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Photo credit: alphaspirit / 123RF.

Indians love their gold, and that’s no secret. Our otherwise “macho men” have no qualms about owning their love of jewelry, our women pine for it, and even our gods and goddesses are swathed in it.

Indians own more than 22,000 tons of gold, and jewelry represents over 50 percent of that haul. We love it so much, we even control world gold demands. Some say, if top Indian temples were to give up their blingy treasures, they could possibly end world hunger.

Popular music director Bappi Lahiri is famous for his love of gold. Photo credit: Wikipedia.

Little wonder then that the country has seen a rapid rise of startups that have swiftly tied in shiny new-age online shopping with the age-old love of gold and jewelry in the country.

Come Diwali, Ratan Tata-backed Bluestone just upped the gold-buying frenzy a couple of notches with its gold coin-dispensing vending machines. Just walk up to a machines, pay for the coin you want, take it, and you’re done. As cool as that.

According to Bluestone, Bangalore and Delhi are the lucky recipients of vending machines equipped to dispense certified 24 karat gold coins in denominations of one, two, five, ten and twenty grams. As of now, a gold coin weighing 1 gram costs about US$48.

The Bluestone gold vending machine in Bangalore. Photo credit: Bluestone.

For the confused, let’s explain. India is currently on the throes of winding up a month-long season of festivities, which will culminate in Diwali on Sunday. The entire season is considered auspicious for making big purchases, especially on Dhanteras day (October 28), which is especially lucky for making purchases of jewelry and costly gems.

The Golden Temple in Punjab has a dome gilded with gold. Photo credit: Wikipedia.

“The concept is aimed at providing exceptional convenience during the festive rush. It also offers the most unique shopping experience for buyers of gold who have so far purchased precious metals either from a jewelry store or online,” Bluestone says.

The machines are installed in two very popular shopping malls in Bangalore and Delhi.

“Introduction of the gold ATM during the festive season not only adds convenience to buying gold but is also a means to connect with our customers by providing them with physical touch points. Customers can purchase gold coins of multiple denominations by cash or card, making it ideal for buying gold for gifting or as an investment option,” Arvind Singhal, COO of BlueStone says.

That trusted soda- vending machine isn’t looking so good now, is it?

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