The ladder is arithmetic, not a market

The association publishes one rate for 24-karat gold. It does not publish a rate for 22, 18 or 14 karat. Those purities are derived by multiplying the 24-karat rate by the stated purity. The arithmetic is exact, to the rupee, and no separate quote exists anywhere in the market.

The ladder is arithmetic

Each row below is the 999 rate multiplied by its stated purity, and then the tax.

The third column shows the ratio is exact

The table above shows the 24-karat rate in the first column, and the lower purities in the columns that follow. The third column is not a separate quote; it is the first column multiplied by a fixed ratio. The ratio is the purity itself, expressed as a fraction.

For 22 karat, the ratio is twenty-two over twenty-four. For 18 karat, it is eighteen over twenty-four. For 14 karat, it is fourteen over twenty-four. The result is rounded to the rupee, and that is the only arithmetic involved.

A shop's 'better rate' is not a better metal

Because the lower purities are derived and not separately quoted, a shop cannot offer a better 22-karat rate than another shop unless it is charging less for something else. The metal is the same, and the benchmark is the same. The difference is in the making charge, the margin, or the tax treatment.

A shop that advertises a better rate is often advertising a lower making charge, or a lower premium over the benchmark. That is a real difference, but it is not a difference in the purity. The purity is fixed by the ratio, and the ratio is arithmetic.

What the ladder does and does not tell you

The ladder tells you the metal value of a piece of a given purity, before any other cost. It does not tell you what a jeweller will charge for making a piece, and it does not tell you what a counter will pay on buy-back. Those are separate questions.

The ladder is useful for comparing the metal value of two pieces of the same weight but different purities. It is not useful for comparing two shops, because two shops can have different making charges. The ladder is a starting point, not a final price.

Why the benchmark is the only quote that matters

The benchmark is the only rate published by the association, and every other purity is derived from it. That means there is no independent 22-karat market, no independent 18-karat market, and no independent 14-karat market. There is one market, and one quote.

This is not a limitation of the association; it is a feature of how gold is traded. Gold is a single metal, and its price is set by the international market. The purity is a matter of how much gold is in a piece, and that is a matter of arithmetic.

The consequence for a buyer at the counter

A buyer who knows the ladder can see through a claim that a shop has a special rate for 22-karat gold. The rate is not special; it is the same rate every shop has, because it is the same arithmetic. The only question is what else is being charged.

The buyer should ask for the making charge, the tax, and the total. Those are the numbers that differ between shops. The metal value is the same, and the ladder shows it.

The ladder in one sentence

The 24-karat rate is the benchmark, and every lower purity is that rate multiplied by a fixed ratio. There is no separate quote for 22, 18 or 14 karat, and a shop's 'better rate' is a difference in other charges, not in the metal.