21 karat gold price today
A gram of 21 karat gold is priced at 87.5% of a gram of 24 karat, because 21 parts in 24 are pure gold. The calculator below takes the world ounce price in US dollars, divides it by 31.1034768 grams, multiplies by the official exchange rate of the country you pick (SAR 3.75 to the dollar in Saudi Arabia per the Saudi Central Bank, AED 3.6725 in the UAE) and then by 21/24. In Saudi gold shops 21K is the everyday karat for bangles, chains and sets, harder than 24K and still a deep yellow, so it is also what most expats in Riyadh or Jeddah end up buying. The figure shown is the metal value only. The shop adds a making charge and then VAT on the whole amount, 15% in Saudi Arabia, so the price of a piece is always above weight times this gram price. Type the weight of your piece to see what the gold in it is worth now.
10.00 g of 21K in Saudi Arabia
SAR 4,372
Metal value before making charges and VAT
| 1 g 24K | SAR 499.69 |
| 1 g 22K | SAR 458.05 |
| 1 g 21K | SAR 437.23 |
| 1 g 18K | SAR 374.77 |
| Ounce (31.10 g) 24K | SAR 15,542 |
Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Editorial policy
From the ounce to a gram of 21K
Exchanges quote gold per troy ounce, which weighs 31.1034768 g. Dividing the dollar price by that weight gives the dollar price of a gram of pure gold. Multiplying by the official rate turns it into local money: the Saudi Central Bank holds the riyal at 3.75 per dollar, the UAE central bank holds the dirham at 3.6725, and Bahrain and Oman have fixed pegs too. The last step is times 21, divided by 24. Saudi price boards follow that rule exactly: a gram of 21 is always seven eighths of a gram of 24.
What a shop adds on top
Three things. A small margin on the gram price itself, since the shop buys from a wholesaler and carries stock. The making charge, the fee for the craftsmanship, which goes from almost nothing on a plain chain to a lot on an engraved set. And VAT, charged on gold and making together: 15% in Saudi Arabia under Article 2 of the VAT Law, 5% in the UAE. So a ten-gram bangle costs well over ten times the gram price shown here; the jewellery price calculator shows each line.
21K in Riyadh, 22K in Dubai
In Saudi Arabia 21K dominates everyday jewellery. In Dubai and Sharjah, shops serving the Indian and Pakistani communities sell a lot of 22K, and 18K is common for pieces set with stones. A gram of 22K costs about 5% more than a gram of 21K. Before comparing a chain in Riyadh with one in Dubai, check the karat stamped on each piece, then compare the final price with VAT on the Gulf comparison page.
Checking that a piece really is 21K
Many pieces carry a stamp with the fineness in thousandths, 875 for 21K, or the karat itself. Ask for an invoice that lists weight, karat, gram price, making charge and VAT on separate lines. It lets you compare two shops and protects you when you sell later, because a buyer pays for the metal only and takes a deduction; the used gold calculator shows what to expect.