Buying Your Wedding Rings in Thailand

A marriage in Thailand keeps you in the country for a number of working days, and part of that time is spent waiting on documents. Those hours are enough to buy wedding rings. The Thai gold market does not work the way a jeweler at home works. The price is built from two figures rather than set by the shop.

If you plan to register your marriage in Thailand, our marriage registration service covers the documents, the legalization and the district office for one fixed fee.

What 96.5 percent means

Most Thai gold jewelry is sold at a purity of 96.5 percent gold by weight. Spotlight on Thailand, prepared by Metals Focus and published by the London Bullion Market Association in February 2026, states that most gold sold in Thailand is of 965 purity. It adds that younger Thai buyers are moving toward lower caratages. The World Gold Council states that 18 carat gold contains 75 percent gold and 25 percent other metals. Carat is the measure of that mixture, counted out of 24.

The Council also gives the legal minimum caratage country by country. In the United States it is 10 carat, and 14 carat is the most popular there. In the United Kingdom, France and Ireland it is 9 carat. A 96.5 percent Thai band is purer than any of those.

The Council states as well that mixing other metals with pure gold gives it more durability. A band with less of that mixture is therefore softer, and a softer band marks and bends more easily. That is worth considering, because a wedding ring is worn daily.

How the price is built

A Thai gold price has two parts. The first is the gold itself, priced by weight. The second is the making charge, which is the shop's fee for turning metal into a finished piece.

The Gold Traders Association announces the reference price. The announcement quotes gold ornaments and gold bars separately, and gives a buying price and a selling price for each. The announced ornament price excludes the making charge.

Weight is quoted in baht. A baht here is a unit of weight, not the currency. One baht of gold ornament weighs 15.16 grams.

The making charge is set against that same weight. In February 2025 the Gold Traders Association announced that the making fee for gold ornaments would rise from 500 baht (~15 USD) to 800 baht (~24 USD) per baht weight from 1 March that year. The Nation reported that the earlier figure had stood since May 2016. Ask a shop to state the gold value and the making charge as two separate numbers.

Where the trade sits

Spotlight on Thailand states that Bangkok is the central hub of the country's gold trade, and that more than 80 percent of wholesale transactions take place there. The same report calls Bangkok the center of the jewelry trade, with thousands of retail shops and wholesalers.

The tax on a gold ring

Thailand charges value added tax at 7 percent. Value added tax is a tax added to the price of goods at the point of sale. Spotlight on Thailand states that for plain gold jewelry made in Thailand the tax falls only on the value added, which is the making charge and the price spread. Gem-set jewelry made in Thailand attracts the full tax on the sale price, and imported gold jewelry carries the full 7 percent on its full value.

The refund at the airport

The Revenue Department runs a tax refund scheme for departing visitors, and sets its conditions. Buy from a shop displaying the VAT Refund for Tourists sign. Spend at least 2,000 baht (~60 USD) including tax, per day, at each shop. Show your passport at the time of purchase and ask for the refund application form, numbered P.P.10, with the original tax invoices. The goods must leave Thailand with you within 60 days of the purchase date.

Jewelry and gold ornaments appear in the Revenue Department's list of luxury goods. An item worth 40,000 baht (~1,210 USD) or more must be carried by hand and shown again at the VAT Refund office after you pass immigration. A plain Thai gold band carries little tax, so there is little to return. A gem-set ring, or one made abroad, carries the whole 7 percent.

Buying two rings rather than one

A couple buys twice, and both of you are in the country at the same time. You can be measured together and see the pair side by side before either is finished.

What Pride Legal Thailand does

Pride Legal Thailand was created to become the platform for the LGBTQ community around the world looking to marry in Thailand. We register the marriage. We do not sell or price jewelry. We prepare your translations before you fly, and we handle the appointments in Thailand, so the hours between them are yours. If you bring your documents with you, the Thai side needs six working days at the minimum after the embassy step, and we recommend eight to ten. A couple who legalize their documents and a power of attorney at home and send them to us ahead need one working day in Thailand. A power of attorney is a document that authorizes another person to act for you. The embassy step is the appointment at your own country's embassy in Thailand where the document showing you are free to marry is issued. Not every nationality needs that step. Working days are days on which Thai government offices are open. Our aim is to make the marriage plannable from abroad and completable in a single trip.

Pride Legal Thailand arranges the registration of marriages in Thailand for two people of any gender and any nationality. The fee is ฿49,000 (~1,480 USD) for both partners, fixed, with VAT and government fees included; registration outside the Bangkok region costs ฿10,000 (~300 USD) more.

To register your own marriage in Thailand, tell ELSA your nationalities and your dates on the Marriage page: she lists your documents and your timeline, and our lawyer confirms the plan. The steps in order: how two foreigners can get married in Thailand.

Sources

London Bullion Market Association / Metals Focus, Spotlight on Thailand, Chapter 2, February 2026.

London Bullion Market Association / Metals Focus, Spotlight on Thailand, Chapter 3, February 2026.

London Bullion Market Association / Metals Focus, Spotlight on Thailand, Chapter 4, February 2026.

World Gold Council, Gold Jewellery: Colour, Carat & Purity.

The Nation Thailand, Goldsmiths raise ornament-making fee for first time in nine years, 22 February 2025.

Thai Revenue Department, VAT Refund for Tourists.

Gold Traders Association of Thailand, daily gold price announcement.