What you are really paying for, how it is calculated, and how to check you are not overpaying.
When you buy a gold ornament, you do not just pay for the gold. You also pay a making charge, which is the cost of turning raw gold into the finished piece: the design, the labour, the wastage and the jeweller's margin on craftsmanship. On the bill it sits on top of the gold value, and a goods and services tax is then added on the whole amount. Making charges are where two jewellers selling the same weight of gold can quote very different final prices, so it pays to understand exactly how the number is built.
Use the calculator below to see the full breakup for any piece, then read on for how making charges are set, what is normal, and where you can negotiate.
Most jewellers quote making charges as a percentage of the gold value, often anywhere from about 8 to 25 percent. Because it is tied to the gold price, the same design costs more to make the day gold is dearer, even though the labour did not change.
Some jewellers, especially for plainer pieces, charge a flat rupee amount per gram. This is easier to compare across shops, because it does not move with the gold price, and it often works out cheaper for simple ornaments.
Wastage is gold lost while crafting the piece, charged as a small extra percentage of weight. Modern machine-made jewellery has very little real wastage, so a high wastage charge on a machine piece is usually just margin by another name.
After gold value plus making charges, a goods and services tax of 3 percent is added on the total. It is unavoidable and the same everywhere, so it is never a reason one jeweller is dearer than another.
The making charge is the one part of a gold bill that is genuinely negotiable, because it is the jeweller's labour and margin, not a fixed cost. A few simple checks keep you safe. Ask for the making charge as a clear number, in percentage or per gram, before you fall in love with a piece. For plain or machine-made designs, a per gram charge is usually fairer than a high percentage. Always ask whether wastage is charged separately, because a low making charge with a high wastage charge can cost more than an honest single number. And remember that intricate, handmade and branded pieces genuinely cost more to make, so a higher charge there can be fair, while the same charge on a plain chain is not.
If you are buying investment gold rather than ornaments, coins and bars carry the lowest making charges of all, often just a small flat fee, which is why they hold more of their value when sold back. For the gold price side of the bill, our 916 gold guide and calculator shows what 22 karat gold is worth by weight, and our South India gold rate page tracks the going rate, so you can check the gold value half of any quote before you walk in.
Thinking of selling old jewellery rather than buying? Making charges are not refunded when you sell, you are paid for the gold content only, so knowing the pure gold weight matters more than the original bill. If you want to understand what your old gold is really worth today, start with the gold value calculator.