Before you sell old gold jewelry, find the karat, weigh each piece and work out its melt value. That one calculation tells you whether an offer is fair.
Short answer: find the karat stamp, weigh the item in grams, multiply the weight by the gold content and by the gold price per gram, and treat that as the metal value. Buyers pay a percentage of it, so knowing the figure first lets you judge each offer.
Look for a stamp inside a ring band or on a clasp: 10K, 14K, 18K or 22K, or a fineness number such as 417, 585, 750 or 916. The gold karat converter turns a karat into the share of gold.
Weigh pieces separately on a scale that reads to 0.01 g, without boxes or cases. For items with stones or non-gold parts, the gold weight is lower than the total, and a buyer will deduct for those parts.
Multiply the weight by the share of gold and by the price per gram. The gold melt value calculator does it in one step. This is the melt value, the worth of the metal alone.
Buyers refine or resell the metal, so they pay below melt value to cover costs and profit. The percentage varies widely between buyers, so ask for the exact figure and what is deducted. A higher headline percentage with extra fees can be worse than a lower clean one.
Note the date, buyer, weight and amount received, so your records reflect what you still own. See the guide to getting ready to sell for the full checklist.
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