For many years, heavy gold bangles, wedding necklaces and jewelery passed down from generations remained mere souvenirs in a bank locker in Mumbai. But then a young couple took a decision which hardly anyone would have thought of before. Ritu and Madan Patil (name changed), in their late 20s, sold their inherited jewelery and bought their first house with the money.
He got around Rs 20 lakh from selling gold. With this amount, the down payment for the house in Navi Mumbai increased and his monthly home loan EMI was reduced by about Rs 20,000. Now, with the remaining amount, he is able to visit Lonavala every second month. Keyur Shah, CEO of Muthoot Exim, says, “For the new generation, bigger goals in life matter more. For them, old jewelery is no longer just a sentimental thing.”
Now the profit is visible in investment, not in locker.
Gen Z and Millennials across the country are now putting the old gold kept in lockers to better use by selling or exchanging it. Someone is buying a house with that money, someone is studying abroad, someone is starting a business, someone is investing money in the stock market and other investment options. At the same time, many people are also replacing old designed jewelery with new and lighter designed jewellery.
Millions of tons of gold lying in India
Rajeev Popli, director of Popli Group, says that about 70-75% of the customers coming to his stores are exchanging old gold and buying new jewellery. According to him, in India, more than 1 lakh tonnes of gold is lying unused in bank lockers and homes, but only a very small part of it has been recycled so far.
The importance of gold as an investment is increasing
India is still the world’s largest gold jewelery market, but people’s thinking is changing. According to ICRA, the demand for gold jewelery (in terms of volume) declined by 21% in the financial year 2025-26, while investment in gold bars and gold coins increased by about 22%. It is clear from this that the youth are now considering gold not just as jewelery but as a means of investment.
Record prices changed thinking
A 25-year-old bank employee from Bengaluru took advantage of the record prices of gold by selling her inherited jewelery and invested it in the stock market. She says, “Gold is an asset which does not need to be kept locked in the locker forever. If you are getting a good price and investments can be made from it with better returns, then there is no harm in doing so.”
Similarly, 29-year-old Supriya Venkatesh exchanged her mother’s old jewelery given at her wedding and bought new designed jewellery. He says that in today’s era, wearing jewelery of decades old design is not liked.
Gold is also being sold for education and business
A family from Bengaluru raised about Rs 80 lakh by selling some part of the gold kept in their locker. With this money, the family funded the son’s master’s studies in America and the father’s food processing business.
The family believes that gold is kept only for difficult times and big life goals and education and starting a business fall in the same category.
Titan also got benefit
In the last nine months, more than 5 lakh customers have exchanged more than 11,000 kg of gold at Titan’s Tanishq stores. The company says that this has promoted gold recycling in the country and will help in reducing dependence on imports.
Will sleeping end the emotional relationship?
Sociologists believe that despite the increasing investment mindset, gold will continue to hold emotional significance in weddings, festivals and family traditions. However, the new generation is now giving more importance to light designs, gold ETFs and other investment options instead of heavy jewellery. That means, for the new generation, the gold kept in the locker is not just becoming a means to shine, but is also becoming a means to fulfill the big dreams of life.
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