Gold Price by Tola, Gram and Karat: A Counter Guide

To price gold jewelry by weight, multiply the net gold weight by today’s rate for that karat, then add the making charge, any wastage your market uses, and the value of the stones. The arithmetic is simple; the mistakes come from mixing units (grams, tola, troy ounce), using the wrong purity, or applying the making charge differently from one counter to the next.

This guide walks through the units, the purity table, the three common ways to charge making, wastage, and stone value, then works through three full examples. Every rate below is an example rate, not a live price. Use your own daily rate from your association, wholesaler or bullion supplier.

Which weight unit should a gold counter use?

Use the unit your customers think in, and record the gram weight underneath it. In the US, customers and suppliers talk in grams and pennyweight, and bullion is quoted per troy ounce. In Pakistan and many Gulf shops run by South Asian jewelers, the tola is the everyday unit. Grams are the safe common base for all of them.

The units side by side

Unit	Grams	Where you hear it
Gram	1	Everywhere; the base for calculation
Ratti	0.1215	Pakistan, North India, older bazaar trade
Masha	0.972 (8 ratti)	Pakistan, North India
Tola	11.664 (12 masha)	Pakistan sarafa bazaars, Gulf souks, South Asian stores in the US
Troy ounce	31.1035	International bullion quotes, US wholesale

Two practical notes. First, the troy ounce is not the ounce on a kitchen scale; that one is about 28.35 grams. If you divide an international per-ounce quote by 28.35 you will under-price every gram you sell. Second, the tola figure of 11.664 grams is the standard one. A few older family shops still talk about a “rounded” tola of 10 grams for quick quotes, but that is a different number and should never be mixed into invoices.

Converting a per-ounce quote to a per-gram rate

Divide the per-troy-ounce price by 31.1035. Example: if a bullion quote were 3,732.42 per troy ounce, the per-gram 24K rate would be 3,732.42 ÷ 31.1035 = 120.00 per gram. To get a per-tola rate, multiply the per-gram rate by 11.664: 120 × 11.664 = 1,399.68 per tola.

How does karat purity change the rate?

Karat tells you how much of the piece is pure gold. Multiply the 24K rate by the purity factor to get the rate for that karat. A 22K piece is 91.6% gold, so its per-gram metal rate is 91.6% of the 24K rate.

Karat	Purity	Common hallmark number	Typical market
24K	99.9%	999	Bars, coins, some Chinese-style chuk kam jewelry
22K	91.6%	916	South Asian and Gulf bridal sets, bangles
21K	87.5%	875	Gulf and Arab-market jewellery
18K	75.0%	750	Diamond settings, Western fine jewelry
14K	58.5%	585	US bridal and everyday jewelry
10K	41.7%	417	US entry-level jewelry

Derived rate or quoted rate?

There are two honest ways to set a 22K or 21K rate:

• Derived: take the 24K rate and multiply by purity. This is transparent and easy to explain at the counter.
• Quoted: use the separate 22K or 21K rate your local association, souk wholesaler or supplier publishes for the day. In Pakistan, the sarafa associations publish daily per-tola rates; in the Gulf, retailers often display rates per gram for 24K, 22K, 21K and 18K.

The quoted rate may not equal 24K × purity exactly, because it can include market conventions. Neither method is wrong. What matters is that every counter in your shop uses the same method on the same day, and that the rate on the tag matches the rate on the invoice.

What are the ways to charge making?

The making charge covers design, labour, finishing and your overhead. It is added on top of the metal value. There are three common methods, and many shops use more than one depending on the piece.

Per gram (or per tola)

A fixed amount for every gram of gold. It scales with weight, so a heavy bangle carries more making than a light chain. Common in the Gulf and South Asia for machine-made and standard designs. In Pakistan you will often hear it quoted per tola; convert it to per gram (divide by 11.664) before you put it into a system that calculates in grams.

Flat per piece

One amount for the piece regardless of weight. Good for hand-made, detailed or one-off designs where the work, not the weight, drives the cost. Also simple for light items where a per-gram charge would be too small to cover the labour.

Percentage of metal value

A percentage of the metal value. This moves with the gold price: on a high-rate day the making charge rises too. Some customers find this fair; others dislike that the labour “costs more” when gold goes up. If you use it, say so clearly on the invoice.

Method	Moves with weight	Moves with gold rate	Best for
Per gram / per tola	Yes	No	Standard designs, chains, bangles
Flat per piece	No	No	Hand-made, light or detailed pieces
Percentage of metal	Yes (via metal value)	Yes	Shops that want margin to track the market

What is wastage and when do you add it?

Wastage is an allowance for metal lost in manufacturing: filings, polishing, casting loss. It is usually written as a percentage of the item’s weight and added to the chargeable weight before you multiply by the rate. It is common in Pakistan and in South Asian shops in the Gulf; in US retail, the loss is usually built into the making charge instead.

If you charge wastage, show it as its own line. A customer who sees “net weight 17.982 g, wastage 4%, chargeable weight 18.701 g” can check the sum. A customer who sees only a final price, and then weighs the piece somewhere else, will think they were overcharged.

How do you price the stones?

Deduct the stone weight from the gross weight so gold is charged only on gold, then add the stones as a separate value. Diamonds and certified stones carry their own price; small accent stones and polki or kundan work may be priced per piece or per carat.

Write three weights on the tag: gross weight, stone weight, net gold weight. This is the single habit that prevents the most arguments at a gold counter, and it is the first thing a careful customer or a second jeweler will check.

Worked example 1: a 22K pendant in three markets

Example only. These are example rates, not today’s gold price.

The piece: a 22K pendant with a small stone. Net gold weight 23.328 g (exactly 2 tola). Making charge per gram. Stone value added separately.

Line	US (example)	UAE (example)	Pakistan (example)
Example 24K rate per gram	$120.00	AED 440.00	Rs 34,000
22K rate per gram (× 0.916)	$109.92	AED 403.04	Rs 31,144
22K rate per tola (× 11.664)	$1,282.11	AED 4,701.06	Rs 363,263.62
Metal value (23.328 g × 22K rate)	$2,564.21	AED 9,402.12	Rs 726,527.23
Example making charge per gram	$18.00	AED 45.00	Rs 2,500
Making charge (23.328 g × rate)	$419.90	AED 1,049.76	Rs 58,320.00
Example stone value	$240.00	AED 900.00	Rs 55,000
Total before tax	$3,224.12	AED 11,351.88	Rs 839,847.23

Check the Pakistan line by tola: 2 tola × Rs 363,263.616 = Rs 726,527.23, the same metal value. In Pakistan the making charge would often be quoted per tola: Rs 2,500 per gram is Rs 29,160 per tola (2,500 × 11.664), and 2 tola × 29,160 = Rs 58,320.

Tax is a separate step. US sales tax depends on the state and is added at checkout. UAE prices are generally shown VAT-inclusive, and gold has special VAT rules in the UAE, so confirm the treatment of metal, making charge and old-gold exchange with your tax adviser. Pakistan has its own sales tax regime. Keep tax out of the metal arithmetic and add it as its own line.

Worked example 2: tola, masha and ratti with wastage

Example only. Example rate and example charges.

The piece: a 22K bangle in a Pakistan shop, weighed at 1 tola 6 masha 4 ratti net gold. The shop charges 4% wastage and a flat making charge of Rs 15,000 for this design.

Step	Calculation	Result
1 tola	1 × 11.664 g	11.664 g
6 masha	6 × 0.972 g	5.832 g
4 ratti	4 × 0.1215 g	0.486 g
Net gold weight	11.664 + 5.832 + 0.486	17.982 g
Wastage (4%)	17.982 × 0.04	0.719 g
Chargeable weight	17.982 + 0.719	18.701 g
Metal value at example 22K rate Rs 31,144/g	18.70128 × 31,144	Rs 582,432.66
Flat making charge (example)		Rs 15,000.00
Total before tax		Rs 597,432.66

Notice that wastage is charged at the gold rate because it is extra gold weight, not labour. That is why it should be its own line: it moves with the rate, and the customer should be able to see it.

Worked example 3: an 18K ring with a percentage making charge

Example only. Example rate and example charges.

The piece: an 18K ring in a US store. Net gold weight 6.5 g. The store charges making at 12% of metal value, and the center stone is valued separately.

Step	Calculation	Result
Example 24K rate		$120.00 per gram
18K rate (× 0.75)	120 × 0.75	$90.00 per gram
Metal value	6.5 × 90	$585.00
Making charge (12% of metal)	585 × 0.12	$70.20
Example stone value		$240.00
Total before tax	585 + 70.20 + 240	$895.20

Many US stores do not show this breakdown and simply price the ring. That is fine for fashion and bridal pieces. But if you sell heavy gold chains or bangles by weight, a written breakdown builds trust, especially with customers who know the rate.

How should you handle a volatile gold day?

Set the rate once, at opening, and change it deliberately if the market moves enough to matter. The danger on a volatile day is not the rate itself; it is that different counters are using different rates, or that printed tags still carry yesterday’s price.

A practical routine:

1. At opening, enter the day’s rate for each karat you sell.
2. Print or show the rate where staff and customers can see it.
3. Price weight-based items from the rate, not from a fixed sticker price.
4. If the rate changes mid-day, update it once, centrally, and note the time.
5. For quotations and layaways, write down which rate applies and until when. (See our guide to writing a layaway policy for the “fix at sale or at completion” decision.)

Old gold exchange on the same day

When a customer trades in old gold against a new piece, weigh it, test the karat, apply your stated deduction and value it at the same day’s rate. Example: at a 3% deduction, 10 g of old 22K at an example 22K rate of $109.92 per gram would be valued at 10 × 0.97 × 109.92 = $1,066.22. Record it as a purchase from the customer with weight, karat and deduction, then offset it against the sale. Our old gold exchange page shows how that is recorded.

How GetJewelryPOS handles weight-based pricing

GetJewelryPOS stores weights in grams, tola, masha/ratti and troy ounces, with the karat purity for 24K, 22K, 21K, 18K and 14K. You enter today’s rate yourself; the software does not fetch or quote a live rate. Weight-based items are then priced as weight × that day’s karat rate + making charge (per gram, flat or percentage) + stone value. Details are on the gold pricing by weight page, and jewelry tags and labels covers printing gross, stone and net weight on narrow barbell tags.

What to do next

• Write down your shop’s rule: derived or quoted karat rate, which making method for which category, and whether you charge wastage.
• Re-tag your weight-priced stock with gross, stone and net gold weight.
• Rehearse one worked example with every counter staff member until they get the same total.
• If you are moving off a spreadsheet, see how it works and the plans, or read how to verify diamond certificates and serial numbers for the stones side of the tag.