Question: I have 59.50 grams of 22 kt yellow gold of handmade jewelry from India. Includes 1 necklace, 2 bracelets and 2 earrings. — From Aasha in Dallas, Texas

Hi Aasha,

Thank you for your submission. Gold jewelry from India is usually of very high quality and made with a very high gold content, giving the gold a yellow color. 22k gold is 91.52% gold alloyed with 8.48% of some other type of metal.

Are there any hallmarks or markings that prove the purity of your items? Since you indicated that your items are handmade, we are guessing that there are not hallmarks. We run unmarked pieces through our XRF analytical testing machine that uses x-ray technology to tell what these pieces are composed of. We find that with handmade jewelry from India the standard percent of 22k is not always exact. Sometimes there is a little more and sometimes a little less to recover.

As precious metal refiners, we will pay on the value of your items according to how much gold there is to refine (weight), how high of gold content your items are (purity), and the current price of gold.

Also keep in mind that gold is measured in troy ounces. 59.50 grams = 1.913 troy ounces. Based on our payout schedule, we would be able to offer 85% of the gold value back to you.

*Images displayed are only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

I have assorted 14 K jewelry consisting of 3 bracelets and three rings weighing 96 grams. What would you anticipate the shipping cost to be? From Molly in Los Angeles, California.

Hi Molly,

The great thing about gold is that you really don’t have to have much in terms of weight to have a very valuable shipment. So it is relatively inexpensive to ship, but the return can be great.

We would recommend sending in a bubble envelope. Flat rate services for priority mail envelopes with USPS is $4.95 for sizes 10″ x 5″ through 12-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. These envelopes will ship anything under 70 lbs. We would also recommend checking the “Signature Upon Delivery” option and Requesting an Estimate on your items so you know how much to insure the package for. While not a requirement, we would recommend insurance for valuable shipments. These services with the USPS start at $10.75. Packages can be insured for up to $5,000. Registered Mail service can be insured for up to $25,000.

Learn more about adding insurance to USPS packages here: https://www.usps.com/ship/insurance-and-extra-services.htm.

Visit our page about Shipping Precious Metals and let us know if you would like a free estimate on your pieces. Thanks!

I have two pocket watches. One weighs about 46 grams the other about 22 grams. Both are marked 14K. From Uriah in Kalamazoo, MI

Hi Uriah,

Thank you for your question. Old gold jewelry is very common for selling for the precious metal value. Keep in mind that as refiners, we will buy your watches based on the gold value alone, whereas other buyers such as pawn shops and jewelry resellers might buy for the watch functionality. Think about if your watch has any value because of the collectability, rarity, beauty or function. If you think that is has value beyond the gold value, please look in to checking with a jewelry dealer.

If you want to get a better idea of what the gold value of your watches are, we recommend stripping down the watches by taking out as much non-gold items as you can. All of the non-precious metal watch mechanisms should not be included in the weight of your gold. Note that by doing this you may be damaging the watch beyond repair. This would not affect the gold value, but would affect the retail value mentioned above. Another item you may consider is the chain (if there is one) on the watches. If they are marked (look on the clasp) a karat purity of gold then add them to the gold weight/total. If they are not marked then they may not contain gold.

Being 14 Karat, the gold in your watches are 58.24% pure gold. Our payout schedule varies according to how much gold you have. See our Karat gold jewelry payout schedule on our website.

Thanks!

* Please keep in mind that we are not jewelry appraisers or dealers and cannot give estimates based on the value of collectable, rare or vintage jewelry. As a precious metal refiner, we only give estimates based on the weight of items and the amount of precious metal available for recovery.

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

How much can i sell my 18 karat gold bracelet with the stamp 750 that weighs 52 grams for? Thanks! — From Cory in Seattle, WA

Hi Cory,

This is a great question to plug into our gold conversion calculator. This is because there are a few calculations that you have to do before knowing what your gold is worth.

You first have to convert the weight of gold jewelry into troy ounces without any other gems or stones. That is the unit of measurement used for precious metals.

Then you have to use the current price of gold and multiply it to how much actual gold you have. With your bracelet being 18 Karat, your piece is 74.88% gold. The stamp on your bracelet 750 indicates that it is 18 Karat gold that is about 75% pure gold.

Your 52 grams converts into 1.67183 troy ounces. According to our payout schedule we would offer you about 85% of the pure gold value. For larger lots we can sometimes offer over 90% of the gold value.

Note that the calculator provides an approximate value for the amount of fine (or pure) gold or in your item. It does not factor in intrinsic value that may apply to rare collectibles and coins or branded jewelry.

*Price of gold used in this calculation may not reflect the current price of gold as it changes daily.

Thanks for your question. Here are some other blog posts that might help you in finding the value of your gold bracelet.

http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/what-are-my-14k-gold-wedding-rings-worth/
http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/value-of-14-k-gold-jewelry-precious-metal-refining-blog/

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

I have two 14 K white gold weddings bands. Together they weigh about 0.35 ounces on the digital postal scale. How much do you think they are worth? Thanks. From Paul in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hi Paul,

There is usually not a significant difference in the melt value between white gold and yellow gold. The plating used over the gold to make it silver/white in color accounts for a very small portion of the ring’s weight.

I would recommend using our gold calculator to help determine how much your gold rings are worth.

First, go to our gold calculator page here: http://www.archenterprises.com/silver-gold-calculator.html. Most likely your postal scale measured in average or standard ounces, so choose that option.

Second, click on the silver/gold link that takes to the current precious metal prices. *Today gold is trading at $1,406.20 USD per troy ounce. Don’t worry that you weighed your items in standard ounces, because the calculator will convert the measurement for you. Plug the price of gold in the calculator and you should be ready to click the “Calculate Value” button. See the calculator screen shot below.

This calculator gives you the approximate market value of your items without anyone taking any percentages.

Third, visit our Payout Schedule page here: http://www.archenterprises.com/precious-metal-payout-schedule.html. Since you have less than 0.5 fine ounces of gold we could pay you 70% of the fine gold content back to you.

*Gold price taken may not reflect the current price of gold.

Hello, I have been in the rare coin and paper money industry for some time and I have in the past few months started to buy scrap jewelry and other “unwanted” items from people all across Northeastern United States. I was wondering if I could have the scrap gold items melted down by a refining company and receive coins, bars, or a “brick” of the refined metal in return? Thanks so much. – Craig from Hershey, Pennsylvania

Hi Craig,

Because we are a gold refiner and not a gold mint, we typically pay for scrap gold with cash (technically a check…but you get the point). Unfortunately the raw gold generated during the refining process is not marked, stamped or hallmarked.

Given this, we sometimes return payments in the form of silver or gold minted coins or bars instead of cash, but there are additional fees involved. By using minted coins or bars, there will be no questions to the value of your gold or silver and you will be able to hold the items as investments.

I have just obtained hundreds of pieces of 12-14k gold filled jewelry. Do you think its value could be more than the postage to send it to you? Thanks. From Jamie in Springfield, Missouri

I have some scraps of 14k/20 gold filled pins which I usually make earrings with. I thought about tossing them out, but I did some research and read that it might have value to it. Do you know if my 14k/20 gold filled pins have any value to them and will it be worth it to take these to a refinery? From Elle in Lincoln, Wisconsin

I have two pairs of eye glasses that except for the lens are gold-filled. They are old glasses so the frame isn’t light. I am sorry I do not have a picture but am glad to post one if you do buy gold filled. Thank you for your time. From Randy in Greensboro, North Carolina

Hi Jamie, Elle and Randy,

The term “gold filled” refers to a technique used to make items look like they are made from solid gold, but that cost substantially less. In some ways, it is similar to gold plating in that a thin layer of gold is applied to a base metal in order to achieve the gold appearance. Unlike plating, however, gold filled items typically utilize a hollow 10k or 14k gold tube that is filled with another less valuable metal such as brass and are marked with a “GF.” A similar process known as “rolled gold” or “rolled gold plate” employs the same methodology, but utilizes a sheet of thin gold laminated to the base material.

While not solid gold, gold filled and rolled gold items typically contain much more gold than the microscopic layer of gold placed on items with today’s electroplating processes. Gold filled also differs from electroplated gold and gold plate because in the US it is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and has to contain a certain amount of gold to be marked GF. Given this, gold filled jewelry can return a value, but you typically need a fairly significant amount of material to refine to make it worthwhile.

The math in determining the value of gold filled jewelry is a little more complex than trying to determine the value of a solid gold item. Gold filled pins marked 14k/20 should indicate that the pins use 14K gold, but that only 1/20 of the items weight can be attributed to the 14K gold content. To determine the items approximate value, you should take the item’s weight and divide it by 20. You can then plug this weight into our gold value calculator to get a feel for the amount of gold in the item. Obviously, determining the weight can prove to be very challenging if the item includes other elements aside from the gold filled components.

In addition, since there is very little gold content in these items, the time and energy to refine the precious metal from the other metals is greater than with solid gold. Given this, gold filled jewelry is typically not worth very much unless you have very large quantities of it.

Hi, I have a 9” curb link gold bracelet that I no longer wear and am interested in selling. It weighs 93.6 grams and is 14 k gold. What is this worth? From Ryan in Clearwater, Florida

Hi Ryan,

Just knowing the value of how much your items are worth will make you more a more educated gold seller. We recommend visiting our gold value calculator which will give you the approximate market price of what your scrap gold items. You can go from there and determine who is going to give you the best deal for your gold.

The calculator converts your measurements into troy ounces. Ryan, your 93.6 grams is 3.009 troy ounces, of the 14k gold which is about 58.24% gold. Based on these numbers and the price of gold today at $1,226.00*/troy ounce, the market value would be approximately $2,210.  Keep in mind that the market value is what the end consumer expects to pay.  We need to refine the gold and convert it into a form that we can sell at this price. Based on this, Arch Enterprises typically offers 80%-85% of the fine gold value in weight for small, one-time transactions.

* Since the price of gold changes daily this price was taken June 11, 2010 and may not reflect the day of this blog post.

I have one gold bracelet and one gold necklace stamped “14 KT.” Together these items weigh about 2.6 ounces. Is now a good time to sell gold? From Lisa in Stockton, California

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your question. Gold has hit record highs this year. Even though the price of gold fluctuates every day, it has stayed above 1,000 USD per troy ounce since last fall and currently resides at more than $1,200 USD per troy ounce, which is near its highest point in the last decade. As far as answering the question about when the best time to sell gold is, this is probably better handled by an economist than a precious metal refiner.

The price of gold is set on the open market and is affected by conditions in the global economy. Like the U.S. economy, many country’s economies are experiencing challenging times and investors fear that companies will fold, countries will default on loans, and currencies will devalue. These factors and others drive the price of gold up as investors see it as a safer investment.

So, while I won’t speculate that gold is currently at the highest that it will reach, there is certainly no argument that gold is at a historical high. See chart from http://www.research.gold.org below. So you may find it to be a good time to sell.

You can check the current prices of commodities including gold and silver here: http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/index.html.

I want to sell gold filled and gold plated necklaces from the 1950s, made in Korea. I have dozens of them equaling several pounds. From Becky in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Hi Becky,

It is nearly impossible to recover any relevant amount of gold from plated items because the gold is plated so thinly that there are only a few microns of actual gold in each plated item. Furthermore, the cost to refine plated items is higher than with 10 Karat - 24 Karat gold so there is no value in refining it.

Gold filled jewelry on the other hand, may have some value. Typically, a few pieces of gold filled jewelry will not yield much return but if you have pounds, you should get some return. I suggest using the US Postal Service’s flat rate shipping boxes. They are great for shipping small, heavy items such as jewelry. Remember to request the “Delivery Signature Required” option when you ship.

Because we can not take your gold plated jewelry items, we would recommend selling them as costume jewelry on EBay or local consignment shops. Hope this helps!

I’m just a humble jewelry designer from NY who is trying to get used to all this stuff! From Natalie in New York, Arkansas

Hi Natalie,

Don’t worry if you don’t pickup on everything right away. It takes sometime to get to know the precious metal industry. Here are some helpful tips that I’ve put together for you and other jewelry designers out there that may have some scrap precious metal to refine.

It’s great that you are learning and researching about this now so you have all the tools at hand. We work with jewelry designers, jewelry sellers and gold party representatives from all over, let us know if you have any questions about precious metal!

Keep in mind that precious metals include: gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Pay attention to where you scrap is going.

From small gold chain links to shavings of silver, try to account for it all. For larger pieces of gold, silver or platinum that you cannot use in creating or fixing jewelry its best to keep them as separated as you can. We recommend working on smooth, dark surfaces so you can see scrap easier.

Don’t throw anything out, it could be precious!

Even your facility that you resize, shape and design jewelry in can contain valuable precious metal scrap. Areas where precious metal can be accumulating include sink traps, floor mats, carpets, rags, floor sweeps and vacuum bags. Think about this when you’re cleaning your facilities. If you regularly clip, size and shape precious metal chances are small pieces of it have gotten away from you. As precious metal refiners we can extract even the smallest amounts of precious metal from these items.

Keep your stones and gems.

As precious metal refiners, we only return payments for metal materials, not stones and gems. To reclaim the value on these items, make sure you remove them before sending them to any metal refinery.

Is there an easy way to determine if my gold necklace is real gold or gold plated? – Magen in Chesterfield, MO

There are many plating materials out there that make an item look like gold or silver. If you are questioning what type of metal you have there are a few things that may help determine if your item is solid and “real” without damaging the item.

• Check for a hallmark. However, you must be careful because sometimes sellers can be deceiving in making buyers think they are getting solid gold or silver with a hallmark when in fact, it is a counterfeit.
• Run a magnet over the items. Neither gold nor silver attract to magnets. If the magnet sticks to the item, without question it is NOT “real” gold or silver and probably contains very little of the precious metal.
• Gold in its purist form is actually soft and will bend when squeezed in your hand. Alloying it with other stronger, less expensive metals makes it harder.

If you try these methods and still do not have answers it may be time to take your items to a professional. There are acid tests that can be administered, however they involve making small cuts or incisions into items and working with acids can be a dangerous and difficult process. Refineries have the necessary instruments to measure the amount of precious metal in an item.

I have a 14 karat gold ring that weighs 0.3 ounces on my postal scale. Can you tell me what the value of gold in this ring is and what I should expect to get for it from a refiner? - Bob in Columbia, MO

To determine the value of gold in your 14K gold ring, there are a few issues to consider:

• Weight - Unfortunately postal scales are not accurate enough when one is considering the valuing of a gold item, but in this case, we measured the ring that you sent in and found it to actually did weigh 8 grams or 0.2822 ounces.

• Percentage of Gold - 14K Gold is supposed to contain 58.24% gold while the rest is typically made up of copper, zinc, nickel, and other metals.  We ran your ring through our X-Ray analyzer and found that it actually contained 66.89% gold.  See Video Clip.

• Price of Gold - On July 22, the price of gold closed at $951.42 per ounce.  Keep in mind that gold is valued in troy ounces and Americans typically think of an ounce as what is termed a avoirdupois ounce.  Troy ounces actually weigh a little more than avoirdupois ounces so you actually have less than .2822 troy ounces of gold.  To get your value in troy ounces, you would actually have to multiply .2822 avoirdupois ounces by .912.

So, the amount of pure gold in your particular 14K gold ring weighing .2822 avoirdupois ounces with a gold percentage of 66.89% was 0.18877 ounces.  To figure out its value in troy ounces, we mulitplied this number by .912 to get 0.172 Troy Ounces.  Mulitplying this by today’s rate for gold of $951.52 and your gold is worth $163.79.

Of course, the refiner needs to melt this into a form that someone wants and make a profit so you should expect anywhere from 70% to 90% of this value from a refiner.  Most refiners won’t deal in quantities this low.  At Arch Enterprises, we do, but we pay on a scale that ranges from 80% for those who send in less than 1 ounce of pure gold to over 90% for those sending in over 2 ounces.