Diwali Sparks Gold-Buying Frenzy

Forty tons of gold, worth $11 billion, was purchased by India in the first two days of Diwali. About 8,000 miles away in New York City, there was a gold buying rush and a cash-for-gold frenzy. Buyers and sellers are banking on the hope that the gold in the pieces traded was calculated correctly.

Precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum, are often traded based on their purity. Analyzing these metals helps determine their exact composition and purity levels, which is crucial for pricing and valuation purposes. It helps ensure that buyers and sellers have accurate information about the quality of the metal being traded.

Hopefully the buyers are using advanced technology to confirm the precious metal content.

The Holiday Spike in Gold

Diwali is a five-day celebration by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. Known as the Festival of Lights, this religious holiday usually consists of feasts, fireworks, and lamp lighting.

This year, the main day of Diwali fell on Monday, Oct. 20, but the planning of gift-buying for the festival started long before that date. According to one article, The History of the Diwali Holiday and Gold Buying, “One tradition that is recognized among almost everyone who celebrates Diwali is the exchanging of gifts and the purchasing of goods for the home. Purchasing and/or exchanging gifts of gold (and sometimes silver) is especially popular, as it is believed that the precious metal will help attract wealth and prosperity. Among those who celebrate the birth of Lakshmi, the first day of Diwali, called ‘Dhanteras,’ is a day of purchasing and exchanging gold with friends, family, and neighbors.”

According to a recent CNBC article,

“Leading gems and jewelry trade bodies in India told CNBC that more than 40 tons of gold was sold in the country on Oct. 19, the first day of Diwali.

“About 700 billion rupees ($8 billion) to 1 trillion rupees ($11 billion) worth of gold was sold during the five-day festival that ended Thursday, according to India Bullion and Jewellers Association, or IBJA, and All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council, or GJC.”

At the publishing of the CNBC article (Oct. 27, 2025), gold was trading at $4,073 per ounce.

Confirming the Gold Content

With gold prices soaring, it’s more important than ever for jewelers, pawnbrokers, and cash-for-gold operators to verify the true gold content of the items that anxious sellers are bringing in by the dozens. Often, these sellers are digging out old, inherited pieces that have sat untouched for decades, hoping to capitalize on the high market value — yet many are unaware that their jewelry may not be solid gold at all, but merely gold-plated or made of other materials.

When it comes to jewelry and other precious metal items, the gold may look the same but the content may vary. Fine gold is basically pure gold with fineness of 999 or above. Gold alloys include yellow gold, which has silver as the main alloying element, rose gold, which is alloyed with copper, and white gold, which has either palladium or nickel as the main alloying elements.

Since gold is trading so high at this writing, it is crucial to know the exact metal content of the item. However, determining what other precious metals besides gold may be present in a sample can be a challenge.

XRF Technology Analyzes and Confirms Gold and Karat Content

Precious metals are susceptible to counterfeiting and adulteration. Analyzing the composition of these metals helps in verifying their authenticity. By comparing the results of the analysis with known standards or reference materials, one can confirm whether the metal is genuine or if it has been mixed or replaced with lower-value substitutes, or if it has been plated on top of a less valuable substrate.

Verification tests that businesses use to combat these risks include the scratch and acid test, which is widely used but not very accurate and potentially dangerous. The most precise method is fire assay, but this method destroys the sample. Laboratory methods with expensive machines require extensive sample preparation. Finally, there is portable X-ray florescence (XRF), a non-destructive method that measures up to 22 elements in one reading.

Portable XRF precious metal analyzers provide retailers, pawn shops, cash-for-gold businesses, jewelers, recyclers, and refineries with fast, reliable and accurate results. Designed specifically for countertop and handheld use in retail environments, they can be used for gold testing and metal analysis of jewelry, coins, and other valuable products, with just the push of a button — and within sight of the customer. They help quickly distinguish between gold plating and solid gold, as well as determine the accurate karat (K) weight of gold jewelry. In addition, nondestructive analysis protects precious jewelry, antiques and collectibles in case the seller changes their mind after seeing the results. (You can calculate the payback/ROI on the time to recover your investment in an instrument here.]

To learn more about the various ways to perform chemical analysis on precious metal jewelry and other items, watch the webinar, Not All that Glitters is Gold.

Conclusion

As the uncertain geopolitical climate continues anticipation of global demand for gold surges during events like Diwali, accurate verification of precious metals becomes essential. With gold prices reaching record highs, both buyers and sellers must ensure that the pieces being traded are genuine and properly valued. There has never been a better time to invest in XRF technology, which provides non-destructive results fast, repeatable and reliable, way to analyze gold and other precious metals, helping businesses protect themselves from fraud while maintaining customer trust. By confirming authenticity and karat content instantly, jewelers, pawnbrokers, and recyclers can make confident transactions — ensuring that what truly glitters is, in fact, gold.