A Little Less Golden: Why 9 Carat Is India's Newest Jewellery Bet

As gold prices touch the sky, Indian jewellery makers are banking on well-designed lower carat jewellery to drive growth. India, which is the world's largest gold jewellery consuming nation, has been cutting down on purchases. After gold prices rose sharply by 52% in FY26, jewellery consumption declined by 21%. As per ICRA's predictions, it is projected to shrink further by 20% in FY27.

To beat the sales blues, jewellers are taking an off-beat track - inching up fabrication of lower carat jewellery in a market that's dominated by 22 carat gold jewellery. While 18 and 14 carat jewellery have been hallmarked, the government introduced hallmarking for 9 carat or 9KT - paving the way for more light weight designs into the market.

A year after 9 carat hallmarking was introduced, the category is growing slowly but steadily. "9KT jewellery has picked up in line with our expectations. It contributes approximately 5-10% of our overall jewellery sales across categories, and we expect this share to grow further," says Piyush Seth, chief category merchandising and design officer, of CaratLane.

Adds Simran Shah, VP - Sales, Kama Jewelry, "The approval of 9 carat jewellery hallmarking has opened a whole new market potential, with this product category driving over 25% of sales, followed by 14 carat comfortably at 20% and about 12-15% for 18 carat jewellery. While the initial year has shown robust performance for the 9-carat category, we are likely to see this gaining further momentum in the coming years."

A few others believe that the 9KT category is picking up in terms of awareness but is trending in line with expectations. "Sales growth of 9 carat vs 14/18 carat's been steady rather than explosive. 9 carat is still a small slice of overall volumes, but it's growing faster than 14 carat did in its early years, mostly because entry price points are so much lower," says Prithviraj Kothari, managing director at RiddiSiddhi Bullions and president of India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

Gold At Affordable Purity

Caratage determines the use case of gold. While 24KT gold has 99.9% purity, 22KT which is most popular with jewellery has 91.6% of pure gold in it. Other popular lighter weight categories like 18KT and 14KT have 75% and 58.5% pure gold respectively.

9KT gold however offers a significant cost advantage to buyers due to its lower content of pure gold. "While a 22 Karat gold component is approximately 91.67%, 9-karat gold contains a 37.5% pure gold component. The overall price, however, is influenced by more than just the gold content. It also reflects the craftsmanship, making charges, design intricacies, and the value of any diamonds or gemstones used in the piece," says Jia Dholakia, head of design at Verlas Jewellery.

Dishi Somani, founder of Dishis Designer Jewellery adds that the total gold value of 9-carat gold is estimated to be about 60-65% lower than 24-carat gold of the same weight. "But the retail price difference will be less since there would be no significant difference in manufacturing costs, diamonds, GST, etc. Depending upon the design, the price difference can be anywhere between 40-60%," she adds.

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A New Set Of Buyers

Due to the pure gold content, 9KT jewellery is also available at much lower costs as compared to 14KT, making it a popular choice with youngsters, first-time buyers and those seeking value for money. In fact, it could attract a new set of buyers and could become a new category in itself, jewellery makes hope.

"The buyer is usually a young working professional, often first-jobber, college-goer, or someone buying their first piece rather than inherited jewellery. It skews urban and semi-urban, price-conscious but still wanting a certified, trustworthy product rather than something unbranded or unhallmarked," says Kothari.

Consumer curiosity about 9KT gold has been growing, says Aarav Bafna, director at Akoirah by Augmont. "The typical buyer is younger, design-led and values affordability without compromising on the authenticity of owning real gold. At this stage, 9 carat is being viewed more as an accessible lifestyle category than a traditional investment purchase," he adds.

In terms of perceived value, 9KT gold is ahead of categories like pure silver jewellery or gold-plated silver jewellery. Most jewellers believe that 9KT which come at similar price points as gold-coated silver offers a gateway for consumers to own finer jewellery.

"Plating eventually wears off. Whereas 9 carat offers real tarnish-proof gold, giving it an advantage over gold-plated silver jewellery," says Shah. Moreover, 9KT jewellery has more resale value than gold-plated silver jewellery.

The designs that go with 9KT gold also reflect the buyers it aims to attract like workwear, leisurewear like delicate chains, studs, rings, earrings are the fastest moving pieces in the 9KT category. Stud earrings, men's cuffs and more pieces are expanding the range of 9KT offerings.

Most pieces have minimal yet modern designs, distinct styles of rings, stackable bands, earrings, pendants, bracelets and delicate necklaces. "Earrings and rings are our strongest-performing categories in 9KT jewellery, followed by pendants. Demand is largely driven by contemporary, everyday designs suited for workwear and casual occasions. Our primary customers are those looking for stylish gold jewellery under Rs 20,000," says Seth.

Moreover, 9KT is becoming a popular choice for fabricators who design pieces with semi-precious stones as well as lab-grown diamonds. "Our focus continues to be on 14K and 9K fine jewellery crafted with IGI-certified lab-grown diamonds, which offer an ideal balance of purity, durability and everyday wearability. We believe these remain the preferred choice for consumers looking for jewellery that combines longevity with lasting value," adds Dholakia.

Bridesmaids Not The Bride

As this casual wear category expands, jewellers hope that this category purchases will extend beyond festivals, auspicious days and weddings - which are top gold buying occasions in India. As per an ICRA report, wedding related purchases account for 60% of gold consumption in India. Jewellers however believe that 9KT might not become a direct part of this category yet.

"In the near term, weddings and major festive purchases will continue to be dominated by 22-carat jewellery because of cultural preferences and its perceived investment value. Where 9-carat has the strongest opportunity is in gifting, self-purchase and fashion-led festive collections. It complements the traditional market rather than replacing it," says Bafna.

Yet, in the great Indian wedding context - 9KT jewellery can be a part of wedding-adjacent purchases. New-age jewellery brand Palmonas has been marketing daily wear mangalsutras for 9 KT category - attempting to infiltrate the bastion.

"In the near term, it does not appear that 9-carat will replace 22-carat jewelry in weddings and festive celebrations as weddings are steeped in tradition, where high-purity gold retains both emotional and monetary value. But there are clearly some areas where 9-carat can succeed in being part of the market. Bridesmaids' jewelry, destination wedding items, return gifts, gifting, and modern festival jewelry are some of them," says Somani.

Few believe that the Indian market will ever shift its love for gold to lightweight gold. Yet, 9KT gold is creating its own niche in the market - gold at affordable prices, interesting designs, a hallmark to validate and value to add to the vault. Most experts predict this category to become anywhere between 3-15% market share of the total jewellery pie in the future.

While volume led gold sales are expected to decline, in value terms, gold jewellery industry is expected to see growth of 14-16% in FY27, as per ICRA. It indicates that the consumer purse for gold jewellery is intact, even as prices rise. And if 9KT gold manages to attract a small part of the pie - it can translate to high growth in this newly emerging category of gold.

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