Jewelry is never pure. A 14k chain is 58.3% gold and the rest is alloy. This does the arithmetic against the live board above — so you walk in already knowing the ceiling.
Spot is the benchmark price for one troy ounce of pure metal for immediate delivery, set by trading around the clock. It's a wholesale reference number, not a retail price, and nobody buys or sells at exactly spot.
Bid is what the market pays. Ask is what the market charges. The gap is the spread, and it's how every dealer in this trade stays alive. A shop that won't say its spread out loud is the one to worry about — not the one that will.
This trips up almost everyone. A troy ounce is 31.103 grams. The kitchen ounce is 28.35 grams. Metals are always quoted in troy — so a "gold ounce" is about 10% heavier than the ounce on your postal scale.
Karat is a fraction out of 24. So 14k is 14/24 = 58.3% gold; the other 41.7% is copper, silver, zinc and nickel, added for hardness and colour. When you sell scrap, you're paid for the gold fraction — not the gross weight of the piece.
If a piece is signed, period, well-made or has good stones, it's usually worth more intact than melted — sometimes far more. This calculator deliberately can't see any of that. It's why the counter still matters.
Look inside a ring or on a chain's clasp. If there's no mark at all, that doesn't mean it isn't gold — plenty of older and imported pieces are unmarked, which is exactly why we test rather than trust the stamp.
| Mark | Also stamped | What it is | Pure content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10k | 417 · 10kt | Common in US chains and class rings | 41.7% |
| 14k | 585 · 583 | The US default for fine jewelry | 58.3% |
| 18k | 750 | European standard, most designer work | 75.0% |
| 22k | 916 · 917 | Common in South Asian jewelry | 91.7% |
| 24k | 999 · 9999 | Pure — bullion, rarely worn | 99.9% |
| Sterling | 925 · STER | Silver flatware, hollowware, jewelry | 92.5% |
| Platinum | PLAT · 950 · PT950 | Heavy, white, doesn't tarnish | 95.0% |
| GP · GF · HGE | RGP · 1/20 12k GF | Plated or filled — a skin of gold over base metal | Near zero |
GP, GF, HGE and RGP are not gold jewelry. Gold-plated, gold-filled and heavy gold electroplate carry so little recoverable metal that they're worth essentially nothing as scrap — regardless of what they weigh or how they look. We'll tell you straight if that's what you've got.
Anywhere. Including here. A customer who's done the arithmetic is the easiest one to deal with honestly.
