Buying gold in Afghanistan: karat, misqal, making charge and the day's price

Photo: Szaaman · Public domain

What karat means

Karat counts parts of gold in 24. According to Wikipedia, 24 karat is (almost) pure gold, 22 karat is 91.66% gold (stamped 916), 18 karat is 75% (750) and 14 karat is 58.33% (585). The rest is other metals. Wikipedia does not list 21 karat; by the same arithmetic (21 parts in 24) it is 87.5%.

Karat is not weight. A carat with a "c" is a weight used for gemstones.

Afghan shops sometimes use fineness numbers rather than karat. The Kabul Goldsmiths' Union prices, as reported by the Afaaq news agency on 2 Aqrab 1405 (24 October 2026), name 22 karat (916), 21 karat (880), 18 karat (750) and 14 karat (580). Pajhwok's weekly market reports for Kabul use other names: "750-carat Arab gold" and "585-carat Russian gold" (22 August 2026). So a "585" piece is 14 karat and a "750" piece is 18 karat.

What it cost in 2026

All of these are prices per gram, in afghanis, and they move every day:

• Kabul Goldsmiths' Union, 24 October 2026: 22 karat 8,450; 21 karat 8,090; 18 karat 6,880; 14 karat 5,490.
• A Kabul jeweller quoted by Pajhwok, 22 August 2026: 750 Arab gold 7,700; 585 Russian gold 6,120.
• A report on wedding gold, January 2026: 21 karat from 9,100 to 9,200 afghanis a gram, and 18 karat from 7,400 to 7,700, depending on the country the gold comes from (Qatari, Algerian, Egyptian, Kuwaiti and others).

Today's figures are on the gold page, with the world price turned into afghanis per gram and by karat. For the dollar behind it, see the rate page.

Gram, misqal and tola

A bill should say grams. Older shopkeepers may still speak in misqal, and here the sources disagree. Wikipedia's list of Afghan units gives a misqal as 24 nakhuds, or 4.4 g, and a khurd as 110.4 g. Its general article on the mithqal gives 4.25 g as the usual figure for gold, and says the weight may be higher or lower. This site's gold page counts a misqal as 4.6 g. These differ by up to eight percent, which on a heavy set is real money.

If a jeweller quotes a price per misqal, ask for the weight in grams and the price per gram, and have the piece weighed in front of you.

The gold page also shows the tola. Wikipedia says a tola is about 11.66 g and is a standard gold measure in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and in the Gulf markets; its article does not mention Afghanistan.

Photo: Mauro Cateb · CC BY-SA 4.0

The making charge

The price on a ticket is more than the gold in it. L&T Finance, an Indian lender, explains the usual structure: a making charge for the jeweller's labour and design, and sometimes a separate wastage charge for gold lost while the piece is made. It may be a fixed sum per piece, a rate per gram, or a percentage of the gold's value, and it varies by jeweller and by design. The same source says it is often negotiable and is generally not refunded when you sell the piece back.

No Afghan source we could open gives a usual making charge, so this guide gives none. Ask each jeweller for it, compare two or three, and ask for the gold value and the making charge as two separate lines.

How to check a price

1. Ask the karat and the weight in grams.
2. Multiply the weight by that day's gram price for that karat. This is the gold's value. The Kabul union's 18 karat price of 6,880 afghanis a gram, for example, makes a 10 g chain worth 68,800 afghanis in gold, before any making charge.
3. Add the making charge you were quoted. Anything above that needs an explanation.
4. Compare with the gold page and with another shop. Afaaq says its prices are approximate, from the morning announcement, and advises buyers and sellers to deal directly with goldsmiths.
5. When you sell, expect to be paid for the gold, not for the making.

The karat prices should also scale with purity: the union's 21 karat price is about 18% above its 18 karat price, close to the 17% that 87.5% against 75% gives. A price that breaks this pattern is worth questioning.

Ask for a receipt that names the karat and the weight in grams, and buy from a shop you can come back to.

Gold for a wedding

8am Media reported in January 2026 that bridal families in Kabul often ask for a list of gold, and that some grooms buy gold on credit. Write the weights and karat of each piece into the list, so both families know what was agreed.