Gross weight, net weight and stone weight
Gross weight is everything on the scale. Stone weight — diamonds, kundan, coloured stones — must be deducted to give net gold weight. Gold is billed on net weight only; stones are billed separately at their own value.
Billing stone weight at the gold rate is one of the most common overcharges. On heavier stone-set pieces it can be a significant share of the total.
Purity and the applied rate
The bill must state the purity (916, 750, 999) and the per-gram rate applied. Cross-check that rate against a published board for the day. A rate materially above the derived purity rate means margin is hidden in the metal line.
Making charges
Making is the labour and design cost. It is quoted either as a percentage of metal value or as a flat rupee amount per gram. Handmade and intricate work legitimately costs more than machine-made chain.
What matters is that the basis is agreed before the order, stated on the invoice, and not recoverable on resale. Ask for it in writing at the design stage.
Wastage
Wastage originated when hand-fabrication genuinely lost metal. Where a jeweller still charges it, it is an additional weight-based percentage and is negotiable. It must be a separate line — never folded into the metal rate or the making charge.
GST and hallmarking
GST is 3% on the value of the gold and 5% on making charges. The hallmarking fee is charged per article. All three should appear as their own lines with the jeweller's GSTIN on the invoice.
A worked example
For 10 grams of 22K at a metal rate of ₹9,000 per gram with 12% making: metal ₹90,000, making ₹10,800, GST on metal ₹2,700, GST on making ₹540, plus hallmarking. Total roughly ₹1,04,040 plus the hallmark fee — and only the ₹90,000 metal component tracks the gold rate on resale.
Run that arithmetic on any quote you are given. If the numbers on the bill do not reconstruct from the lines shown, ask for a corrected invoice.