Money Clarity

Gold coin vs gold jewellery: what 10 grams really costs

Ten grams of gold jewellery and a ten-gram gold coin weigh the same, cost roughly the same and look like the same decision. They are not. The jewellery is 22 carat, so it holds 9.16 grams of pure gold, and its bill carries making charges that nobody pays back when you sell. The coin is 24 carat, nearly all of it gold, and its extra cost is a fixed charge for minting and delivery.

At a gold rate of ₹14,170 a gram on 31 October 2026, the gap is easy to miss at the counter and hard to miss at resale: in the worked example below, the jewellery loses 13.3% of what you paid the moment it leaves the shop, the coin 3.8%.

Neither answer is wrong. Jewellery is something you wear; a coin is something you keep. This page puts both in rupees so you can decide which one you are actually buying.

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Last reviewed 2026-11-01

What a 10 g jewellery bill is made of

The technique

Price gold by the gram of pure gold, not by the gram of metal

Jewellery is priced on its carat. 22K is 91.6% gold, so 10 g of 22K metal contains 9.16 g of pure gold. Dividing the bill by pure gold, not by weight, is the only way to compare it with a coin, a bar or digital gold.

Take Meera, buying a 10 g 22K chain at a gold rate of ₹14,170 a gram for 24K. The jeweller prices 22K at 91.6% of that, ₹12,980 a gram, so the gold in the chain is ₹1,29,797.

Making charges are the jeweller's price for design and labour, quoted as a percentage of the gold value or per gram. They vary by design and shop; this example uses an illustrative 12%, which adds ₹15,576. GST then applies; the example assumes 3% on the whole bill, ₹4,361. Check the split on the invoice, because how making charges are taxed is shown there.

Meera's 10 g 22K chain

Gold, 10 g at 22K (91.6% of ₹14,170): ₹1,29,797
Making charges, illustrative 12%: ₹15,576
GST, 3% of the bill: ₹4,361
She pays: ₹1,49,734
Pure gold in the chain: 9.16 g
Cost per gram of pure gold: ₹16,346

Illustrative making charge. Rate as on 31 October 2026, before GST.

Ask for making charges as a rupee figure, not only a percentage. The percentage hides how much of the bill is labour
The carat is part of the price. A 22K piece billed at the 24K rate charges you for 10 g of gold when it holds 9.16 g

What a 10 g coin bill is made of

Rahul buys a 10 g 24K coin of 999.9 fineness instead. The gold is 10 g at ₹14,170, or ₹1,41,700. GST at 3% adds ₹4,251. A coin has no design premium in the jewellery sense; it has a fixed minting and insured-delivery charge, which for a 10 g coin starts at ₹1,299.

He pays ₹1,47,250 for almost exactly 10 g of pure gold, or ₹14,726 a gram of pure gold. That is ₹1,620 a gram less than Meera's chain, for the same metal.

Rahul's 10 g 24K coin

Gold, 10 g at ₹14,170: ₹1,41,700
GST, 3% of the gold: ₹4,251
Minting and insured delivery: ₹1,299
He pays: ₹1,47,250
Cost per gram of pure gold: ₹14,726

Minting charge for the lowest-priced 10 g coin listed on unyfy.co.in/gold on 31 October 2026.

On small coins the fixed charge weighs more: ₹299 on a 0.1 g coin is about a sixth of its price. Buy the weight you mean to keep, not the smallest that fits the budget

What comes back when you sell

When gold is sold, the buyer pays for the gold in it at the day's rate, less any margin of their own. Making charges and GST are not paid back. So the question at purchase is not only what you pay, but how much of it is gold.

Suppose both sell on a day when the rate is unchanged and the buyer takes no margin. Meera's chain fetches the value of 9.16 g of pure gold, ₹1,29,797: ₹19,937 less than she paid, or 13.3%. Rahul's coin fetches ₹1,41,700: ₹5,550 less, or 3.8%.

	22K chain	24K coin
Paid	₹1,49,734	₹1,47,250
Gold value at the same rate	₹1,29,797	₹1,41,700
Not coming back	₹19,937	₹5,550
Share of what was paid	13.3%	3.8%

Illustrative: same gold rate on the day of sale and no buyer margin. Real buyers deduct a margin, which widens both gaps.

Gold has to rise 13.3% before Meera's chain is worth what she paid for it; Rahul's coin needs 3.8%
Exchanging old jewellery for new resets the making charge each time. Over a lifetime of exchanges that is the largest cost of holding gold as jewellery

When jewellery is the right buy

If the gold will be worn, the making charge is the price of something you use, like the stitching on a garment. A wedding set worn for decades has paid for its making many times over. The mistake is only in calling it an investment and then comparing its return with a coin's.

Jewellery is also the right choice when the occasion calls for it. The arithmetic above changes what you expect at resale, not what you buy for a wedding.

If it will be worn, buy jewellery and count the making charge as the price of the design
If it will sit in a locker, a coin or bar keeps more of what you pay

Before you pay for either

A few checks protect the rupees above, whichever you choose.

Jewellery: look for the BIS hallmark with a six-digit HUID, and check the HUID in the BIS Care app before you pay
Coins: check the fineness stamped on the coin (999 or 999.9 for 24K), and keep the sealed pack and certificate intact if you want an easy resale
Ask for the bill to show the gold rate used, the weight, the carat, the making charge in rupees and GST on separate lines
Compare the final amount per gram of pure gold, not the rate on the board: divide the bill by the pure gold it buys

Common questions

Is a gold coin better than jewellery for investment?

For holding gold as savings, yes in most cases. In the worked example at ₹14,170 a gram, 10 g of 22K jewellery cost ₹1,49,734 for 9.16 g of pure gold, while a 10 g 24K coin cost ₹1,47,250 for 10 g. At resale the chain recovered 86.7% of its price and the coin 96.2%, before any buyer's margin.

Are making charges refunded when I sell jewellery?

No. A buyer pays for the gold content at the day's rate, less their own margin. Making charges and GST stay spent, which is why jewellery has to rise further in price before it is worth what you paid.

What is the difference between 22K and 24K gold?

22K is 91.6% gold; 24K coins are usually 999 or 999.9 fine, effectively pure. 10 g of 22K holds 9.16 g of gold, worth ₹11,761 less than 10 g of 24K at a rate of ₹14,170 a gram.

Should I buy a gold coin or jewellery for Dhanteras?

Buy what you will use. Jewellery you will wear justifies its making charge; gold bought as a keepsake or savings keeps more of its value as a coin. Either way, check the hallmark or fineness and ask for the gold, making charge and GST on separate lines.

Does Unyfy sell gold coins?

Yes. Unyfy sells 24K, 999.9-fine SafeGold coins from 0.1 g to 50 g on unyfy.co.in/gold, delivered insured, with GST and the minting and delivery charge shown separately before payment.

At the same gold rate, 10 g of 22K jewellery and a 10 g 24K coin cost within ₹2,500 of each other, but the chain buys 9.16 g of pure gold and the coin 10 g. In the worked example, 13.3% of the jewellery bill does not come back at resale, against 3.8% for the coin. Buy jewellery to wear and a coin to keep, and price both per gram of pure gold.

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