It starts with the spot price in dollars
Gold trades globally in US dollars per troy ounce, which is 31.1035 grams. That single number moves with interest rate expectations, the strength of the dollar and demand for a safe asset during conflict or inflation.
Because the price is quoted in dollars, a Pakistani buyer is exposed to two things at once: the metal and the rupee. Gold can be flat in dollar terms and still get more expensive in Karachi if the rupee weakens.
Converting an ounce into a tola
One tola is 11.6638 grams. So the rupee price per tola is the dollar price per ounce, divided by 31.1035 to get a gram price, multiplied by the rupee exchange rate, then multiplied by 11.6638.
This is why a rate table that only shows tola is incomplete. A gram figure lets you check the shop's arithmetic on any weight, and a 10-gram figure matches how international jewellery pricing is often quoted.
Purity changes the number, not the metal
24K is pure gold. 22K is 22 parts gold in 24, so its rate is the 24K rate multiplied by 22/24. The same proportional logic gives 21K and 18K. Nothing else changes.
Jewellery is rarely 24K because pure gold is too soft to hold a setting. In Pakistan, 22K dominates traditional jewellery and 21K is common in imported Gulf designs.
How to check a quote in thirty seconds
Take the published gram rate for the purity you are buying, multiply by the weight on the shop's scale, and compare with the quote. The difference is the making and wastage charge, which you can then negotiate as a single line rather than arguing about the rate itself.
Ask for the weight and purity in writing on the receipt. Without both, a resale valuation years later becomes guesswork.