How to Calculate Gold Jewellery Price: Formula, Worked Example and Calculator Guide

A jeweller's bill looks complicated, but it is built from four numbers: the weight, the day's rate for that purity, the making charge and GST. Once you know how they fit together, you can check any quote in a minute, and you will see exactly where two jewellers' prices diverge.

The formula

1. Gold value = weight in grams x rate per gram for that purity
2. Making charge = a percentage of the gold value, or a flat rupee amount per gram
3. GST = 3% of (gold value + making charge)
4. Total = gold value + making charge + GST

The rate per gram for each purity comes from the 24K rate. As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:17 am IST, 24K is ₹14,630 per gram, 22K is ₹13,415 and 18K is ₹10,984. GST on gold jewellery is 3% of the total value, and the making charge is included in that value. The GST on gold jewellery explainer covers the exceptions.

A worked example: a 10 gram 22K chain

At today's rate, the metal in a 10 gram 22K chain is worth ₹1,34,149. Here is the full bill at three making charges:

• 8% making: ₹1,49,227
• 12% making: ₹1,54,754
• 20% making: ₹1,65,808

The gold content is identical in all three. If you sold the chain back, a jeweller would pay for the metal, not the making charge, so the more you pay in making, the more you cannot recover. That is the cost of design and craftsmanship, which is a reasonable thing to pay for if you want to wear the piece, and a poor thing to pay for if you are buying purely as savings.

Where jewellers' quotes differ

• Making charge: published guides put plain machine-made chains and bangles at roughly 3% to 10%, and designer or temple pieces at 15% to 25%.
• Flat vs percentage: some jewellers charge a rupee amount per gram, which hurts you on light, finely made pieces and helps you on heavy plain ones. Compare both as a final rupee amount.
• Stone charges: diamonds, gems and pearls are priced separately, and the stone's weight must be deducted from the gross weight.
• Wastage: some jewellers quote a "wastage" percentage in addition to or instead of the making charge. Ask them to combine the two into one number so you can compare.
• Hallmarking: the BIS hallmarking fee is ₹45 per piece, which is small, but check that it is not being padded.

How to use the Goldmitra calculator

1. Open the gold jewellery calculator.
2. Enter the net gold weight (the weight after stones are deducted) and choose the purity on the hallmark.
3. Choose how the jeweller quoted making: percentage or flat per gram, and enter it.
4. Read the breakdown: gold value, making charge, GST and total. Compare it with the quote line by line.

If a quote is more than the calculator says, the difference will be in the making charge or in a line that was not itemised. Ask the jeweller to explain it. Planning a larger purchase? The wedding jewellery budget planner splits a total budget across pieces.

Checking the other direction: what is old gold worth?

If you are exchanging old jewellery, use the resale value calculator to estimate what your gold is worth at today's rate before you accept an exchange offer, and the karat calculator to convert between purities.

Before you buy

Use this together with the Diwali 2026 gold buying guide and the gold buying checklist. The calculator is an estimate for comparing quotes. Your jeweller's final bill is what you pay.

Gross weight, net weight and stones

Suppose a ring weighs 12 grams on the tag, and 1.5 grams of that is the weight of the stones. Only 10.5 grams is gold. At today's rate the 22K metal in the ring is worth ₹1,40,856. If the gold were charged on the full 12 grams, the metal alone would show as ₹1,60,979, which overstates it. The stones are priced separately, so ask for the stone weight and the stone price as their own lines on the bill.

Converting a flat quote to a percentage

To compare a per-gram quote with a percentage quote, divide the flat charge per gram by the rate per gram and multiply by 100. As an illustration only, if a purity were priced at ₹10,000 per gram, a flat making charge of ₹800 per gram would be 8%. Do the sum with the live rate above and the jeweller's actual charge, and redo it on the day, because the rate moves.

How the Goldmitra rate is built, and why a jeweller's rate can differ

The rate starts from the international gold price converted into rupees and includes an estimate for India's import duty and the local premium, which we state openly on the methodology page, because the raw spot price runs well below what Indian jewellers quote. It refreshes once a day, so a jeweller quoting in the evening may be using a different number. Use the calculator to check the structure of a bill, and ask the jeweller which rate they used.

Four input mistakes that change the answer

• Entering the gross weight instead of the net gold weight.
• Choosing the wrong purity, for example entering 22K for a piece hallmarked 18K.
• Leaving out stone charges, or deducting the stones twice.
• Entering a per-gram making charge as a percentage. Switch the calculator's mode to match how the jeweller quoted.

Sources

• BIS hallmarking: hallmark = BIS mark + purity (22K916, 18K750, 14K585) + 6-character HUID; fee ₹45 per piece: vikaspedia.in (hallmarking of gold jewellery) and outlookmoney.com (hallmarking charges)
• GST: 3% on the total value of jewellery, making charges included: cleartax.in/s/gst-impact-on-gold
• Making charge ranges: BankBazaar and BlueStone guides to making charges (bankbazaar.com/gold-rate/making-and-wastage-charges-gold-jewellery.html; blog.bluestone.com/making-charges-on-gold-2026/)

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Gold Buying Expert, 10+ years in Gold Markets

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