18K Gold Rate Today in UAE – 18 Carat Gold Price per Gram in Dubai (750 Gold)

What 18 carat (750) gold is and why jewellers use it

18K gold is 18 parts gold to 6 parts other metals, which is 75% pure and gives the "750" stamp you will find on the inside of a ring shank or the tag of a bracelet. The remaining quarter is where the craft lies. Copper and silver produce yellow 18K; a higher copper share produces rose gold; palladium, nickel or silver produce white gold, which is then usually rhodium-plated to look bright white. The alloy makes 18K noticeably harder than 21K or 22K, which is why it is the karat chosen for prong settings, thin bands, clasps and anything that must grip a stone for decades.

In Europe and the Americas 18K is simply what "fine gold jewellery" means, and most of the international brands sold in Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Yas Mall work only in 18K (and sometimes 14K). In the UAE it sits alongside the 21K and 22K yellow-gold traditions rather than replacing them; the karats guide covers how all four compare for colour, durability and price.

Hallmark note: look for "750" rather than "18K" alone on new pieces, since fineness marks are the international convention. Our hallmark and purity guide shows where to find the stamp on different pieces.

How the 18K gold price is calculated: the 75% rule

There is nothing mysterious about the 18K rate. Take the live 24K gram price from the gold rate today board, multiply by 0.75, and that is the 18K line on every shop board in the country. Expressed the other way, 18K is about 82% of the 22K rate and about 86% of the 21K rate. The underlying number comes from the international spot price in dollars per ounce converted at the fixed dirham peg, so it moves minute by minute with the world market, not with local demand.

The practical effect is that the metal in an 18K piece is cheap relative to what the piece sells for. A 5-gram 18K ring contains the gold value of 3.75 grams of pure metal; multiply the live rate above by 3.75 and you have the floor under the price. Everything above that floor is design, stones and brand. The gold calculator does this for any weight and karat.

White gold, rose gold and yellow gold at 18K

Almost all coloured gold sold in the UAE is 18K, because the colour comes from the alloy and 18K has enough alloy to work with. The three colours share the same rate per gram; the stamp is 750 in each case and the metal value is identical. What differs is the finish and the upkeep.

• Yellow 18K is paler than 21K or 22K and holds a polish well. It suits buyers who find the deep yellow of Gulf gold too strong or who want a piece to sit alongside European jewellery.
• White 18K is naturally a soft grey and is rhodium-plated to look bright. The plating wears, especially on rings, and needs re-plating every year or two; most jewellers in the Gold & Diamond Park and the malls do it for a small fee. Buyers with nickel sensitivity should ask for a palladium-based white alloy.
• Rose 18K gets its colour from copper, is slightly harder than yellow and needs no plating. It has become the default for many watch-and-bracelet combinations.

Because the colours are priced identically on metal, a jeweller who quotes more for white or rose gold is charging for the alloy or the plating, not for extra gold. Our page on white, rose and black gold goes deeper into each.

Italian chains, designer brands and 18K in the malls

Two categories of 18K dominate the showrooms of Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Galleria and the branded corners of the Deira souk. The first is Italian-made chain and bracelet work: machine-woven ropes, Figaro and curb links, hollow chains that give a large look for a modest weight. Italy's refineries and chain factories work almost exclusively in 18K, and the pieces are usually priced per gram with a making charge that reflects the complexity of the weave. Hollow chains deserve a careful look: they are lighter, so the metal value is lower, and they dent more easily than solid links.

The second category is branded jewellery. A piece from an international luxury house is priced on the brand, the design and the stones; the gold is a small fraction of the ticket. That is not a criticism, it is simply a different purchase. If you later sell a branded 18K piece to a gold buyer, you receive the metal value at the 18K selling rate, not the brand premium, unless you sell it through a second-hand luxury channel that values the name. Our guide to UAE jewellers lists the main chains and what each is known for.

Diamond jewellery: why 18K pieces cost more than the rate suggests

Readers often arrive at this page surprised that an 18K ring costs more than a 22K bangle of the same weight, when the rate per gram is clearly lower. The answer is that the metal is the least of it. Consider what goes into an 18K diamond ring in Dubai:

• The gold: a few grams at 75% purity, often the smallest line on the invoice.
• The stones: a centre diamond and any side stones, priced by carat, colour, clarity and cut, and frequently accounting for most of the price.
• The labour: casting, setting each stone by hand, polishing and plating, charged per piece rather than per gram.
• VAT at 5% on the whole invoice, since diamond jewellery is never investment gold.

The making charges guide explains how to ask for this breakdown. When comparing two 18K diamond pieces, compare the stone certificates and the setting work first; comparing the gram weight tells you almost nothing. For plain 18K pieces such as wedding bands and simple chains, the gram weight matters more, and there the 75% rule gives you a good sense of value.

Resale realities for 18K gold in the UAE

This is the section to read before buying 18K as a store of value. When you sell an 18K piece to a gold buyer in Deira, Karama or Sharjah, three things happen. The piece is weighed and tested; stones are either removed and returned to you or valued separately at a steep discount; and the gold is paid for at the day's 18K selling rate, which is a little below the buying rate shown above. The making charge, the brand premium and the retail margin on the stones are not recovered. For a diamond ring where the gold was a tenth of the price, the cash offer can be a small fraction of what you paid.

That does not make 18K a bad buy; it makes it a purchase to wear rather than a savings vehicle. People who want gold mainly to hold value generally look at 24K bars, which carry no making charge and no VAT, or at plain 21K and 22K pieces where labour is a smaller share. Keep the original invoice and any diamond certificate; a certified stone can be resold on its own, and a branded piece with box and papers may fetch more through a luxury resale shop than through a gold buyer. The selling gold guide compares the options.

Where to buy 18K gold in Dubai and the UAE

For diamond-set 18K and custom designs, the Gold & Diamond Park on Sheikh Zayed Road is the natural first stop, with manufacturers on site and a strong selection of certified stones. The Deira Gold Souk has fewer 18K specialists but offers Italian chains and the best prices on plain pieces, and a few of its shops stock branded lines. The big malls carry the international houses and the regional chains' 18K diamond ranges, usually at fixed prices with seasonal promotions during the Dubai Shopping Festival and before Valentine's Day, Eid and the winter wedding season. Abu Dhabi buyers find the same mix in Madinat Zayed and the island malls, while Sharjah's Central Souk leans towards 21K and 22K and is less useful for 18K.

Tourists should remember that 18K jewellery carries 5% VAT, refundable at departure through the Planet scheme on purchases of AED 250 or more. Whatever you buy, check that the 750 stamp is present, that the invoice states karat, gold weight and stone details separately, and that any diamond above a modest size comes with a laboratory certificate. Prices on this page are indicative and not financial advice.