14-carat gold jewellery is 36% cheaper than 22-carat jewellery: Know resale value, charges, loan options

When 23-year-old Harshita Thakur got her first salary, she wanted to buy some jewellery for herself. But the price of gold made her baulk. Searching online for something more affordable, Thakur stopped when she saw a ring from Mia by Tanishq. “It was stylish and fit my budget perfectly,” she says. That’s because the 8-gram ring was made of 14-carat gold, which is about 22% cheaper than 18-carat and roughly 36% cheaper than 22-carat gold (see table). Thakur is not alone. A growing number of young Indians are opting for 14-carat gold jewellery due to rising prices of gold and shrinking budgets. While gold jewellery has traditionally used 22-carat gold, 18-carat became popular in recent decades. Diamond or gemstone jewellery uses 18-carat gold because it is harder and keeps the gems in place.

The newest kid on the block is jewellery made of 14-carat gold. Such jewellery has only 58.3% pure gold mixed with other metals, which makes it more durable and far more affordable for price-conscious buyers like Thakur. Though there is no difference in the making charges of jewellery, the 14-carat baubles are a more viable option for those who want the glitter of gold without denting their wallets.

Affordability and wearability were the focus when Tanishq launched the Mia brand about 10 years ago. “We wanted a range of jewellery that was sturdy, could hold diamonds effectively, and was functionally beneficial. Our focus was on providing cool accessories that could be worn anywhere rather than be bought just as an investment and kept in a locker,” says Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Mia by Tanishq.


The 14-carat range starts from as low as Rs.3,000 and is targeted at Gen Z and early millennials—those between 18 and 40 years. The reasonable prices are also why such jewellery makes for an ideal gift. According to Ramanan, about 50% of Mia’s sales comes from gifting, mostly during the festive season.

Another advantage of this price range is that it makes it easier for many people to buy such jewellery online, even on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, as compared to more expensive ornaments.

Rupesh Jain, Founder and CEO of Candere.com says, “The pandemic actually saw our business booming as people’s buying behaviour changed and their trust in online shopping grew. It also helped us expand our customer base to new geographical regions like Tier-3 cities, especially as we guaranteed a 15-day return policy.” While most of the popular brands in this segment—Mia, Candere and Caratlane— offer a return policy, buyers should go through the T&Cs carefully as this is only available for jewellery less than Rs.1 lakh, and no engraved or customised jewellery is refundable.

For more conservative buyers worried about the resale value, there is no problem because all companies offer a lifetime exchange policy, where the gold will be valued at the prevailing prices for that purity by the company.

However, if you are selling the gold back to the jeweller, there may be a deduction of 3% in case of pure gold jewellery and 10-30% for diamond and gemstone studded jewellery. This is a standard rule and applies to 18-carat and 22-carat jewellery as well. Some companies like Caratlane levy a 2% handling charge for 14-carat gold jewellery and don’t offer cash in lieu of old gold.

The only drawback of buying lowercarat gold is that you cannot leverage this to take a loan. Most banks, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank offer loans only against gold of 18-carat or higher. Others are even more picky: Muthoot Finance provides loans against gold only if it is 22-carat or 24-carat.