The Gold Business Has Its Own Language. Here Are the 12 Terms Every Serious Jewellery Entrepreneur Needs to Know Before Entering the Market.
A buyer walked into Zaveri Bazaar — Asia's largest gold market in Mumbai — for the first time last year. He represented a small jewellery business in East London with a real budget and a genuine intention to source directly from India.
Within two hours, he had agreed to pay nearly 12% more than the market rate on his first order. Not because the supplier was dishonest. Because he did not know the vocabulary. He could not read the margin structure. He could not identify what was negotiable and what was fixed. He simply did not know the language of the room he had walked into.
This is not unusual. The jewellery business — particularly gold jewellery, particularly the Indian wholesale market — has a precise internal language that took decades to develop. Not knowing it does not just make you sound like an outsider. It costs real money on every transaction.
What follows is not a glossary. It is a practical explanation of twelve terms that determine how money moves in this industry — and why each one matters.
The supplier who knows you don't understand making charges will quote them high. The buyer who cannot read a hallmark cannot verify what they are purchasing. Language is leverage in this market.
The Twelve Terms
One tola equals 11.664 grams. This is the unit you will hear in India's wholesale gold markets — Zaveri Bazaar, Johari Bazaar — particularly among older and more traditional traders. International markets use grams and troy ounces; India's wholesale trade uses both, with tola dominant in informal conversation.
Why it matters: if a supplier quotes you a price per tola and you are thinking in grams, you will miscalculate the unit economics of the transaction. At scale, this matters significantly.
Karat measures gold purity in 24 parts. 24K is 99.9% pure gold — too soft for most jewellery. 22K is 91.6% pure (the dominant standard in India and the Gulf). 18K is 75% pure — more durable, used widely for diamond-set jewellery. 14K is 58.5% pure — more common in Western markets.
Fineness is the same concept expressed differently — as parts per thousand. 22K gold has a fineness of 916. 18K is 750. 14K is 585. European markets often use fineness; Indian and Gulf markets use karat. Both refer to the same thing.
| Karat | Fineness | Gold Content | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 999 | 99.9% | Bars, coins — rarely jewellery |
| 22K | 916 | 91.6% | India, Gulf — bridal, traditional |
| 18K | 750 | 75% | Diamond jewellery, everyday wear |
| 14K | 585 | 58.5% | Western markets, fashion |
Making charges are the fee for craftsmanship — the labour, skill, and design work that turns raw gold into jewellery. They are charged separately from the gold cost and are calculated either as a flat rate per gram (typically ₹300–₹1,500/gram depending on complexity) or as a percentage of the gold value (8–25% for intricate work).
This is the term most commonly misunderstood by new buyers. Making charges are negotiable — within limits. The gold cost itself is not negotiable, as it tracks the live market rate. A supplier who offers a discount "on gold" is either lying or selling at a loss. A supplier who negotiates making charges is offering a real concession.
When gold is melted, worked, and shaped into jewellery, a small amount is inevitably lost — in filings, in the melting process, in polishing. This loss — typically 1–3% of the gold weight — is charged to the buyer as wastage.
Wastage only applies to manufactured jewellery. If you are buying readymade pieces, wastage should not be charged — only making charges. A supplier who charges both on readymade pieces is double-charging.
Since 2021, all gold jewellery sold in India must carry a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) hallmark. Each hallmarked piece carries a six-character alphanumeric Hallmark Unique ID (HUID) — for example, "AZ4521" — which is registered in the BIS database and verifiable through the BIS Care mobile app.
For buyers sourcing from India, this hallmark is the primary quality verification tool. Any piece without a HUID has either been produced illegally or predates the mandatory system. Buying non-hallmarked gold jewellery in India is now a legal risk for the seller — and a verification risk for you as the buyer.
Touch testing is the traditional method of verifying gold purity — rubbing the piece on a touchstone and applying nitric acid to observe the colour reaction. Different purities produce different colour responses. Experienced jewellers can identify 22K from 18K from 14K by the reaction alone.
In an era of HUID verification, touch testing remains relevant because it provides immediate on-the-spot verification without requiring a phone or database access. It is a skill worth learning if you plan to source regularly from wholesale markets.
The international spot price is the dollar-denominated global benchmark for gold — traded on COMEX in New York. The MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange) rate is India's domestic gold futures price, denominated in rupees, which tracks the international spot price with adjustments for import duty, GST, and currency movement.
In India's wholesale markets, the MCX rate is the reference for all gold pricing. Understanding the relationship between MCX and the international spot price helps you sense-check quotes and identify when a supplier is applying an unusually wide premium.
The ratti is the traditional Indian unit for measuring gemstones — approximately 0.1215 grams, or roughly 0.6 carats. You will encounter it in gemstone markets like Jaipur's Johari Bazaar when dealing with coloured stones — rubies, emeralds, sapphires, tourmalines.
International gem markets use carats (1 carat = 0.2 grams). The ratti is slightly smaller. Being unfamiliar with the conversion creates obvious opportunity for error in pricing.
In India's jewellery wholesale markets, established buyers often receive stock on consignment — taking delivery of goods and paying only when the goods are sold, with unsold items returnable. This is a significant working capital advantage that is available only to buyers with established relationships and a track record.
For a new buyer — particularly one from outside India — consignment is not available immediately. It is earned over time. Understanding that it exists, and working toward it, is part of the medium-term sourcing strategy.
In wholesale market conversation, a pucca rate is a firm, final price — the supplier's bottom line, not subject to further negotiation. A kaccha rate is an opening price — the starting point for negotiation. Knowing which one you are hearing prevents the costly mistake of treating an opening bid as a final offer.
Suppliers rarely announce which they are quoting. Experience — and sometimes asking directly — tells you where there is room and where there is not.
Assaying is the formal process of testing and certifying the metal content of gold. BIS-approved Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) across India conduct assays — testing gold purity through fire assay, XRF analysis, or acid testing — and issue the hallmark certification that goes on each piece.
For buyers, understanding that the hallmark is the output of a formal assay process — not a manufacturer's self-declaration — is important for knowing what the verification actually represents.
In India's wholesale jewellery markets, "party" refers to a business relationship — a regular buyer, a trusted customer, a known counterpart. "Aap hamare party hain" (you are our party) signals that a relationship has been established and that you will be treated accordingly — with better pricing, credit terms, and priority access to new stock.
This is not a trivial cultural detail. The entire structure of India's wholesale jewellery trade is built on relationship networks. Being someone's party — or not — determines what price you pay, what terms you receive, and what access you have. Building toward party status with two or three key suppliers is one of the most valuable investments a new buyer can make.