In Understanding Gold:Purity,Color,Hallmark we talked about Gold, purity, different colors of gold ex: green gold, pink gold, about hallmarking of gold and why and when Indians buy gold. In this article we shall talk about how a gold ornament is priced. Typically in India gold ornament are made with 22K gold. Price of gold ornaments depends on many factors. The formula or calculation used to arrive at price of gold ornament is given below:
Price of the gold ornament is = ( Price of 22K gold * Weight in Grams) + (Wastage charges) + ( Making Charges) ) + GST at 3% on (Price of jewellery + making charges) (Before 1 Jul 2017 was 1% VAT).
Let’s try to understand Karat, Wastage charges, Making charges, GST(Earlier VAT), Price of gold why it fluctuates and how different jewellers charge.
Table of Contents
Karat and Gold
As we know Gold in its purest form is not suitable for jewellery as it would not be able to withstand the rigours of daily wear and tear. It is therefore alloyed with other metals to make it stronger and more suitable for making jewellery. When this pure Gold is alloyed with other metals, such as silver, copper, or nickel, the Gold percentage decreases. When we say 22kt or 22k Gold Jewellery we mean that 22 parts of the jewellery, is gold and the balance 2 parts are some other metal(s) or equal to 91.3 per cent gold plus 8.6 per cent of some other metal alloy. The Gold content in a metal is measured in terms of karats (“k” or “kt”). Pure Gold or 100% Gold is referred to as 24k Gold.
Weight in Grams of Gold Jewellery
Gold for Jewellery purposes can be weighed in Grams, Pennyweight (DWT) or Ounces (troy). In India gold jewellery is weighed in grams.
-
- 1 Troy ounce is equal to 31.10348 grams or 20 DWT (pennyweight)
- 1 DWT (pennyweight) is equal to 1.555 grams or 0.05 troy ounces.
More the weight of the gold item, heavier the ornament, more the cost.
The weight of gold ornaments
Making Charges of Gold Jewellery
Making Charges are the charges you pay to the Gold Smith to make the Jewel out of raw gold. A good design is a culmination of artistic view and effort to create a wonderful design that attracts the eyes of the buyer. So for making such designs, Jewellery stores generally charge the customer with making charges. This varies from design to design based on the complexity. It varies based on jeweller.
Wastage Charges of Gold Ornaments
During the process of making the ornament, some amount of gold will be wasted or will be lost while cutting, soldering,melting etc. Hence the gold gets ‘wasted’ in the manufacture of a jewellery item. These are called wastage charges and jewellery stores generally asks buyer to pay these wastage charges. Generally, the wastage charges are dependent on type of ornament and they range anywhere between 3% to 25%. Wastage charges are expressed as % of weight of gold ornament.
GST on Gold /Value Added Tax (VAT)
GST and VAT on Gold Before 1 Jul 2017, gold jewellers paid 1% excise and 1.2% value-added tax (VAT) over and above the 10% customs duty on bullion. This effectively worked out to 12.43 %. With the introduction of GST at 3% for gold and 18 % for making charges, and keeping customs at 10%, the effective rate comes to 15.67 %. So, the effective price escalation on gold jewellery comes to 3.24 percentage points
Several states in India apply a VAT on the purchase of Gold in ornament form. Let’s learn little about VAT.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) was a type of indirect tax and is one of the major source of revenue to the state government. It is multi-point sales tax. It is collected on value addition only at each stage.It differs from the sales tax in that, with the sales tax, the tax is collected and remitted to the government only once, at the point of purchase by the end consumer. With the VAT, collections, remittances to the government, and credits for taxes already paid to occur each time a business in the supply chain purchases products. The VAT system of taxation was adopted by Indian States and Union Territories in the Year 2005 by replacing the General Sales Tax Laws. Each state or union territory had its own methods to assess the tax liability and collection methods from the dealers who fall under the purview of VAT.
Price of Gold
Price of gold keeps on changing internationally as well as nationally. All commodities(gold,oil etc) are generally traded in US dollars, hence international prices are important. The supply and demand factor is pivotal in determining the price of gold. There isn’t enough gold being produced to satisfy rising demand. Quoting from livemint:Factors that affect gold prices Demand for gold has been increasing because of :
Governments: International prices of gold are affected by economic affairs. Governments maintain high reserves in the sovereign treasuries to protect against political and economic uncertainty even though gold is no longer used as a currency. For example, if global economic growth is showing an uptrend and financial markets are doing well, demand for gold as an investment (or hedge) will be low as other assets are more in demand
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Globally, demand for ETFs has increased. Typically, funds are required to maintain the value of ETFs sold in the form of physical gold, driving up overall demand.
Dollar Dynamics: Gold is used as a hedge against movement in the US dollar (acclaimed as the global currency for trade), which means typically gold prices move inversely to change in strength or value of dollar. Traders in this commodity consider this aspect seriously while taking positions in gold.
Indian rupee versus US dollar: All commodities are generally traded in US dollars. India is one the largest consumer of gold, and as supply is not sufficient we import Gold. Given that imported gold is valued in dollars and then later converted to a rupee value for domestic consumption, the rupee-dollar exchange rate is important in determining domestic gold prices. That is why even though international gold prices have corrected in the last two-three months, domestic gold prices have increased.
The day you buy the gold jewellery the price of gold on that day will be charged. Gold rates are published in the newspapers.
Bill on buying Gold Jewellery
Putting all the things together, when one buys gold ornaments then the cost of gold ornament(without gem or diamond) is calculated as follows:
Cost of the gold ornament based on weight = Price of 22K gold * ( Weight in Grams + (Wastage charges as % of Weight) ) + ( Making Charges )
Total price = Cost of the gold ornament based on weight+ GST on price of gold based on weight.
For a bracelet of 22K gold of weight 26.320 bought when gold was Rs 2,660 and wastage 24.50% , cost of bracelet works out to be
- Wastage = 24.50% of Weight of bangles = 24.50 % of 26.320 = 6.4484 gm
- Total weight of bangles = Weight of bangle + wastage = 26.320 + 6.4484 = 32.7684 gm
- Cost of bangles based on weight = 2660 * 32.7684 = 87163.94
- Making charge = 0
- GST=3% of cost of bangles = 3% of 87,163.94 = 2614.92
- Total cost = Cost of bangles based on weight + GST= 87163.94 + 2614.92 = 89,778.86
- VAT = 2% of cost of bangles = 2% of 87,163.94 = 1743.28
- Total cost = Cost of bangles based on weight + VAT = 87163.94 + 1743.28 = 88,907.22
A bill for a bracelet and finger ring bought in Mar 2012 is shown below. Thanks to my friend Nandini and Poonam for sharing their jewellery purchases bill with us. Note that diamond ornament price calculation is different.
Bill for buying ornaments
Jewellers run offers like zero making charges etc You can negotiate with the store you are buying to reduce the making charges .Premkumar Masilamani bargained at the jeweller’s shop and saved Rs 3,816 by talking to the manager, you can read his experience here.
Different Jewellers Different Cost of Gold, Gold Ornament
Different jewellers will charge different amounts for similar ornament, mostly due to different wastage and making charge . The following advertisement by Shubh Jewellers shown below brings out the fact.
Different jewellers charge different rate for same Gold Ornament
Bangalore Metro Reporter did an article on TAKING PEOPLE FOR A GOLDEN RIDE…. SHUBH JEWELLERS- Pay for 24 carat get 22 carat Gold. The Shubh Jewellers, a retail chain of jewellery stores promoted by the Rajesh Exports proclaimed that people will save lot of money if they purchased gold items from Shubh stores as they are selling the gold items at real rate per gram and they will not charge for wastage, making and stones. The above picture comparing the various jewellers were part of the advertisment of Shubh Jewellers. But the report claimed that they are selling the 22 carat gold at the rate of 24 carat. As their gold price is more they do away with wastage and making charge. As one of my friend Nimmi says, When you are spending so much money it is better to buy from a reputed jeweller like Tanishq atleast your gold is pure though you pay higher. While my other friends buy gold from their home town their family jeweller.
Exchanging Gold Jewellery
Branded jewellery comes with hallmark certification and has a higher resale value than non-branded jewellery. However Most traditional jewellery does not come with any documented quality assurance. Most of the jewellers would accept the jewels from their own shop and charge melting/usage charge. If ornament is from other jewellers then they do a purity test and would charge according to the weight. As Premkumar Masilamani found out that the Golden Ring that his dad purchased from his regular jeweller shop in Chennai many years ago, with the printed word “916 KDM” failed in the purity test. It had only 80% gold and the rest was mixed with Silver. you can read his experience here.
Related articles:
Understanding Gold:Purity,Color,Hallmark
Why do you buy gold – for consumption as jewelley or investment? What is your experience in buying gold ornament? What are your experiences in exchanging gold ornaments?
_Created with [AIPRM Prompt “Write a blog comment after reading an article”](https://www.aiprm.com/prompts/copywriting/writing/1790234105460559872/)_
Hey there! Just finished reading your insightful article on the price of gold ornaments, and I must say, it was quite an eye-opener! I never realized how many factors contribute to the final price of a gold piece, from the purity and making charges to the intricate details of the design. Your breakdown made it so much easier to understand why prices can vary so significantly between different jewelers and even between different pieces at the same store. Kudos for making such a complex topic accessible!
One thing that particularly struck me was your explanation of how making charges and wastage play a role in the cost. It’s something I’ve always seen on my bills but never fully understood. Your tips on how to be a more informed buyer and possibly negotiate these charges were super helpful. I’ll definitely keep them in mind next time I’m shopping for gold jewelry. Thanks again for the detailed guide, and keep up the great work! Looking forward to reading more from you.
awesome explanations thanks
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Is cst is payable on purchase of interstate bullion sale or vat will be only paid
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This was a good explanation of pure vs karat pricing and content. I think you could say the total cost of all the other alloy metals in a typical ring is easily less than 1% of the cost of the gold content, and basically disregard it from any attempt to understand pricing.
Today Gold Price in USA
Who will pay the excise duty on gold customer or retailer
Excise duty is an indirect tax and can be collected from the buyer. However
in case the goods are manufactured in the workshop and then the same are
sold in show room, then in such case excise invoice cannot be raised on the
customer and in such case explicit collection on the transaction value is not
possible, the same has to be recovered as product cost
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Its also define Gold, purity, different colors of gold like green gold, pink gold, about hallmarking of gold so different typs of jewellery
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future(2012 to 2014) how much gold rate Increase sir
Iam invested gold, Total Annual Incom 4 Lakhs How much percentage in gold sir
Sorry chiranjeevi we have no expertise on predicating the gold rate!