Cash-for-Gold Gains Ground as Jewellers Prepare for Festive Demand

Tue Aug 25 2026

Indian jewellery retailers are expanding cash-for-gold programmes as high bullion prices and uneven consumer demand influence the market ahead of the festive and wedding season.

Kalyan Jewellers India and Titan have introduced or expanded cash-for-gold options since June, while Joyalukkas also offers customers the facility. The move brings a service traditionally associated with smaller and regional jewellers into the organised retail segment.

Under the model, customers sell old jewellery to the retailer for cash rather than exchanging it for a new purchase. For retailers, the programme provides another channel to source recycled gold at a time when high prices are affecting fresh-gold purchases. Kalyan Jewellers executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said, “The cash for gold is really catching up, and it should ideally negate the margin dilution, which happens due to the exchange.” The company said the cash-for-gold share of its business moved into double digits in the June quarter from single digits previously.

Kalyan also reported that recycled gold accounted for 46% of its India business in the June quarter, compared with 31% in the March quarter. The company expects the cash-for-gold segment to be margin-accretive because recycled gold can be purchased below the prevailing spot price. The response has varied across organised retailers. Titan, which made its cash-for-gold option available across its stores from June, said customer traction remained limited. “We are not seeing significant traction here,” said Arun Narayan, chief executive of Titan’s jewellery division.

Analysts expect the segment to grow as organised retailers seek to tap household gold holdings. Rahul Guha, senior director at Crisil Ratings, said the trend is increasing and noted that wider adoption would likely bring tighter purity checks.

Source: https://www.indianjeweller.in/