Gold jewellery price with making charges and VAT
The final price of a gold piece has three parts: the gold value, which is the weight times the gram price for its karat; the making charge, which the shop sets per gram, as a percentage of the gold value or as a fixed amount for the piece; and VAT on the two together. VAT depends on the country: 15% in Saudi Arabia, 5% in the UAE, 10% in Bahrain, 5% in Oman and zero in Kuwait and Qatar as of our last review. The calculator takes the 24K gram price from the current ounce price, and you can replace it with the board price of the shop in front of you if you want the result to match its invoice. Enter weight, karat and making charge to see the final price, the all-in price per gram and the share of each line. You will know before paying whether the offer is reasonable and can compare two shops on the same basis, which is hard to do from memory in a busy souq.
Expected final price of the piece
SAR 5,430
that is SAR 543.04 per gram, all in
| 21K gold | SAR 4,372 |
| Making charge | SAR 350 |
| VAT 15% on gold and making | SAR 708 |
| Total | SAR 5,430 |
Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Editorial policy
The three lines on the invoice
The gold value is the one part a shop cannot move much, since it follows the ounce. The making charge is the craftsman’s fee, design cost and shop margin, and it is the line you negotiate. VAT is set by the state: the Saudi VAT Law at 15%, the UAE Decree-Law at 5%, Bahrain’s National Bureau for Revenue at 10% and the Omani VAT Law at 5%. A shop has no right to compute it on another basis.
Three ways a making charge is quoted
Per gram is the most common in Saudi Arabia: the seller names so many riyals a gram. A percentage of the gold value is common in Italian and Indian jewellery shops. A fixed amount is used for set or handmade pieces. The calculator takes the first two directly; for the third, divide the amount by the weight and enter it per gram. More on the making charges page.
What the piece does not give back
Making charge and VAT are part of the purchase price that does not come back on resale, because a buyer pays the raw gold value minus a deduction. Anyone buying gold to save should compare the final price with the gold inside: the bigger the gap, the bigger the immediate loss. The buy and sell gap calculator gives that number.