By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 6 August 2026
What is a tola in grams?
One tola is 11.6638 grams. The figure is not a rounding of anything: the tola was fixed at 180 troy grains in the British Indian system of weights and measures introduced in 1833, and 180 grains is exactly three-eighths of a troy ounce, which works out at 11.6638038 g. The same 11.6638 g and 0.375 oz appear in the conversion tables used in the gold bar trade today (Gold Bars Worldwide, LBMA conversion factors).
The unit travels under several names. Bengali and Bangladeshi families usually say vori, bhori or bori, and it is the same weight. Pakistan and Nepal both use the tola, and Nepali gold coins are still struck in tola denominations. The classic cast bar of the Dubai and South Asian trade is the ten tola bar, sometimes called a TT bar, at 116.638 g.
| Unit | Grams | Troy ounces | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 tola | 5.8319 g | 0.1875 oz | A common small bar and pendant size |
| 1 tola | 11.6638 g | 0.375 oz, exactly | Also called vori, bhori or bori |
| 2 tola | 23.3276 g | 0.75 oz | |
| 5 tola | 58.319 g | 1.875 oz | |
| 10 tola (TT bar) | 116.638 g | 3.75 oz | The classic cast ten tola bar |
| 1 gram | 0.0857 tola | 0.0322 oz | The unit UK buyers weigh and price in |
What is a baht of gold, and why are there two baht weights?
In Thailand the baht is a unit of weight as well as a currency. For gold it is 15.244 grams, or 0.4901 troy ounces, and a quarter baht, called a salung, is 3.811 g (Singapore Bullion Market Association, Thailand’s gold market). That is the figure used for gold bars, and it is the figure the Thai daily gold price is quoted against.
Finished jewellery is the awkward part. A chain or bangle sold as one baht is customarily made to around 15.16 g rather than 15.244 g, a long-standing trade convention rather than a legal standard (Integrity Legal, Bangkok). The 0.08 g gap is small, but the wider point matters more: the name on the receipt is a nominal size, not a measured weight. Wear, repairs, replaced clasps and solder all move the real number. Put the piece on the scales rather than assuming.
| Thai unit | Bar weight | Ornament convention | Troy ounces (bar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 salung (quarter baht) | 3.811 g | about 3.79 g | 0.1225 oz |
| Half baht | 7.622 g | about 7.58 g | 0.2451 oz |
| 1 baht | 15.244 g | about 15.16 g | 0.4901 oz |
| 2 baht | 30.488 g | about 30.32 g | 0.9802 oz |
| 5 baht | 76.22 g | about 75.80 g | 2.4505 oz |
Is 96.5% Thai gold the same as UK 22ct?
No, and the difference is worth money. Thai gold is made to 96.5% fineness, stamped 965 or 96.5 and called 23K in the Thai trade. In carat arithmetic 96.5% of 24 is 23.16 carats. Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Gulf jewellery is normally 22ct, which is 91.6% and marked 916. A 965 piece carries about 5.3% more gold per gram than a 916 piece, so a buyer who assumes "Asian gold, so 22ct" underpays on Thai work. An XRF assay removes the guesswork by measuring what the alloy actually is.
There is a hallmarking consequence too. The legal standards of fineness for gold in the UK are 999, 990, 916, 750, 585 and 375 (British Hallmarking Council, guidance on fineness, April 2014). 965 is not among them, so no UK assay office can strike a 965 mark and no UK hallmark will ever describe your Thai chain as 96.5%. A 965 stamp is a maker’s or national mark, as is an Indian BIS mark on 916 work. Neither is a UK hallmark, and neither makes the gold any less real. If your pieces carry no British marks at all, selling gold without hallmarks explains how that is handled.
| Mark | Purity | Carats | Usually seen on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 375 | 37.5% | 9ct | British and Irish jewellery |
| 585 | 58.5% | 14ct | European and American jewellery |
| 750 | 75.0% | 18ct | European fine jewellery, daily-wear bands |
| 916 | 91.6% | 22ct | Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Gulf jewellery |
| 965 / 96.5 | 96.5% | 23.16ct | Thai gold, called 23K in the Thai trade |
| 999 | 99.9% | 24ct | Bars, Chinese chuk kam work, some gift pieces |
Not sure how any of this applies to your own items? Send a photo on WhatsApp and ask. We answer honestly, there is no obligation, and nothing is posted until you decide. Or call 07763 741067, 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week.
What is one tola or one baht of gold worth?
Start with the metal content, because that is the only figure with no opinion in it. On 6 August 2026 the UK price of fine gold was £101.70 per gram (BullionVault GBP spot, recorded in our August 2026 price update). Multiply that by the weight and by the purity and you get the market value of the gold inside the piece on that day.
| Item | Weight | Purity | Spot metal content, 6 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tola, 9ct | 11.6638 g | 375 | £444.83 |
| 1 tola, 18ct | 11.6638 g | 750 | £889.66 |
| 1 tola, 22ct Indian gold | 11.6638 g | 916 | £1,086.57 |
| 1 tola, fine gold bar | 11.6638 g | 999 | £1,185.02 |
| 1 baht ornament, Thai | about 15.16 g | 965 | £1,487.81 |
| 1 baht bar, Thai | 15.244 g | 965 | £1,496.05 |
| 1 baht bar, fine gold | 15.244 g | 999 | £1,548.76 |
What would a UK postal buyer actually pay?
GoldPaid’s published indicative rates were last recalibrated on 4 August 2026 against a UK spot of £97.40 per gram of fine gold: £84.75 a gram for 22ct and £92.45 a gram for 24ct, with the full list on the gold calculator. We do not publish a 965 rate, because almost nobody arrives with a parcel of only Thai gold. Scaled to purity on the same basis it lands at about £89 a gram, and that is the figure used in the table below.
| Item | Weight | Indicative per gram | Indicative metal figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tola, 22ct | 11.6638 g | £84.75 (916) | about £988 |
| 1 tola, fine gold | 11.6638 g | £92.45 (999) | about £1,078 |
| Half baht ornament | about 7.58 g | about £89 (965) | about £675 |
| 1 baht ornament | about 15.16 g | about £89 (965) | about £1,349 |
| 1 baht bar | 15.244 g | about £89 (965) | about £1,357 |
| 10 tola bar, 999 | 116.638 g | £92.45 (999) | about £10,783 |
Two honest qualifications on that table. The rates were calibrated on 4 August and spot has risen since, so your firm figure is set after the XRF assay against the market rate on the day your parcel is examined rather than against a published number from last week. And final offers depend on inspection, weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, other non-gold components, condition and the market rate on the day.
The last row is there to make a different point. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used, so a ten tola bar is several times above what a single parcel can sensibly carry. Do not post it. Split a holding into parcels that sit inside the cover, or deal face to face with a bullion dealer who can take it over the counter. We will say the same thing if you ask us.
When is a Thai or Indian gold shop the better place to sell?
Often, and it would be dishonest not to say so. Thai gold shops price an ornament as the day’s gold price plus a fixed making charge, and buy it back close to the day’s published buy price because they can put it straight back in the window and sell it again as jewellery. A UK postal buyer is buying metal to be refined, so the making charge you paid is gone and the workmanship earns nothing. If the piece is wearable, undamaged and you or a relative are going back to Thailand anyway, the shop buy-back will usually clear more pounds than a UK scrap offer.
The same logic applies to 22ct Indian and Gulf wedding gold. An exchange or buy-back at the jeweller who made it, or a sale within the family, frequently beats scrap value on a complete, undamaged set, because the next owner is paying for the piece rather than for the metal in it. Ask before you assume scrap is the answer.
The postal route is the sensible one when the jewellery is broken, single, out of fashion or simply never going to be worn again; when nobody is travelling; when an estate has to be settled; or when you want the matter finished this week with the money in your account. It is also the honest answer when a piece has already been offered around the family and nobody wants it.
How are tola and baht pieces weighed and tested here?
Every piece is weighed individually to 0.01 g on calibrated scales and XRF tested on its own, not averaged across the parcel. Nominal sizes are ignored: a chain sold as one baht is weighed as whatever it now is, and a bangle described as two tola is weighed as whatever it now is. That protects you as often as it protects us, because a set that has had links added reads heavier than its name.
Non-gold content is separated rather than guessed at. Indian bangles and kadas are often filled with lac or another resin to hold their shape, and some 22ct and 965 chains are hollow rope work built over a core. Enamel, kundan settings, glass, thread and steel clasp springs are not gold either. All of it is deducted, and the written offer shows which piece the deduction came from, so nothing disappears into a single parcel-level number. Our page on how we value gold sets out the assay itself.
After that the process is the same as for any other parcel. You get a written, per-piece offer showing purity, weight and rate. If you accept, payment is by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, usually within 30 minutes during working hours. If you decline, every item comes back tracked at our cost. GoldPaid Ltd is a UK postal buyer, company number 17382540, rated 4.7 on Trustpilot from 24 reviews. Photos and questions go to 07763 741067 on WhatsApp, and selling 22ct gold by post walks through the whole sequence.
Other gold weight units you may run into
| Unit | Where it is used | Grams | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tael | Hong Kong, Singapore, Chinese trade | 37.429 g | About 2.46 baht; used for chuk kam 999 gold |
| Pavan or pavun | South India | about 8 g | Follows the sovereign, which is 7.99 g gross at 22ct |
| Masha | South Asia | about 0.97 g | Traditionally one twelfth of a tola |
| Chi | Vietnam | commonly 3.75 g | Ten chi make one luong |
| Luong or cay | Vietnam | commonly 37.5 g | Usually 999 or 980 gold |
| Pennyweight (dwt) | Older UK and US trade | 1.555 g | One twentieth of a troy ounce |
All of them convert to grams, and grams are what the scales and the offer use. How gold is weighed covers the UK units in more detail, and what 916 means covers the carat most tola jewellery is made in.
Common questions
How many grams is one tola of gold?
11.6638 grams, which is 180 troy grains or exactly three-eighths of a troy ounce. Watch for the looser usage: because Indian gold is quoted per 10 grams, people sometimes say tola when they mean 10 g, which is about 17% lighter. Vori, bhori and bori all mean the same 11.6638 g.
How many grams is one baht of Thai gold?
15.244 grams for gold bars, and around 15.16 grams for finished ornaments by the long-standing shop convention. A quarter baht, or salung, is 3.811 g as a bar. Actual pieces vary with wear and repairs, so the weight that counts is the one on the scales.
Is Thai 96.5% gold better than 22ct?
It is purer, not better. 965 gold is 96.5% gold against 91.6% for 22ct, so it holds about 5.3% more gold per gram and is worth correspondingly more. It is also softer and marks more easily. Which suits you is a wearing question, not a value question.
Will a UK buyer take gold with no British hallmark?
Yes. Thai 965 stamps, Indian BIS marks and Gulf 916 stamps are not UK hallmarks, and 965 is not even a legal UK fineness standard, but none of that changes the metal. An XRF assay measures the actual purity in seconds without damaging the piece, and the offer is written against the tested result.
How much is one baht of gold worth in pounds?
On 6 August 2026, with fine gold at £101.70 a gram, the metal in a one baht Thai ornament of about 15.16 g at 96.5% came to roughly £1,488 at spot. A buyer offer sits below spot at every firm; on our indicative rates the same piece works out at about £1,349 for the metal. Both figures are dated and both move every trading day.
Should I sell my Thai gold in the UK or in Thailand?
If the piece is wearable and undamaged and somebody is travelling anyway, a Thai gold shop buy-back will usually clear more, because they resell it as jewellery rather than refining it. Sell here when it is broken, unwanted, part of an estate, or when no trip is planned and you want it settled quickly.
Do you pay back the making charge I paid in the shop?
No, and no scrap buyer anywhere does. A making charge pays for the workmanship, and a refiner recovers only the metal. That gap is the single biggest reason a scrap offer looks lower than the shop receipt, and it is worth understanding before you decide.
Can I post a ten tola bar?
We would advise against it. At around 116.6 g it is worth several times the cover a single parcel can carry, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. Split the holding into parcels within the cover, or sell over the counter to a bullion dealer.