u/Inevitable-System150

I’ve been noticing something in silver pricing lately that honestly doesn’t sit right with me, and I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about it.
Most stores are selling 92.5 (sterling) silver but pricing it based on 100% pure silver rates. On top of that, they’ve started adding making charges in percentage terms—just like gold. But here’s the difference: with gold, at least the base price is adjusted for purity. With silver, that fairness seems to be missing.
Let’s break it down:
Plain silver making charges start around 10% (~₹25/g)
GST adds another ~₹8/g
The purity gap (92.5 vs 1000) effectively costs ~₹19/g
So overall, you’re paying roughly ₹50 extra per gram for something that’s not even pure silver.
That feels… off.
Some brands (like Malabar) at least price based on purity, which is the right approach—but then they compensate with very high making charges. So either way, the consumer ends up paying more, just through different components.
Why isn’t there a standard practice here?
Silver buyers deserve:
Transparent pricing based on actual purity
Reasonable, clearly defined making charges
Consistency across the market
Right now, it feels like the system is skewed in a way that most people don’t even realize unless they sit down and calculate it.
Am I overthinking this, or have others noticed the same trend? Would love to hear your experiences.