Gold(en) hacks: How Indians are cutting wedding costs this season

With gold prices soaring, many Indians are finding ways to spend less during this wedding season. A popular approach is exchanging old gold, which helps ease the impact of rising costs associated with traditional Indian weddings. “Many consumers are exchanging old gold to offset higher prices, while others are planning purchases in stages to manage costs effectively,” said Joy Alukkas, chairman and managing director of Joyalukkas Group. The savings from such exchanges depend on factors like purity, weight, and the current market value of the old gold. Many wedding shoppers are opting to swap their old pieces for new, higher-purity designs, said Joita Sen, director and head of marketing and designs at Senco Gold & Diamonds, which currently offers full value on old gold exchanges.

Investors are flocking to safe haven gold amid geopolitical tensions, taking its prices close to Rs 1.3 lakh mark/10 grams level in the local spot market earlier this week. Tata’s Tanishq has seen a great response to its exchange initiative. “We have been giving a sweetener saying no matter what karatage, we will not make any deductions,” said Ajoy Chawla, CEO, jewellery division at Titan. Wedding spends in India stand at an estimated $130 billion annually and jewellery makes up for the largest share of the spends—at $35-$40 billion, a report by Jefferies last year had showed.

“There is also a growing interest in designs that offer a heavier look through intricate craftsmanship and volumetric detailing but with lower grammage,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director at Kalyan Jewellers. In fact, many brides today are ditching traditional gold and diamond pieces for more contemporary designs; this trend is partly also driven by high prices.

The second half of the wedding season in India begins in November and stretches through Feb.

(With TOI inputs)