When Harshita Thakur, 23, got her first salary, she wanted to buy something. jewelery own sake. but the price Sleep made him a dwarf. While searching online for something more affordable, Thakur stopped when she saw a ring from Miya by Tanishk. “It was stylish and fit my budget perfectly,” she says. This is because the 8 gram ring was made of 14 carats gold, which about 22% cheaper than 18 carats and cheaper by about 36% 22 carats gold (see table). Thakur is not alone. Due to rising gold prices and shrinking budget, an increasing number of young Indians are opting for 14 carat gold jewellery. While 22 karat gold is traditionally used in gold jewellery, 18 karat has become popular in recent decades. 18 karat gold is used in diamond or gemstone jewelery because it is hard and keeps the gems in place.

The newest kid on the block is jewelery made from 14 karat gold. This type of jewelery contains only 58.3% pure gold mixed with other metals, making it more durable and far more affordable for price-conscious buyers like Thakur. Although there is no difference in the making charges of the jewellery, 14 karat baubles are a more viable option for those who want the sparkle of gold without putting a dent in their wallet.

When Tanishq launched the Mia brand nearly 10 years ago, the focus was on affordability and wearability. “We wanted a series of jewelry that was

could hold diamonds effectively, and was functionally beneficial. Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Mia by Tanishq, says, “Our focus was to provide great accessories that can be worn anywhere instead of buying them as investments and keeping them in the locker.”

The 14 carat range starts from as low as Rs 3,000 and is targeted at Gen Z and early millennials- between 18 and 40 years. Reasonable price is also the reason why such jewelery makes a perfect gift. According to Ramanan, about 50% of Miya’s sales come from gifts, mostly during the festive season.

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

Rupesh Jain, Founder and CEO, Candere.com says, “The pandemic really saw our business flourish as people’s buying behavior changed and their confidence in online shopping increased. This helped us expand our customer base to newer geographies such as tier-3 cities, especially as we offered a guaranteed 15-day return policy. While most of the popular brands in this segment—Mia, Candair and Caratlane—offer a return policy, buyers should go through the T&C carefully as it is available only for jewelery below Rs 1 lakh, and Any engraved or customized jewelery is not refundable. ,

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

However, if you are selling the gold back to the jeweler, there may be a deduction of 3% in case of pure gold jewelery and 10-30% for diamond and gem studded jewellery. This is a standard rule and applies to 18 carat and 22 carat jewellery. Some companies like Caratlane levy a 2% handling charge for 14K gold jewelery and do not offer cash against old gold.

The only drawback of buying lower karat gold is that you cannot leverage it to take a loan. Most banks, including

And offer loans only on gold of 18 carats or more. Others are even more like: Offers loan against gold only if it is 22-karat or 24-karat.