Tola, Gram and Masha: Gold Weight Units Explained

If you have ever opened an old family account book or heard a grandparent talk about gold in "tola", you will know that gold weights come in more than one language. Modern bills use grams, so it is useful to be able to translate.

The units

• Gram: the standard unit on every modern bill and in the BIS system.
• Tola: a traditional Indian unit. One tola is about 11.66 grams.
• Masha: a smaller traditional unit. There are 12 masha in a tola.
• Ratti: smaller still. There are 8 ratti in a masha, so 96 ratti in a tola.

Quick conversions

• 1 tola is about 11.66 grams.
• 1 masha is about 0.97 grams.
• 1 ratti is about 0.12 grams.
• 10 grams is a little less than one tola, about 0.86 tola.

For a rough idea, a 10-gram gold item is a little under one tola.

Why 10 grams is not exactly a tola

People sometimes treat a tola and 10 grams as the same. They are not. The difference of about 1.66 grams matters on higher-value items, so convert exactly when you need to.

Where you will meet these units

• Old family records: inherited ornaments may be described as "two tola" or "five masha".
• Conversations with older relatives or goldsmiths: many still quote in tola.
• Regional market talk: in some places the rate is spoken per tola or per 10 grams.

Reading an old record

If a family note says a necklace weighs "3 tola", that is about 35 grams. When you bring that piece for exchange or redesign, its present weight on the scale is what counts, since pieces can lose a little metal through wear and polishing over decades. See how old gold exchange works for what to check.

Net weight and gross weight

The weight of the metal alone is the net weight, and gross weight includes stones and other parts. For gold value, the net weight of the metal is what counts. Jewellery with stones will weigh more in total than the gold content alone. Our explainer how jewellery price is calculated step by step shows where each weight is used.

Carat versus karat

These sound the same but mean different things. Karat measures the purity of gold. Carat measures the weight of gemstones, and one carat is 0.2 gram. A 0.5 carat diamond weighs a tenth of a gram, even though a "carat" in diamonds and a "karat" in gold are different ideas. We cover diamond weight in carat weight versus diamond size.

Rates per gram, per 10 grams and per tola

Gold rates are quoted in different ways. News and market boards often use a rate per 10 grams. A jeweller's board may show a rate per gram. Some older traders still quote per tola. Before you compare, bring everything to the same unit. To go from a 10-gram rate to a per-gram rate, divide by ten. To go from a per-tola rate to a per-gram rate, divide by about 11.66.

Be sure your bill uses grams

The bill should state weights in grams to a precision of two or three decimals. If you ever see weights stated in tola or masha on a modern invoice, ask for the gram figure. On our product pages every weight is shown in grams, and you can browse bangles or book a visit to have a piece weighed in front of you.