Hyderabad’s gold buyers and sellers stuck in pricey dilemmas

Rising gold prices in India impact wedding dreams and jewellers, causing financial strain and uncertainty in the market.

The Angadi family had a simple, sentimental dream: to gift both daughters the same amount of gold for their wedding — a quiet symbol of love and equality. But as the younger daughter prepares to tie the knot in 2025, that dream has turned pricey as the gold price crossed the six figure mark.

“In February 2019, when my elder sister got married, we bought 20 tolas for ₹13–₹14 lakh,” said Harish Angadi, a PR professional from Hyderabad. “The rate was around ₹58,000–60,000 per 10 gm. Now we’ve spent ₹16.5 lakh and could only afford about 15 tolas. We’re still short by 4–5 tolas.”

The emotional toll is just as heavy. “We always wanted to keep it equal, but now with the rise, we have to cut down on gold to manage other wedding expenses. My younger sister is really disappointed,” Mr. Harish admitted.

Their recent visit to Sri Krishna Jewellers in Begum Bazar drove home the point. “As we entered, the owner erased the rate on the board — ₹97,500 shot up to ₹98,000 in a minute. Had we come earlier, we could’ve bought half a tola more,” he chuckled.

After months of volatility, gold prices in India surged to historic highs this week, with retail rates breaching the ₹1 lakh mark on Tuesday.

For Sreenidhi (name changed), who was planning her dream proposal, the timing couldn’t be worse. “I was so excited, scrolling the Tanishq app on Sunday evening. The cost of the ring I loved jumped ₹44,000 in just 14 hours.”

Her to-be-fiancé had set a budget of ₹1.2–1.5 lakh. “The ring was slightly above that, and I’d almost convinced him. But now it’s close to ₹2 lakh, without GST. We may have to skip our beach-destination proposal just to afford it.”