Indians’ fascination with gold remains undiminished, but soaring prices of the precious metal over the past several quarters have pushed consumers to adopt smarter purchasing strategies that reduce costs while retaining the appeal and weight of jewellery. Increasingly, buyers are opting to recycle or exchange old gold stored in households instead of making entirely fresh purchases. Every time old jewellery is exchanged with a retailer, the gold gets recycled and reused, effectively lowering the need for fresh imports, reported TOI.
India’s gold imports rose sharply in value from $58 billion in FY25 to $72 billion in FY26, according to government data. At P. N. Gadgil Jewellers, the share of gold exchange and recycling, which stood at around 25-30% until FY25, has jumped to nearly 50-60% in recent quarters, said COO & CFO Aditya Modak. In such transactions, the old gold is adjusted as credit against new purchases, while the remaining amount is paid in cash, reported TOI.
