What a making charge is
Every piece of gold jewellery sold in Dubai is priced from two numbers. The first is the gold: the day’s rate per gram multiplied by the net gold weight. The second is the making charge, which pays for the work that turned that gold into jewellery: the goldsmith’s labour, the design and the finishing. VAT at 5% is then added to the total of both.
In one line: rate per gram x net weight + making charge + 5% VAT on the subtotal.
The rate we use is the Dubai Jewellery Group suggested retail rate, published in AED per gram for 24K, 22K, 21K and 18K and shown on our gold-rate page. It is a retail rate, not a bullion price, and it is updated during the trading day.
Why a Rajkot bangle and a Kolkata choker are charged differently
Gold is gold. A gram of 916 hallmarked 22K (91.6% pure gold) in a Rajkot bangle is priced at the same rate as a gram in a Kolkata choker. The making charge is where the two part company.
The Rajkot pieces we stock are machine-finished: identical bangles in a set, clean edges, even weight and little labour per gram, so they carry lower making charges than the hand-worked pieces beside them.
The Kolkata chokers we stock are thin wire and tiny beads soldered by hand into filigree. The aim is a broad piece that feels light, so there is less gold in it than its size suggests and far more hours, and those hours are what the higher charge pays for.
Per gram or percentage: two ways of quoting the same charge
Dubai shops quote making charges either as a flat amount per gram of gold, say AED 25 a gram, or as a percentage of the gold value, say 12%.
The two convert easily: divide the dirham charge by the weight for a per-gram figure, or by the gold value for a percentage. Ask for both when you compare shops, because a percentage charge rises with the gold rate and a per-gram charge does not.
On very light pieces, such as a Singapore chain, the labour per gram is high relative to the gold, so the making charge is a bigger share of a small total. Ask for the per-gram figure so you can compare it with heavier pieces.
The gold rate is fixed, the making charge is not
The rate is published for the whole market and is the same in our shop as in the next one. No jeweller in the Souq will move it for one customer; if a shop offers to, check what else on the invoice changed to pay for it.
The making charge is the shop’s own charge for labour, so it is the figure to ask about when you compare quotes; the gold rate is not open to discussion. Zero making charge offers are real but usually apply to selected pieces, so ask which ones qualify.
How VAT applies to both
UAE VAT is 5%, charged on the gold value and the making charge together, not on the making charge alone. Only 24K bars and coins of 99% purity or more are zero-rated; jewellery, including 22K coins, carries the 5%.
Visitors can reclaim most of that VAT through the Federal Tax Authority’s tourist refund scheme: minimum AED 250 per invoice, validated at your departure point within 90 days of purchase, refund equal to the VAT less 13% of it and AED 3.60 per transaction. The shop must be registered for tax-free shopping and issue the tax-free tag at the sale, so ask before you pay. Full rules: FTA tourist refund page.
Two worked examples
Both examples use an example rate of AED 450 per gram for 22K: a round number chosen for the arithmetic, not a live price. Today’s rate is on the gold-rate page, and the weights and charges are illustrations, not quotes for any piece.
| Rajkot bangle pair | Kolkata choker | |
|---|---|---|
| Karat and fineness | 22K, 916 | 22K, 916 |
| Net gold weight | 16 g | 22 g |
| Gold value at AED 450/g | AED 7,200 | AED 9,900 |
| Making charge as quoted | AED 25 per gram | 12% of gold value |
| Making charge in dirhams | AED 400 | AED 1,188 |
| Subtotal | AED 7,600 | AED 11,088 |
| VAT at 5% | AED 380 | AED 554.40 |
| Total | AED 7,980 | AED 11,642.40 |
Converted, the bangle’s AED 25 per gram is 5.6% of its gold value and the choker’s 12% is AED 54 per gram: more than double the labour per gram, as you would expect from hand filigree against machine finishing.
Of the choker’s AED 554.40 VAT, AED 495 is on the gold and AED 59.40 on the making charge. An AED 10 move in the rate would shift the choker’s gold value by AED 220 and its percentage charge with it; the bangle’s per-gram charge would stay at AED 400.
What the making charge means when you sell or exchange
Labour does not come back. A piece you exchange later is valued on its net gold weight at that day’s rate; the making charge and the VAT on it are gone. Keep making charges proportionate on anything you may trade in one day, and keep the invoice, which proves the weight and fineness. Our terms are on the gold exchange page.
What to ask for on the invoice
Before you pay, check the invoice shows:
- Karat and fineness, such as 22K and 916, matching the hallmark.
- Net gold weight in grams, and gross weight separately if stones are set.
- The rate per gram applied, and the date.
- The making charge in dirhams, with the basis it was quoted on.
- VAT as its own line on the subtotal of gold and making.
- The total, with any discount or exchange credit as a separate line, not folded into the rate.
UAE consumer rules require the invoice to be in Arabic, with English or another language alongside if you prefer, and you will need it for any return, repair or exchange. Keep it with the piece’s hallmark card or certificate.
For a quote on a specific piece, send a photo or reference on WhatsApp and we will reply with weight, rate, making charge and VAT as separate figures. Or come to a branch and we will weigh it in front of you.