Gold sat near record highs through 2026, which changed what a gold shop is actually selling you. The design on the tag matters less than the number the shop quotes per gram, and on 1 October 2026 that number ranged from S$208 to S$223 for the same 916 gold depending on which door you walked through. We re-checked the published per-gram rate on seven Singapore retailers' own websites on the same day, then looked at what each one adds on top: the workmanship charge, the 9% GST, and the promotion, if any. Every published rate fell by exactly S$9 a gram in thirteen days, so the order held for the first time: ValueMax cheapest, Maxi-Cash S$3 behind because it takes S$12 a gram off its own list, while its sister brand Goldheart takes off S$2 and SK Jewellery takes off nothing. Only one shop still puts its discount on the workmanship fee, which is the part of the bill that is not set by the market.
Gold near record highs means the shop you walk into matters more than the design you pick.
> Quick view: on 1 Oct 2026 the same 916 gold ran S$208/g at ValueMax and S$223/g at SK Jewellery and Poh Heng, with 999 gold from S$223 to S$242. Workmanship and 9% GST sit on top of that.
ValueMax publishes a dated gold price table and on 1 October 2026 it was again the lowest of the seven: S$208 per gram for 916 (22K) and S$223 for 999 (24K), the figures its own page dates 30 September. It labels these indicative retail rates and says a firm quote needs a physical inspection, which is fair, but the gap to the dearest quote here is S$15 per gram on 916 and S$19 on 999, so roughly S$300 on a 20g bangle before workmanship. It has now been the cheapest published rate at all four of our checks, on 26 August, 9 and 18 September and 1 October, and the gap has held at S$15 a gram every time. Maxi-Cash is the one to watch: it sits only S$3 a gram behind, close enough that the design and the workmanship charge decide it rather than the metal. ValueMax is a licensed pawnbroker first, and its store finder listed 50 outlets when we counted on 18 September 2026. It both sells and buys back gold, which cuts two ways. The designs are plainer than a jewellery chain's and there is no promo code to stack, but the metal is priced closer to the market and the same counter will quote you a buy-back. Its gold price page also spells out the tax split that most jewellery marketing skips: 999 investment bars are GST-exempt while jewellery is not.
916 gold S$208/g and 999 gold S$223/g, the lowest published rate of the seven on 1 Oct 2026 (page dated 30 Sep). No code needed; 50 outlets islandwide.
Maxi-Cash quoted S$211 per gram for 916 and S$230 for 999 on 1 October 2026, in a price table dated 30 September and on its homepage ticker. The reason it sits second is worth understanding. Maxi-Cash shows a list rate struck through beside a lower selling rate, and its list, S$223 and S$242, is identical to what Goldheart, SK Jewellery and Poh Heng publish. It takes S$12 a gram off that list where Goldheart takes S$2 and SK and Poh Heng take nothing. Goldheart is the same Aspial group, so the group's pawnbroker is S$10 a gram cheaper than the group's jeweller on exactly the same list price, a gap that held through the S$9 fall since 18 September. That leaves only S$3 a gram between Maxi-Cash and ValueMax, close enough that design and workmanship decide it rather than metal. It is Singapore's first listed pawnbroker, with more than 45 outlets, and its online store is still unusually deep in 999 gold: necklaces, pendants, bangles, gold bars and collectibles, most of them photographed and priced individually rather than hidden behind an enquiry form, with pieces such as a 999 gold Floral Star Earrings at S$612 and a 10mg Garden City ornament marked down to S$18 from S$88. Maxi-Cash also buys gold over the same counter, which is worth knowing if you are trading up an old piece.
916 gold S$211/g and 999 gold S$230/g (1 Oct 2026, table dated 30 Sep), both struck down from a S$223 and S$242 list: S$12 a gram off, against S$2 at sister brand Goldheart. No sitewide code. Gold bars, coins and 999 gold jewellery all priced online.
Goldheart runs a "Live Gold Rate" strip at the top of its site, showing a list rate and a lower one beside it. On 1 October 2026 that read 916 at S$223 marked down to S$221, and 999 at S$242 marked down to S$240. The point is what its sister brand does with the same numbers. Maxi-Cash, the pawnbroking arm of the same Aspial group, publishes the identical S$223 and S$242 list but takes S$12 a gram off it rather than S$2. Same owner, same list, six times the markdown, so if you are buying on weight the group's own pawnbroker is the cheaper door. Where Goldheart earns its place is the retail offer around the metal. GH10OFF, S$10 off above S$350, was still running in its announcement bar on 1 October with no end date published. Its own Golden Affection banner still prices 916 gold pendants at S$99 against a S$188 usual price and 999 gold bars from S$308, and a Love's Radiant Touch banner runs up to 50% off. Goldheart's own About page dates the brand to 1973, while its store's site description says 1976, so treat the founding year loosely; it runs more than 20 boutiques islandwide plus its eBoutique, and has been an Aspial brand since 2005, which puts it in the same group as Lee Hwa, CitiGems and Maxi-Cash.
GH10OFF: S$10 off above S$350, live in the announcement bar on 1 Oct 2026, no end date published. Golden Affection banner: 916 gold pendants S$99 (U.P. S$188), 999 gold bars from S$308. Live rate strip takes S$2 a gram off the metal (S$221/g on 916).
SK Jewellery quoted S$223 per gram for 916 and S$242 for 999 on its own gold price page, dated 29 September 2026 when we checked on 1 October. Those are the same list figures Goldheart and Maxi-Cash publish, but SK charges them flat: it shows no "now" price beside the list, so on plain weight it shares the dearest metal on this page with Poh Heng, S$15 a gram above ValueMax and S$12 above Maxi-Cash. Its live offer is a Gold Bar Sale badged 40% off workmanship, still running on 1 October with no end date shown. The Merlion 1g Singapore Exclusive bar carries no workmanship charge at all and is now S$264 (it was S$271 on 18 September, before gold fell), with 3g, 5g and 10g Merlion bars at S$792, S$1,319 and S$2,638. Alongside it, the 999 gold pendant sale goes as deep as 63% off: a Ruyi Ingot Fortune pendant at S$99 against S$269, an Abundance Fortune and Luck 999 Gold Pendant Bundle at S$198 against S$398 and a Golden Barrel of Blessings at S$99 against S$168. Its monthly promotion page is still worth reading sceptically: the Shiok Delights codes (SHIOK6 above S$161, SHIOK11 above S$361, SHIOK31 above S$661, SHIOK61 above S$1,061) and the PayLater by Grab codes SK10, SK18 and SK61 are all still displayed under a line reading "Valid until 31 August 2026, 2359", a full month after that deadline passed. Where SK earns its place is design range and those 999 gold gifting lines. It is the flagship of SK Jewellery Group, which also owns Soo Kee, Love & Co and SK Bullion.
Gold Bar Sale, live 1 Oct 2026, no end date shown: 40% off workmanship, Merlion 1g bar S$264 with free workmanship, plus 999 gold pendants up to 63% off (Ruyi Ingot Fortune S$99 vs S$269, Abundance Fortune and Luck bundle S$198 vs S$398). The SHIOK and SK codes its promotion page still displays expired 31 Aug.
Poh Heng has been trading since 1948 and is the only independent of the seven, owned by neither Aspial nor SK Jewellery Group. It also does the one thing that actually moves a gold bill in your favour. Its membership gives 10% off fixed-price items and 10% off the workmanship fee, re-confirmed on its own site on 1 October 2026, and that second half is the point. The metal in a gold piece is priced off the market and no shop can discount it far. The workmanship charge, which can run from about S$50 to several hundred dollars a piece depending on how intricate the design is, is set by the shop, so it is the part that is genuinely negotiable. A discount aimed there is worth more than the same headline percentage aimed at a fixed-price fashion item. Poh Heng publishes its per-gram rate in the cart strip rather than on a gold price page, which is why it is easy to miss, and on 1 October 2026 it read 22K/916.67 at S$223.00 a gram and 24K/999 at S$242.00, the same list figures SK Jewellery charges and Goldheart and Maxi-Cash mark down from. So this is not a cheap shop on metal; the membership discount on workmanship is what you are here for. Its web store bears that out: prices carry cents, which is what a catalogue priced off the day's gold rate looks like. On 1 October 2026 the cheapest in-stock yellow gold pieces were a charm at S$122.48, earrings at S$233.12, a ring at S$290.13, a necklace at S$510.22, a bracelet at S$716.45 and a bangle at S$1,199.70. (The S$590 bracelet floor we gave on 18 September was an 18K white gold piece, not yellow gold; the correct yellow gold floor is the one above.)
Membership: 10% off fixed-price items and 10% off the workmanship fee, on every purchase. Free to join, no end date published. Publishes its rate in the cart strip: 916 S$223/g, 999 S$242/g. In-stock gold from S$122.48 (charm) and S$233.12 (earrings) on 1 Oct 2026.
TAKA's announcement bar changed on us. On 1 October 2026 it was running a Payday Sale with three codes: PAYDAY35 for 35% off, PAYDAY38 for 38% off above S$199 and PAYDAY41 for 41% off above S$299, with no end date shown. The two standing codes it had advertised at every earlier check, TAKA35 (35% off above S$150) and TAKA43 (43% off above S$1,999), have left the bar, but both still applied when we put 916 gold pieces in a cart on 1 October. So which code to use depends on the basket: between S$299 and S$1,999 PAYDAY41 is the best of them, and from S$1,999 TAKA43 still beats it. A newsletter sign-up offers a separate 30% off. Those are the biggest percentages on this page by a distance, which is exactly why they need reading twice. On TAKA's own 916 gold listings the strike-through price sits at roughly double the selling price, and the two examples we have now checked four times running read to the cent each time: its 916 Gold Textured Barrel Necklace is still S$1,118 against a compare-at price of S$2,128, and a 916 gold bracelet is still S$2,538 against S$4,828. The price you pay is the sensible one and it tracks the gold market. The number it is measured against is not a price anyone was charged, and the fact that it has not moved since 26 August, while every published per-gram rate on this page fell three times, tells you what it is. Judge the basket by what leaves your account, not by the badge. On that basis TAKA is genuinely a value operator, and its range keeps widening: 1,894 in-stock 916 gold variants on 1 October against 1,737 on 18 September, from S$138 for a lightweight charm up to a S$14,148 bracelet, alongside silver from S$29.
Payday Sale (1 Oct 2026, no end date shown): PAYDAY35 35% off, PAYDAY38 38% off min S$199, PAYDAY41 41% off min S$299. Older TAKA35 (min S$150) and TAKA43 (43% off, min S$1,999) no longer advertised but still applied in a test cart on 1 Oct.
Code: PAYDAY41
On Cheong has been on South Bridge Road since 1936 and is the oldest name here by a wide margin. It publishes no promo code and no per-gram rate, which is normal for a heritage goldsmith: pricing is quoted at the counter against the day's rate and the weight of the piece. What it offers instead is depth in things the chains treat as a sideline, particularly jadeite, along with custom design, cleaning and repair, and a workshop tradition that predates every other shop on this list. Note that the two outlets keep different hours, which catches people out. Both were re-confirmed on 1 October 2026: the 251 South Bridge Road flagship (6223 4788) opens 10.30am to 6.15pm Monday to Saturday, while 235/237 New Bridge Road (6323 5833) runs 10.30am to 8.30pm daily. If you are buying gold purely by weight, the pawnbroking chains higher up this page will quote you less. If you want a piece made, resized, restrung or valued by people who have done it for generations, this is the counter.
No published promo code. Prices quoted in store against the day's gold rate. 251 South Bridge Road, 10.30am to 6.15pm Mon to Sat; 235/237 New Bridge Road, 10.30am to 8.30pm daily.
| Retailer | 916 gold (22K) per gram | 999 gold (24K) per gram | Running promo (1 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ValueMax | S$208 | S$223 | No code; the quoted rate is the offer |
| Maxi-Cash | S$211 (list S$223) | S$230 (list S$242) | S$12/g off list on its own ticker; no sitewide code |
| Goldheart | S$221 (list S$223) | S$240 (list S$242) | GH10OFF, S$10 off above S$350; 916 pendants S$99 (U.P. S$188) |
| SK Jewellery | S$223 | S$242 | Gold Bar Sale, 40% off workmanship, Merlion 1g bar S$264; SHIOK codes expired 31 Aug |
| Poh Heng | S$223 | S$242 | Members 10% off fixed-price items and workmanship |
| TAKA Jewellery | Not published online | Not published online | Payday Sale: PAYDAY35, PAYDAY38 (min S$199), PAYDAY41 (min S$299); TAKA35 and TAKA43 still apply |
| On Cheong | Not published online | Not published online | No published code; quoted in store |
We have now priced the same seven shops four times, on 26 August, 9 September, 18 September and 1 October. The first three checks each produced a different order. The fourth did not.
Every published rate fell by exactly S$9 a gram, on both 916 and 999, at all five shops that publish one. Because the cut was uniform, every gap held: ValueMax is still S$15 a gram below the dearest 916 quote, Maxi-Cash is still S$3 behind ValueMax, and Maxi-Cash still takes S$12 a gram off the same S$223 list from which its Aspial sister brand Goldheart takes S$2 and SK Jewellery and Poh Heng take nothing. So the group's pawnbroker remains S$10 a gram cheaper than the group's jeweller on an identical list price, which is worth more than any voucher on this page.
The promotions moved more than the prices. TAKA replaced its announcement bar with a Payday Sale (PAYDAY35, PAYDAY38 above S$199, PAYDAY41 above S$299). Its long-running TAKA35 and TAKA43 are no longer advertised, but both still applied when we tested them in a cart on 1 October. SK Jewellery's Gold Bar Sale is still up, with the Merlion 1g bar down from S$271 to S$264 as gold fell, and the deepest 999 pendant markdown is now 63%. SK's monthly promotion page, meanwhile, still displays the whole expired SHIOK and SK voucher table under a "Valid until 31 August 2026, 2359" line, a full month past the deadline, which is a standing reminder that a code on a live page is not the same as a live code. Goldheart's GH10OFF and its S$99 pendant banner are unchanged.
Three numbers make up what you pay, and only one of them is the same everywhere.
The metal. Gold weight multiplied by the shop's per-gram rate for that purity. 916 is 91.6% pure (22K) and is the Singapore default for jewellery; 999 is 99.9% (24K) and is softer, so it turns up more in bars, coins and pendants than in daily-wear rings. Every shop derives its rate from the same world market, but they do not land on the same number, and the 1 October 2026 spread of S$208 to S$223 per gram on 916, and S$223 to S$242 on 999, is the single biggest lever on this page.
The workmanship. Also called the making charge or craftsmanship fee. It pays for the labour and design, it is set by the shop rather than the market, and it can run from roughly S$50 to several hundred dollars per piece depending on intricacy. This is the part a shop can actually discount, which is why Poh Heng's 10% off workmanship is worth more than it sounds and why a "20% off gold" banner elsewhere usually means 20% off this fee, not off the metal.
The tax. Gold jewellery is standard-rated, so 9% GST applies. Investment-grade gold is not: bars, ingots, wafers and coins of at least 99.5% purity that meet the Investment Precious Metals criteria set by Singapore Customs are exempt. That is a real difference between buying a 999 gold chain and buying a 999 gold bar of the same weight, and it is worth knowing before you decide which one you actually want.
Several of the best-known names are the same company. Aspial owns Lee Hwa, Goldheart, CitiGems and the Maxi-Cash pawnbroking chain. SK Jewellery Group owns SK Jewellery, Soo Kee, Love & Co and SK Bullion. So a shortlist of "five different jewellers" can easily be two companies. Worth knowing if you are walking a mall expecting five independent quotes.
One related note: Lee Hwa's own web store was showing an upgrade placeholder from 26 August to 18 September 2026, pointing shoppers to its Shopee boutique instead, and on 1 October it did not load at all. So there is still no online rate or promo from Lee Hwa to compare.
Ask for the per-gram rate and the workmanship charge as two separate numbers before you look at any discount. A shop that quotes a single all-in figure is not necessarily hiding anything, but you cannot compare it against anyone else. Then check whether the promotion applies to gold at all, because many jewellery codes exclude items priced at the daily gold rate.
Finally, weigh the code against the rate. A S$15 per gram difference on 916 gold is about 7% of the metal cost before workmanship, which is more than most cash-off vouchers return on a basket of that size. On a plain, heavy piece the cheaper per-gram rate usually wins; on an intricate piece where workmanship is a big share of the bill, the voucher and the workmanship discount matter more. And check the date on any rate you are quoted, including the ones above: every number on this page moved in the thirteen days before this check.
It depends on which shop you ask, which is the point of this guide. On 1 October 2026, checked on each retailer's own website on the same day, 916 (22K) gold ran S$208 per gram at ValueMax, S$211 at Maxi-Cash (struck down from a S$223 list), S$221 at Goldheart (also from S$223) and S$223 flat at SK Jewellery and Poh Heng. For 999 (24K) the same five quoted S$223, S$230 (S$242 list), S$240 (S$242 list), S$242 and S$242. These are retail selling rates for the gold content only. Workmanship and 9% GST are charged on top, and the rates move with the world market: every shop here cut its rate by S$9 a gram between 18 September and 1 October, and at our three earlier checks the order of the shops changed each time.
The workmanship fee, also called the making charge, covers the labour and design that turn raw gold into a finished piece. It typically runs from about S$50 to several hundred dollars depending on how intricate the design is, and unlike the metal it is set by the shop rather than the market. That makes it the part of the bill that can genuinely be discounted. Poh Heng's membership is the clearest example on this page: it takes 10% off fixed-price items and 10% off the workmanship fee. When another jeweller advertises a percentage off gold, it usually means off this fee rather than off the metal, so it is worth asking which one they mean.
On jewellery, yes. Gold jewellery is standard-rated, so 9% GST applies. Investment-grade gold is exempt: bars, ingots, wafers and coins of at least 99.5% purity that meet the Investment Precious Metals criteria set by Singapore Customs are not subject to GST. The item must be tradeable on the international bullion market, carry an internationally accepted quality mark, and not be a decorative or collector's piece. So a 999 gold bar and a 999 gold chain of the same weight are taxed differently, which is worth factoring in if you are choosing between them.
They serve different purposes rather than one being better. 999 is 99.9% pure, so it carries more gold value per gram, but it is softer and scratches more easily, which is why it shows up mostly in bars, coins, pendants and gifting pieces. 916 is 91.6% pure and the alloy makes it harder wearing, which is why it is the Singapore default for chains, bangles and rings you plan to wear daily. Price follows purity: on 1 October 2026 every retailer we checked quoted 999 higher per gram than 916, by S$15 to S$19 a gram. If durability matters, 916 is the practical choice; if you want maximum metal content, 999 is.
As of 1 October 2026 the codes worth having are TAKA's and Goldheart's. TAKA's announcement bar now runs a Payday Sale: PAYDAY35 for 35% off, PAYDAY38 for 38% off above S$199 and PAYDAY41 for 41% off above S$299, no end date shown. Its older sitewide codes TAKA35 (35% off above S$150) and TAKA43 (43% off above S$1,999) are no longer advertised but both still applied in a test cart on 1 October, so on a basket of S$1,999 or more TAKA43 is still the best of the lot, and between S$299 and S$1,999 PAYDAY41 beats TAKA35. Goldheart's GH10OFF, S$10 off above S$350, is still live in its announcement bar with no end date. Poh Heng has no code but its free membership takes 10% off fixed-price items and off the workmanship fee, which on an intricate piece is usually worth more than a percentage off a fixed-price item. One trap: SK Jewellery's monthly promotion page still displays the entire Shiok Delights voucher table (SHIOK6 above S$161 rising to SHIOK61 above S$1,061) and the PayLater by Grab codes SK10, SK18 and SK61, all under its own expired "Valid until 31 August 2026, 2359" line, a month after that deadline. SK's live offer is its Gold Bar Sale at 40% off workmanship instead. ValueMax, Maxi-Cash and On Cheong run no codes, and for the first two the quoted per-gram rate is the offer.
Per gram of metal, yes, and the gap is bigger than the price tags suggest. Two things work in the bar's favour. First, tax: a 999 gold chain is standard-rated jewellery and carries 9% GST, while bars, ingots, wafers and coins of at least 99.5% purity that meet Singapore Customs' Investment Precious Metals criteria are GST-exempt. On a S$5,000 purchase that is about S$450. Second, workmanship: a bar carries little or none, while a worked chain can carry S$50 to several hundred dollars of making charge. The published 999 rates on 1 October 2026 ran S$223 per gram at ValueMax, S$230 at Maxi-Cash's discounted rate, S$240 at Goldheart's and S$242 at SK Jewellery and Poh Heng, and those are metal-only figures before either of the two additions above. The trade-off is that you cannot wear a bar, and jewellery buy-back is quoted on the metal rather than on what you paid for the design.
