Your ₹1 lakh of Dhanteras gold is worth ₹1,03,454 a year on. We checked 11 festivals

By Strota Newsroom · 2026-10-26 · How Strota reports

Gold bought on Dhanteras has grown over the years, but that is gold's long climb, not festival luck. The month right after the festival has usually been a weak one for the price.

If your family put ₹1 lakh into gold on Dhanteras 2025, that gold was worth ₹1,03,454 on 26 October 2026. That is a gain of just 3.45% in a year. With the next Dhanteras due on 6 November 2026, we looked at what festival gold has really done since 2014, and whether the big buying day is a pricey one.

Is gold bought on Dhanteras a good deal?

Over the long run, yes, but not because of the date. ₹1 lakh of gold bought on Dhanteras 2014 had grown to ₹5,00,722 by 26 October 2026. That is about five times the money. Every year in our list made money by today, because gold itself has climbed so much.

That long climb is gold's story, not the festival's. The same rise would have helped you on almost any day you bought. The more useful question is a smaller one: is Dhanteras itself a dear moment, with the price easing once the festive rush is over?

Does gold get cheaper after Dhanteras?

Usually, for a short while. In the month after the festival, gold rose in only 4 of 11 years. On average, ₹1 lakh of gold lost about ₹1,410 over that month.

Compare that with an ordinary day. From a normal trading day, the month that followed gained about ₹1,220 on the same ₹1 lakh. So the festival has tended to be a slightly costly time to buy. Why that happens, the data cannot say.

The gap is big enough to notice, though with only 11 festivals, luck could explain part of it. But it is small. On a ₹1 lakh purchase it is a small amount, not a fortune.

How long does the post-festival dip last?

Not long. Look three months ahead and the difference vanishes. Gold bought on Dhanteras went on to rise in 9 of 11 years over that longer stretch. Its average three-month gain matched gold bought on any other day almost exactly.

From one Dhanteras to the next, gold rose in 6 of 9 years. The worst run was from 2014 to 2015. The best was from 2024 to 2025, when ₹1 lakh grew by more than half. Last year was quieter. Gold was ₹1,19,193 per 10 grams on Dhanteras 2025 and ₹1,23,309 on 26 October 2026, because prices peaked in January and then slid back.

For a family, the takeaway is plain. If you buy a coin or a chain on Dhanteras for tradition, the date has not cost much. It has not brought extra luck either. The price you pay mostly tracks where gold is heading over months and years.

How we checked: we took 11 Dhanteras days from 2014 to 2025, leaving out 2019 because its date could not be confirmed. For each one we noted the gold price in rupees and tracked it one month and three months later. We then compared those results with the same stretches starting from every trading day since October 2014, which came to 3,124 days.

There are honest limits. Eleven festivals is a small number, and one or two years can swing the averages. Our price is the international gold price turned into rupees, not what a jeweller charges. Shop prices also carry import duty, which the July 2024 Budget cut from 15% to 6%, plus 3% GST. Jewellery adds making charges that eat into what the metal earns. We tested several time spans, so the one-month result could partly be a lucky find. And a past seasonal pattern says nothing certain about any future Dhanteras.

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