What Is a Tola of Gold? Weight in Grams and Tola Rate in Dubai

In Dubai's gold shops you will see prices per gram, and often per tola too. Many buyers, especially from India and Pakistan, ask for the tola rate directly. So what exactly is a tola?

How much does a tola weigh?

One tola is about 11.6638 grams. It is a traditional South Asian unit of weight; the word comes from Sanskrit, meaning "balance" or "scale". The British East India Company standardised the tola at 180 grains.

Note: some jewellers in India round a tola to 10 grams in everyday trade, but the standard used for bullion in Dubai is about 11.66 grams. Always ask for the weight in grams.

Why is the tola used in Dubai?

A large share of gold buyers in the UAE come from South Asian communities, where the tola is still a common trading unit. That is why Dubai shops sell tola bars, the best known being the 10 tola bar (about 116.64 grams) in 24K gold.

How to work out the tola rate

Tola rate = gram rate × 11.6638

Illustration with gold at $4,000 an ounce:

Weight	24K	22K
1 gram	AED 472.29	AED 432.94
1 tola	AED 5,508.74	AED 5,049.68
10 tola	AED 55,087.44	—

These are raw gold prices without making charges or VAT. For today's live tola rate, see today's gold rate in Dubai, in the "per tola" column.

Tola bars or jewellery?

24K tola bars: for saving, with low making charges. Investment gold of 99% purity or more may be zero-rated for VAT under conditions.
22K jewellery by the tola: making charges and 5% VAT are added. Read gold making charges in the UAE.

Tips

Ask for the weight in grams on the invoice, not only in tola.
Check the purity stamped on the bar (for example 999.9).
Compare the tola rate in at least two shops. Read 22K or 24K gold in Dubai.