Sunday August 5, 2012 Blinding glitter of gold By JOYCE TEO Seen traditionally as a ‘safe haven’ in times of economic uncertainty and as a hedge against inflation, gold is the type of precious metal that few can resist. TYPICALLY bought in its physical form through goldsmiths, jewellers or banks, gold denotes wealth and status, and is a store of value and a way of passing wealth on to the next generation . Today, you can buy not only gold bars and coins, but also gold certificates and gold-related funds . Investment vehicles such as gold buy-back schemes have also emerged of late. These purportedly pay regular returns to consumers and/or offer to buy back gold at a premium to the original sales price. But you must first know what you are putting your money into. On the Web, you may find entities offering gold buy-back schemes telling you that gold is a scarce resource that will continue to rise in price as global demand increases. Gold quest: Today, you ca...