SRINAGAR — Uzma Bashir, an accountant in Srinagar who earns less than $100 a month, is buying one-gram gold jewelry for her summer wedding after record prices placed traditional gold beyond her reach. Gold reached a high of $5,595 per ounce on January 29, 2026, and was trading at around $4,861 per ounce as of April 24, 2026.

One-gram gold jewelry refers to ornaments made from base metals coated with a thin layer of 24-carat gold. Bashir had hoped to purchase her wedding jewelry with her own earnings to avoid burdening her parents.

"In [Indian-administered] Kashmir, gold is not just an ornament, it is dignity. It determines how you will be treated in your in-laws' home." Bashir said. "How much gold a woman owns often becomes equal to how she will be valued."

Across South Asia, gold has long traveled with a bride into her new home as part of dowry and has served as protection from harassment and violence by in-laws. Bashir said the cost of even a single ring had become prohibitive. "My parents have already done enough for me. But I can't afford even a single ring. It costs nearly three months of my salary."

Gold futures in India closed at $1,670 per 10 grams during the Akshaya Tritiya festival, 63 percent higher than during the previous year's festival. Demand for gold jewelry in India fell by 24 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, according to the World Gold Council. Jewelers report customers are abandoning pure gold and turning to imitation jewelry, gold-plated ornaments, or lower-carat alternatives.

Shiv Yadav, a goldsmith who has worked in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar for more than three decades, described the change in customer behavior. "If 10 people walk into the shop, only one ends up buying gold; the rest turn to artificial jewellery," he said. "I had never seen such a dramatic shift."

The pattern extends across South Asia. The price of 22-carat gold in Dhaka climbed to a record $2,200 per 11.668 grams last month, according to the Bangladesh Jewellers Association, in a country where per capita income is around $2,600. Sales of gold jewelry in Pakistan fell by about 50 percent over the past year, according to traders, with gold prices reaching around 540,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,938) per tola. A gold-plated bridal set in Pakistan can cost between 40,000 and 60,000 Pakistani rupees ($143–215), while the same design made from real gold can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of rupees.

In Dhaka's Chawkbazar wholesale jewelry hub, store owner Enayet Hossain said demand for imitation jewelry has grown as gold prices rise. "Customers want pieces that look like real gold but cost much less, and the designs are often more varied than traditional jewellery." Hossain said many of his products are imported from India, where imitation jewelry is a large industry.