22K, 24K, 18K gold: what the numbers mean and what the difference costs

Walk into a jewellery shop and the first question is not the price, it is the purity. 24K, 22K, 18K, and a stamp reading 916 or 750. The numbers look like grades, as though one is simply better. They are not grades. They are fractions, and once you see them as fractions the whole thing becomes arithmetic you can do yourself.

What the numbers actually mean

A karat is one twenty-fourth. Pure gold is 24 parts out of 24. Everything else is gold mixed with something harder — usually copper, silver or zinc — to make it survive being worn.

Purity	Gold content	Hallmark stamp	What it is for
24K	99.9%	999	Coins, bars, investment
22K	91.67%	916	Most Indian jewellery
18K	75%	750	Diamond settings, daily wear
14K	58.5%	585	Rare in India

The stamp is the fraction written as parts per thousand. 916 is 22 ÷ 24 = 0.9167. 750 is 18 ÷ 24 = 0.75. There is nothing approximate about it.

We checked this against our own data on 25 September 2026. The national median rates that day:

	Per gram
24K	₹15,268
22K	₹13,995
18K	₹11,451

Divide them: 13,995 ÷ 15,268 = 91.66%. And 11,451 ÷ 15,268 = 75.00%. The rates are not quoted independently. The 22K and 18K numbers are the 24K number multiplied by a fixed fraction.

Which means there is no separate 22K market

This is the part worth internalising, because it changes what you should watch.

Over the 180 days from 28 March to 23 September 2026, here is what each purity did:

Purity	28 Mar	23 Sep	Change
24K	₹14,812	₹15,332	+3.5%
22K	₹13,580	₹14,054	+3.5%
18K	₹11,112	₹11,499	+3.5%

Identical, to the decimal. There is no scenario where 22K gets more expensive while 24K holds steady. When someone says "22K gold has gone up", they are saying gold has gone up. Watching three numbers is watching one number three times.

So if you are tracking prices before a purchase, track 24K and do the multiplication, or let our calculator do it. Silver is a genuinely separate market with its own supply and demand — over those same 180 days silver rose 2.0% while gold rose 3.5% — and platinum is another market again, currently trading at about 35% of gold's price per gram. Those are worth watching separately. The karats are not.

What the difference costs on a real purchase

Numbers in the abstract are easy to wave away, so here is the same piece of jewellery in three purities at that day's rates, metal cost only:

	24K	22K	18K
10 grams	₹1,52,685	₹1,39,955	₹1,14,515
1 tola (11.66 g)	₹1,78,089	₹1,63,241	₹1,33,568
1 pavan (8 g)	₹1,22,148	₹1,11,964	₹91,612

On ten grams, moving from 24K to 22K saves ₹12,730. Moving from 22K to 18K saves another ₹25,440 — twice as much, because the gap between 22 and 18 karats is wider than between 24 and 22.

That second number is the one people miss. 18K is not a small step down from 22K. It is a quarter of the metal gone.

So which should you buy

The honest answer is that purity follows purpose, and there is no single right choice.

Buy 24K if you are buying gold as gold. Coins and bars, bought to hold. Never jewellery: 24K is soft enough to bend out of shape with ordinary wear, which is precisely why Indian jewellers do not make it.

Buy 22K for traditional jewellery you intend to keep. Chains, bangles, anything that will be worn on occasions and possibly passed on. It holds the highest gold content that survives being worn, and it is what the resale market expects, which matters more than it sounds.

Buy 18K for stone-set pieces and daily wear. A diamond ring needs metal that will hold a stone without the setting loosening, and 18K is harder than 22K. It is also the honest choice for a piece that will be worn every day for a decade.

Ignore purity entirely when comparing two shops. This is the real advice. The purity difference is arithmetic anyone can check. The making charge is not — it is a percentage each jeweller chooses, commonly between 8% and 25%, and on a ₹1.4 lakh 22K piece the difference between 10% and 20% is ₹14,000. That dwarfs anything you will gain by haggling over the rate.

Two things to check before you pay

The hallmark, physically. Since 2021 hallmarking with a HUID is mandatory for most gold jewellery sold in India. Look for the BIS mark, the purity number, and the six-character alphanumeric HUID. A piece sold as 916 without a stamp is a piece sold on trust alone.

Whether making charges are on weight or on value. A charge quoted per gram behaves very differently from one quoted as a percentage of the total, and the second one rises every time gold does. Ask which it is, and ask for the bill to show metal cost, making charge and GST as separate lines. A single total is not a quote, it is a number.

Frequently asked questions

What does 916 gold mean? 916 is the hallmark for 22K gold: 91.6% pure, which is 22 parts gold out of 24. It is the most common purity for Indian jewellery.

Is 22K or 24K better? Neither — they are for different things. 24K holds more gold and suits coins and bars. 22K is harder and suits jewellery that will actually be worn. For an ornament, 22K is better; for storing value, 24K.

Why is 18K gold so much cheaper than 22K? Because it contains a quarter less gold. 18K is 75% gold against 22K's 91.67%. On a 10-gram piece at 25 September 2026 rates, that is ₹25,440 less metal.

Do 22K and 24K rates move together? Yes, always, and by the same percentage. 22K is quoted as a fixed fraction of 24K, so over our last 180 days of data both rose exactly 3.5%.

How many grams is one tola? 11.6638 grams. One pavan, used mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is 8 grams. Our city pages let you switch between grams, tola and pavan directly.

Can I check purity myself? Not by eye. Look for the BIS hallmark and HUID, and if you have doubts about a piece you already own, BIS-recognised assaying centres will test it for a small fee.

Rates in this post are the national medians we recorded on 25 September 2026 and have changed since. The home page carries today's 24K rate, and every city page carries all three purities.