I have 2 men’s wedding bands that are 95% platinum. Together they weigh 22.54 grams. Can you tell where I can sell them and how much they are worth? From Richard in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hi Richard,

As with any jewelry, you can always try to sell platinum rings for their “jewelry value” through a jeweler, pawnshop, or eBay. Of course the market value you may get for used jewelry is very hard to determine and many people are very skeptical about buying jewelry online.

Determining the value when viewed from refining point-of-view is much more straightforward. We refine platinum jewelry based on the weight of platinum available for extraction and the market price of platinum. Platinum prices are determined by troy ounces, so you will need to convert grams to troy ounces.  There are approximately 31.1 grams in 1 troy ounce. So your rings weigh about 0.725 troy ounces. Then we find the market price of platinum, which changes daily.

According to CNN Commodities Prices, platinum is $1,538.70 USD per troy ounce. Based on this, the melt value of your 95% platinum rings is about $1,060. Typically we can return 70% of the fine platinum value based on the weight and market price.

Keep in mind, once again, that refiners like us do not take into account the craftsmanship, quality or brand of jewelry items we refine. If you think any of these items are important to the value of your rings, we would recommend first taking them to a jeweler to have them appraised. If you decide to go this route, try and locate all the paperwork you can about the rings such as the purchase receipts and/or purchase certificates.

The retail value of jewelry is kind of like cars. Once they become “used,” the resale value usually drops considerably. That is why refining outdated or broken jewelry is can be a profitable alternative to pawn shops and resale stores, but it is highly dependent on the marketability of individual items.

Is there any way to tell if my platinum ring is pure platinum? — Beth in Stillwater, OK

The two most common purities of platinum used in jewelry are:

Plat - 950 Plat is considered nearly pure platinum and usually contains 95% platinum and 5% iridium.  It is quite expensive and typically the highest grade of platinum available for jewelry making.

IridPlat - This platinum is 90% pure platinum with 10% other metals mixed in…typically iridium. These rings can be marked with a hallmark of “.90 Plat” as well and therefore have a slightly lower melt value than their purer platinum counterparts.

Obviously pure platinum will yield higher returns, however at around $1,322.00/troy ounce, platinum alloyed with other materials can return a surprisingly high melt value.