1 tola = 11.6638 grams. That's the whole answer — but if you're reading a gold price quoted per tola and want the per-gram figure, converting an international price in dollars per ounce, or just wondering why Pakistani jewellers don't use grams like everyone else, the details matter. Here's every conversion, with worked price examples.
What is a tola?
The tola is a traditional South Asian unit of mass, standardised under British rule at 180 grains — exactly 11.6638038 grams. For everyday use, 11.66 g is precise enough; jewellers' scales work to finer tolerances, but your buying decision won't hinge on the fourth decimal.
The tola survives because Pakistan's gold trade grew up with it: the Karachi Sarafa Association quotes bullion per tola, jewellers price bangles per tola, and wedding gold is discussed in tolas, not grams. India largely shifted to grams decades ago, but in Pakistan the tola remains the market's mother tongue.
The three units side by side
| Unit | Grams | Used for |
|---|
| 1 tola | 11.6638 g | Gold prices & jewellery in Pakistan |
| 1 gram | 1 g | Small jewellery items, Indian market |
| 1 troy ounce | 31.1035 g | International gold spot price (USD/oz) |
| 1 avoirdupois ounce | 28.3495 g | Everyday weights — not used for gold |
The troy-ounce trap: precious metals use the troy ounce (31.10 g), not the ordinary kitchen ounce (28.35 g). Mixing them up undervalues gold by nearly 10% — a Rs. 28,000 error on a tola at current prices. Whenever you see a gold price "per ounce", it means troy ounces.
Quick conversion table
| Tola | Grams | | Troy ounces | Tola |
|---|
| 1 tola | 11.66 g | | 1 oz t | 2.667 tola |
| 2 tola | 23.33 g | | 5 oz t | 13.33 tola |
| 5 tola | 58.32 g | | 10 oz t | 26.67 tola |
| 10 tola | 116.64 g | | 100 g | 8.574 tola |
Handy rules of thumb: 1 kg = 85.735 tola, and 1 troy ounce = 2.667 tola.
Mental-math shortcut: for a quick estimate, treat 1 tola as roughly 11.7 g — close enough to sanity-check a quote in your head. But always use the exact 11.6638 for real money: on a 10-tola purchase at Rs. 300,000 per tola, the "11.7" shortcut misstates the weight by nearly 0.4 g, worth about Rs. 10,000. Estimates are for the bazaar; exact figures are for the bill.
Worked examples: converting gold prices
Unit conversions are only half the job — what you usually need is to convert a price. All figures below are illustrative (as of 2026); grab the live number from our Pakistan gold-rate page first.
Example 1 — per-tola price to per-gram.
Quoted: Rs. 300,000 per tola (24K).
Per gram = 300,000 ÷ 11.6638 = Rs. 25,721 per gram.
Useful when a jeweller quotes a small item — say a 4-gram ring — in grams: 4 × 25,721 = Rs. 102,884 in metal value before making charges.
Example 2 — international price to per-tola.
World spot: $3,000 per troy ounce.
Per tola in dollars = 3,000 ÷ 2.6667 = $1,125 per tola.
At an illustrative Rs. 280 per dollar, that's Rs. 315,000 per tola — which is exactly how local dealers build their quote from the world price (plus premium and duties).
Example 3 — checking a 22K quote.
Per-tola quotes assume 24K purity. For 22K, multiply by 0.916: a Rs. 300,000 tola rate means Rs. 274,800 per tola of 22K. Our 24K vs 22K vs 21K guide walks through the karat maths in full.
Check live rates: See today's per-tola gold rates in Pakistan on our FIGURES gold-rate page, then convert with the table above.
Tola in practice: reading a jeweller's bill
Here's how the tola shows up on a real Pakistani jeweller's bill. Say you're buying a pair of bangles weighing 2.5 tola (29.16 g) in 22K gold, with the 24K rate at an illustrative Rs. 300,000 per tola:
- Metal value: 2.5 × 300,000 × 0.916 (22K purity) = Rs. 687,000
- Making charges: often Rs. 5,000–8,000 per tola on bridal work — say Rs. 7,000 × 2.5 = Rs. 17,500
- Total before tax: Rs. 704,500
Notice the bill is built in tolas from the first line: weight in tolas, rate per tola, making charges per tola. If the jeweller instead quoted you a per-gram metal value, you can cross-check it instantly: 300,000 × 0.916 ÷ 11.6638 = Rs. 23,562 per gram of 22K. If their per-gram figure is higher, the difference is hidden margin — ask what it covers.
When selling back, the same tola maths applies in reverse — minus the making charges, which are never refunded, and often minus a small dealer spread on the rate. This is why investment buyers prefer 24K bars: no making charges to lose.
Why Pakistan quotes gold per tola
Convention and continuity. Generations of buyers, sellers and sarafs have thought in tolas; the unit matches the scale of real purchases (a bridal set is a few tolas, not a fraction of a kilo); and the entire wholesale chain — refiners, importers, the Sarafa Association — settles in tolas. India made the official switch to grams decades ago, yet tola-era habits linger there too: older buyers still convert mentally. Pakistan never made that switch, and with the whole domestic trade standardised on the tola, there is little pressure to — the unit works, everyone understands it, and changing it would confuse the market it serves.
Common mistakes
- Rounding 1 tola to 12 g or 10 g. At Rs. 300,000 per tola, using 12 g instead of 11.6638 g understates the per-gram price by nearly Rs. 750 — real money on a bridal set.
- Confusing troy and regular ounces. Gold is always troy ounces (31.10 g). The 28.35 g ounce is for groceries, not bullion.
- Forgetting purity. Per-tola market quotes are 24K. Applying the tola rate directly to a 22K or 21K piece overpays by 8–12%.
- Mixing currencies mid-conversion. Convert units first, then currency: $/oz → $/tola → Rs./tola. Doing both at once is where errors creep in — our currency converter handles the second step.
FAQs
How many grams are in one tola of gold?
One tola equals exactly 11.6638038 grams (180 grains). In practice, 11.66 grams is the figure jewellers and dealers use. So a 5-tola gold set weighs about 58.3 grams.
How do I convert a per-tola gold price to per gram?
Divide the per-tola price by 11.6638. For example, Rs. 300,000 per tola ÷ 11.6638 = Rs. 25,721 per gram. Remember that market per-tola quotes assume 24K purity — adjust for 22K (× 0.916) or 21K (× 0.875).
Is a troy ounce the same as a regular ounce?
No. A troy ounce — the unit for gold and silver — is 31.1035 grams, while the ordinary (avoirdupois) ounce is 28.3495 grams. Using the wrong one misprices gold by nearly 10%. One troy ounce equals 2.667 tola.
How many tolas are in one kilogram of gold?
One kilogram equals 85.735 tolas (1,000 ÷ 11.6638). Wholesale dealers sometimes quote kilo bars, so this conversion matters if you're comparing a kilo-bar price against per-tola retail quotes.
Why do Pakistani jewellers use tola instead of grams?
Tradition and market structure: the tola has been the subcontinent's gold unit for centuries, the Karachi Sarafa Association quotes in tolas, and the whole wholesale chain settles in tolas. Grams are used for small items, but the tola remains the price language of the Pakistani gold bazaar.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by NewsFlow Editorial Team. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
