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.

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.

Hello, I am looking for a good refinery to purchase my gold. I have been researching gold parties for sometime now, I am an independent gold buyer and seller. What are your rates for people with a substantial amount of gold? From Donnie in Orlando, Florida

We offer competitive refining rates for independent gold party operators and gold buyers. And typically we can wire the funds to your account the same day it comes in if the gold is received early in the day. We often pay more than 90% of the value of gold content for customers with significant amounts of gold that send shipments to us on a regular basis. However, this high percentage return is based on the amount of gold you send. You must have over 2 ounces of gold to receive over 90% of the fine gold content by weight.

Interestingly, we have more and more customers like yourself these days who are looking for a trustworthy refiner that offers quick payments. We know that gold buying businesses rely on paying people quickly so we cater to them by paying quickly as well. Here is some feedback from one of our gold operator customers, Kelly Rostic – owner of the Gold Lady:

“What most impresses me about Arch Enterprises is their quick turn-around time and customer service. I overnight my gold to the refinery and by the next afternoon, the gold is processed and I have money wire-transferred into my business account. Since the price of gold is constantly changing, I feel I have the best chance of getting top dollar because I don’t have to wait long for processing. Whenever I call Arch Enterprises, everyone I deal with is polite and professional. With the gold business booming right now and as we approach the holidays, I hope for continued success with my business, The Gold Lady.”

Good luck with your gold buying business Donnie. Let us know if you need gold refining services! Thank you for contacting us.

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 have 2 gold crowns. What is the gold value from these? – From Rob in Des Moines, Iowa

• I have 5 lbs of very small pieces of dental scrap that came from a retired dentist. – from Larry in Phoenix, Arizona

• I have several teeth and crowns with gold filling that have been extracted. I would like the gold recovered and returned as a single nugget. – From Stacy in Raymond, Illinois

• I have about 10 grams of a three tooth bridge, two gold caps and one gold tooth. – From Matt in Chicago, Illinois

Hi Rob, Stacy, Larry and Matt,

I wanted to address your questions together as they are all about dental scrap to refine. As you may know, gold used in dental products can come in may grades and this grade and the amount of gold used can vary greatly from tooth to tooth and crown to crown.

Because of the weight variance and how the gold is alloyed with other metals, it is a very difficult process to extract the full amount of precious metal from the scrap. Arch Enterprises has technicians to handle the recycling of dental scrap, but it is still a difficult process compared to coins or jewelry.

In all of your situations we would melt your pieces together and analyze the gold content. This will ensure total gold consistency for the assay and would result in a higher payout for all of you.

For more information please refer to a previous blog post, “What is My Dental Scrap Worth?”

I have an 18k gold plated wall sconce light fixture. It retailed for $2300 new. Since it was so expensive, I’m wondering if it has more than just the typical thin layer of gold plating and if so, would it be possible to salvage the gold? – From David

Hi David,

Without seeing or testing the light fixture I cannot say for certain if the gold on your light fixture is more than a plating. However, usually the retailer and/or manufacturer will let the buyer know if an item contains a significant amount of gold because it would be a major selling point for them.

Also, it can be easy to get hung up on the retail price of an item, but it is very different from the melt value of the item. Even though the retail price is high does not mean that price translates to the precious metal value, which is the only value that refiners take into consideration.

If the piece is not damaged, I would guess that the retail value of it would be worth more than the precious metal value. Arch Enterprises would not be able to offer you a return for the gold plated item because there would not be enough gold to extract. I would check to see if your wall sconce is a brand name and even if you could sell pieces of it separately. Hope this helps!

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.

This is probably the most common question that we get here at the Silver & Gold Refining Blog.

There are obviously a lot of companies advertising on TV offering “Top dollar for one’s gold”, but the reality is that gold is a worldwide commodity with a price that fluctuates by the minute and is posted by the commodities exchanges.

Realistically, no refiner is going to pay more than the gold is worth on the open market because the gold has a strict value which can be calculated using the following formula.

Weight  x  Purity  x  Price of Gold

There are, however, a few issues to consider:

• The price of gold is set in Troy Ounces which are heavier than what most of us in the U.S. consider an ounce (the avoirdupois ounce). So, if you measure your gold in standard ounces, you need to multiply your weight in ounces by 0.91145833 to get the weight in Troy ounces.
• How accurate is your scale? If gold is trading for $900 an ounce, refiners like us are not going to place your items on a postal scale and round up to the nearest ounce. We typically measure using sophisticated scales that measure in 1/100th of a gram increments.
• Purities vary. While most minted items are very accurate, jewelry marked as 14K gold may actually contain more or less than the 58.24% gold that it takes to classify as 14K. One can typically only tell this with very sophisticated testing equipment, but it is a consideration nonetheless.
• The price of gold fluctuates constantly during the trading day.

Based on this, people can often get very different values, but the formula should get you close.  The bigger difference comes in what the refiner, broker, jeweler, or other gold buyer pays out as your percentage.  Regardless of whom you sell your gold to, this person/company takes some risk in that the price of gold fluctuates by the minute so gold buyers often have to build in some profit to ensure they don’t lose money caused by these fluctuations.

Base on our research, the companies that spend millions of dollars advertising on TV or that travel across the country renting hotel suites and advertising gold buying events in the local paper need to make huge margins to cover their advertising expenses so they typically pay back about 1/6 to 1/2 the value of the gold and keep the rest to cover their marketing costs and make a profit.

In fact, since many of them are not even precious metal refiners, they have to pay a gold refining company to convert items like broken jewelry and such into gold bullion that can be sold on the open market.

Because of these low returns and the shady nature of many of these aggressive companies, people often recommend going to a local jeweler or coin shop that you can trust.  While these companies are not refiners, they typically have relationships with gold refiners and will often pay 1/2 to 2/3 the value of your gold as they have less invested in marketing.

As one would imagine, the best opportunity to get the most return on your gold is to work directly with a gold refiner.  These are the companies that actually melt your gold into bars and such so it can be sold to industry or minted and sold to investors.  Gold refiners typically pay out about 85% to 90% of the value of your gold although many don’t deal with small consumer transactions so you have to look around to find those that will deal in small quantities unless you plan on going into business hosting your own gold buying parties.