What a tola is
The tola is a traditional weight from South Asia. One tola is 11.6638 grams, usually rounded to 11.664 g, which is 0.375 of a troy ounce.
In Dubai the tola is used for 24k bars, including the 10-tola TT bar, and by buyers from Pakistan and India, where it is a familiar unit for gold.
The tola price is the gram rate × 11.664: today 497.25 × 11.664 = AED 5,799.92 for 24k. At the world price a 24k tola is worth about AED 5,694.25.
The 10-tola TT bar
The TT bar, short for ten-tola bar, weighs 10 tolas, or 116.64 grams, of 24k gold. It is a common bar size in Dubai.
At today’s 24k rate the gold in a TT bar is worth AED 57,999.24; at the world price it is worth AED 56,942.48. The selling price of a bar depends on its maker and on the seller, so ask for the full price before you pay.
A TT bar of 99% purity or more that trades on bullion markets is investment gold, which is zero-rated, so no VAT is added. Jewellery carries 5% VAT, even when it is 24k.
Converting between tolas, grams and ounces
- 1 tola = 11.664 g (11.6638 g exactly)
- 10 tolas, one TT bar = 116.64 g
- 1 tola = 0.375 troy ounce, so a TT bar is about 3.75 ounces
- 1 ounce (31.1035 g) = about 2.67 tolas
- 1 pavan (8 g) = about 0.69 tola
- 100 g = about 8.57 tolas
- 1 kilo (1,000 g) = about 85.7 tolas
Buying jewellery by the tola
Shops weigh jewellery in grams, so a price per tola is the gram price × 11.664, with the making charge and VAT added. For one tola of 22k jewellery with a making charge of AED 15 per gram: 5,371.27 + 174.96 = 5,546.23, plus 277.31 VAT, about AED 5,824 in all.
Tourists can reclaim most of the VAT when they leave the UAE. If you plan to take gold home, check your home country’s customs rules before you travel.