: sizes, festive designs, packaging and receipts.
Buying gold in Singapore for the first time: a practical guide
A plain walk-through for first-time gold buyers in Singapore: bars or coins, choosing a weight, the premium, paying, collecting and your receipt.
Spot price and selling price: why they differ
Why gold and silver never sell at the spot price, what goes into a dealer's premium, and how to compare bullion prices in Singapore fairly.
Gold bars or gold coins: how to choose for your purpose
Gold bars and coins compared on cost per gram, recognisability, selling back, gifting and storage, so you can choose by your own purpose.
Choosing a gold bar size: from 1 g to 1 kg
How gold bar sizes from 1 g to 1 kg differ in premium per gram, why small bars are easier to sell in part, and how to think about size by budget.
Questions to ask a bullion dealer before you buy
A practical checklist before buying gold or silver in Singapore: registration, testing, premiums, buy-back, payment, collection and receipts.
What is a troy ounce? A plain guide for bullion buyers
A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, heavier than the everyday ounce. Here is why bullion uses it and how to convert ounces, grams and kilos.
How to read the markings on a gold bar
What the stamps on a gold bar mean: refiner's mark, weight, fineness, serial number and assay card, and why they matter for resale and GST.
Gold
Small gold bars from 1 g to 20 g: who they suit and how to keep them
Who 1 g to 20 g gold bars suit, why they cost more per gram, how they work as gifts or regular buys, and why the card should stay sealed.
PAMP, Valcambi and Argor-Heraeus: Switzerland's gold refiners
Who PAMP, Valcambi and Argor-Heraeus are, why Swiss bars are trusted, what Lady Fortuna and Veriscan are, and LBMA Good Delivery in plain words.
Cast and minted gold bars: what actually differs
How cast gold bars are poured and minted bars are struck, how to tell them apart, why packaging and premiums differ, and why the gold is the same.
Lunar zodiac gold bars and coins: designs, gifting and premiums
Lunar zodiac gold bars and coins explained: who makes them, the yearly animal designs, why they are popular gifts in Singapore and why they cost more.
Gold purity explained: karats, 916, 999 and 999.9
How karats map to fineness, what 916, 999 and 999.9 mean, why bars are purer than jewellery, and why purity affects value and GST in Singapore.
Buying a 1 kg gold bar in Singapore: what to check and how it works
What to check on a 1 kg gold bar, why it usually has the lowest premium per gram, and how ID checks, bank transfer and collection work.
Gold bullion coins explained: Maple Leaf to Lunar
Maple Leaf, Eagle, Buffalo, Krugerrand, Britannia, Philharmonic, Kangaroo and Lunar gold coins: who mints them, their purity, designs and resale.
What LBMA accreditation means for your gold bar
What the LBMA and its Good Delivery list are, and why a bar from an accredited refiner matters for trust, resale and Singapore's GST exemption.
Gold jewellery and gold bullion are not the same
How gold jewellery differs from gold bullion in Singapore: making charges, purity, GST and how each is valued when you sell it back.
Silver
Silver bullion coins: Maple Leaf, Eagle, Britannia and Lunar
Who mints the Silver Maple Leaf, Eagle, Britannia, Philharmonic, Kookaburra and Lunar coins, what they look like, and which security features to check.
Silver bullion for beginners: bars, coins and 999 purity
A plain guide to silver bullion for first-time buyers in Singapore: how it differs from gold, bars versus coins, 999 purity and storage.
Keeping silver bright: tarnish, milk spots and safe storage
Why silver tarnishes, what milk spots on coins are, why not to clean bullion, and how to store silver in capsules and tubes in Singapore's humidity.
Silver bars from 1 oz to 1 kg and beyond: sizes, weight and storage
A plain guide to silver bar sizes, why small bars cost more per gram, how much space and weight silver takes up, and how cast and minted bars differ.
Silver and GST in Singapore: what is exempt and what is not
How Singapore's GST exemption works for silver: the 99.9% purity rule, which bars and coins qualify, and what to check on the piece and receipt.
Where silver is used besides bullion, and why it matters
How silver is used in solar panels, electronics, medicine, photography and jewellery, and why that makes its price behave differently from gold's.
Singapore rules and tax
GST-free gold and silver in Singapore: how the IPM rules work
How Singapore's GST exemption for investment precious metals works: the purity levels, which bars and coins qualify, and what still attracts GST.
The PSPM Act: what it means when you buy gold or silver
How Singapore's PSPM Act affects bullion buyers: dealer registration, ID checks above S$20,000, cash transaction reports and record keeping.
Why we ask for ID on gold and silver purchases above S$20,000
Why Singapore bullion dealers take NRIC or passport details on purchases above S$20,000 under the PSPM Act, what is recorded and what to bring.
How to check a bullion dealer is registered in Singapore
How Ministry of Law registration works for gold and silver dealers in Singapore, where to find the number, and other signs of a dealer you can trust.
Keep the paperwork: records every bullion owner should hold on to
Why invoices, assay cards and original packaging matter for gold and silver owners in Singapore, and how to keep digital copies that last.
Quality and authenticity
XRF testing explained: what it reads and where it stops
How XRF testing reads the metal in a gold or silver bar without damage, what it can and cannot detect, and why we pair it with PMV checks.
Fake gold bars: the warning signs and what testing finds
How to spot a fake gold bar: prices far below spot, unknown refiners, poor printing, wrong weight, tungsten cores and sellers you cannot trace.
How we test gold and silver: PMV, XRF and Veriscan explained
How we test gold and silver bullion before sale: what PMV, XRF and Veriscan each check, and why a sealed assay card on its own is not proof.
Sealed assay cards: should you keep your gold bar sealed or open it?
What a gold bar's assay card certifies, why a sealed bar is easier to sell, what happens if the card is damaged, and how Veriscan checks PAMP bars.
Selling and keeping
Selling old gold jewellery: how it is valued and what to expect
How old gold jewellery is valued by purity and weight, how we test it, why making charges aren't paid back, and what happens with stones and settings.
Buy price and sell price: the spread on gold and silver explained
Why a bullion dealer's buy-back price sits below its selling price, what the spread pays for, and how to compare dealers fairly in Singapore.
Selling your gold in Singapore: testing, pricing and getting paid
How selling gold to Bullion King works: testing at the counter, a price set from live spot, the buy-back spread, what to bring and getting paid.
Passing gold to the next generation: records, packaging and gifting
How to leave gold and silver to your family: keep a clear list, hold on to sealed packaging and receipts, record lifetime gifts, and see a lawyer for wills.
Keeping gold and silver at home: a practical Singapore guide
How to keep gold and silver bullion at home in Singapore: discretion, choosing a safe, humidity, handling, original packaging and keeping a list.
Understanding the market
Why the Singapore dollar matters when you buy gold
Gold is priced in US dollars worldwide, but you pay in Singapore dollars. Here is how the USD/SGD rate moves the local price, with a simple example.
What moves the gold price: the main forces in plain words
The US dollar, interest rates, central banks, jewellery and bar demand, and uncertainty: how each affects the gold price, explained without forecasts.
The gold/silver ratio in plain words
What the gold/silver ratio means, how to work it out from spot prices, why people follow it, and why it has swung so widely over the years.
When the gold market is open, and what happens at the weekend
Gold trades almost round the clock on weekdays and stops at the weekend. Here is how that shapes the prices you see at Bullion King.
Gold in Singapore: a short history of trade and tradition
How gold fits into Singapore life: wedding jewellery across communities, the 2012 GST exemption, and the city's growth as a precious metals hub.
Buying gold a little at a time: regular purchases explained
Regular small gold purchases or one larger buy? How averaging works, why small pieces cost more per gram, and what to ask about gold savings plans.