Making Charges, Wastage and Polish — Gold Charges Explained
The per tola rate you see on this site is the value of the gold metal. The price you pay at the counter is higher, and the difference is made of charges that many buyers never separate. Here is what each one means.
Making charges (banwai)
This pays for the craftsman's work of turning gold into jewellery. It is quoted either as a percentage of the gold value or as a fixed amount per tola. Simple machine-made items carry low making charges; hand-worked bridal sets carry the highest. Making charges are the most negotiable part of your bill, and they are not returned when you sell the piece back.
Wastage charges
Gold is lost as dust and filings while a piece is made. Some jewellers charge for this expected loss as a small percentage of weight, often around 1–3% on made-to-order work. On ready-made pieces it is usually already inside the making charges — if it appears as a separate line on a ready-made piece, ask why.
Polish charges
A small charge for final polishing and finishing, sometimes quoted per piece. Like wastage, it should not surprise you: ask for it before the work starts, not at billing.
A worked example
Suppose you buy a 1 tola, 21 karat set when 24K is at Rs 409,383 per tola (today's live rate on our homepage). The 21K gold value is 409,383 × 21/24 ≈ Rs 358,210. With 10% making charges the counter price becomes about Rs 394,031. On resale day, the jeweller typically buys back at the day's 21K rate minus a small deduction — and the Rs 35,821 of making charges is gone. That gap is the true cost of the jewellery, and it is why heavy-making-charge pieces are wear-first purchases, not investments.
Use our gold calculator to run your own numbers with today's live rate before you visit the shop.