How to Sell Gold Jewelry
Straight answer
Most gold jewelry is bought and sold on its melt value — the karat purity multiplied by the weight multiplied by the spot price of gold — not on what you originally paid. The retail markup you paid for design, brand, and craftsmanship does not come back when you sell. To estimate what a piece is worth, read its karat stamp (10k/14k/18k/22k), weigh it by karat, and run the numbers through a melt value calculator. Selling to a jeweler, coin shop, or refiner typically returns 70–90% of melt. The exceptions are signed designer or genuine antique pieces, which can be worth well above melt — sell those through a specialist, not for scrap.
Selling jewelry is mostly an exercise in separating two numbers people tend to blur together: what a piece cost at the store and what its gold is actually worth today. For everyday jewelry, only the second number matters when you sell. This page walks through how that value is calculated, how to read what you own, and where to take it so you keep as much of the metal value as possible.
Jewelry is valued on melt, not on what you paid
When you bought a gold chain or ring, the price covered far more than the gold inside it — design, brand name, store overhead, and margin. That markup commonly runs well over the value of the metal. When you sell ordinary jewelry, none of that comes back. A buyer pays for the gold they can recover by melting the piece down, minus their margin. That recoverable figure is the melt value, and it is the number that governs almost every jewelry sale.
Melt value rests on three inputs: how pure the gold is (its karat), how much it weighs, and the current spot price per troy ounce. Change any one and the value moves. The receipt from the jewelry counter is not an input — it has no bearing on what a refiner will pay. That is the single most important thing to understand before you sell, and it is why an heirloom that “cost a fortune” can return far less than expected.
How to read karat stamps
Nearly all gold jewelry carries a small stamp — a hallmark — telling you its purity. The karat number is a fraction of 24, and it converts directly to the decimal you need for a melt calculation.
| Stamp | Purity | Decimal for melt math | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10k / 417 | 41.7% gold | 0.417 | US legal minimum to be called “gold” |
| 14k / 585 | 58.5% gold | 0.585 | Most common in US jewelry |
| 18k / 750 | 75.0% gold | 0.750 | Fine jewelry |
| 22k / 916 | 91.6% gold | 0.916 | Common in South Asian and Middle Eastern pieces |
| 925 (sterling) | 92.5% silver | — | Silver, not gold; valued on silver spot |
The three-digit “millesimal” stamps (417, 585, 750, 916) say the same thing as the karat marks — they are parts per thousand. A “925” stamp means sterling silver, not gold, and is valued on the silver price instead. If a piece has no stamp, or the stamp is worn away, a buyer will usually acid-test or use an XRF analyzer to confirm purity before quoting. For the full range of marks, including maker’s marks and country hallmarks, see gold hallmarks and stamps.
Separate by karat, then weigh
You cannot value mixed jewelry as one lump. A 14k ring and an 18k chain hold different fractions of gold per gram, so combining them on a single weight hides value — usually in the buyer’s favor. Sort your pieces into karat groups first, then weigh each group in grams on a scale.
Once you have grams by karat, the melt math for each group is straightforward: grams times the purity decimal gives pure gold weight; dividing by 31.1 converts to troy ounces; multiplying by spot gives the melt value. The melt value calculator does all of this for you — enter weight and karat and it pulls the current spot price. Run each karat group separately, then add them up. That total is the ceiling on what the metal is worth; an offer will sit below it by the buyer’s margin.
For per-karat reference figures and worked examples, the karat-specific pages — starting with 14k gold value — show what a gram and a typical piece are worth at recent spot prices.
Gemstones and diamonds usually add little
It is natural to assume the stones add a lot to resale, but for most jewelry they add little. Small accent diamonds and common colored stones (melee, mass-cut sapphires, garnets) have thin resale demand, and a buyer paying on melt will typically ignore them or even discount for the labor of removing them before refining. The stone you paid a premium for at retail rarely returns that premium secondhand.
The exception is a significant, certified stone — a diamond with a recognized grading report (GIA, AGS) of meaningful size, or a notable colored stone with documentation. Those can carry value independent of the gold, but they are sold as stones, through a jeweler or auction that handles gems, not bundled into a scrap-gold transaction. If you think a piece falls here, get it appraised before you let anyone weigh it for melt.
Signed designer and antique pieces: sell above melt
Some jewelry is worth far more than its gold, and treating it as scrap is a costly mistake. Signed work from houses like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, or Tiffany & Co. — especially discontinued, vintage, or documented collections — can command prices well above melt on the strength of the brand and scarcity. The same is true of genuine antique jewelry (Georgian, Victorian, Art Deco), where age, craftsmanship, and provenance drive value.
The test is honest provenance. A mall-counter necklace styled to look designer is not a Cartier estate piece, and a refiner is the right home for it. But if you have the real thing, taking it to a scrap buyer can mean leaving most of its value on the table. When in doubt, get a piece authenticated before selling — our authentication guide covers how.
Gold-filled and gold-plated: the consumer warning
This is the trap that catches the most sellers. Pieces stamped “GF” (gold-filled), “GP” (gold-plated), “HGE” (heavy gold electroplate), “RGP” (rolled gold plate), or with a fraction-and-karat mark like “1/20 12k GF” are not solid gold. They are a base metal — usually brass — wearing a microscopically thin gold layer. The “1/20 12k GF” mark means the gold layer is 1/20th of the item’s weight at 12k purity, which works out to a tiny fraction of actual gold.
Solid-gold stamps stand alone (10k, 14k, 417, 585). Any time a karat mark is paired with letters like GF, GP, or a fraction, treat the piece as costume jewelry for valuation purposes. This is the most common way people are disappointed at the counter — and the easiest to avoid by reading the stamp first.
Where to sell, and what to expect
Three channels handle most solid-gold jewelry sales, and they pay in a similar band — typically 70–90% of melt value — with the spread depending on the buyer’s overhead and how badly they want the metal.
- Jewelers. A jeweler who buys gold is convenient and may pay near the top of the range for desirable or resalable pieces, but some pay closer to melt floor for scrap. Best when a piece might have resale value beyond metal.
- Coin and bullion shops. Shops that deal in metals daily often give the most transparent, melt-based quote and will show their math. Good for straightforward solid-gold scrap; you can negotiate and you walk out paid.
- Refiners. Selling directly to a refiner can pay the highest percentage of melt because you skip a middleman, but most want larger lots and the process is less immediate. Best for volume.
Wherever you go, the rules are the same: know the spot price the day you sell, sort and weigh by karat in advance, and get more than one quote — offers on the same lot can differ by several percent. For a fuller comparison of buyers and how to spot a fair offer, see who pays the most for gold.
This page is general education, not financial or tax advice. Selling at a gain can be a taxable event; confirm specifics with a qualified professional.
How much is my gold jewelry actually worth?
Its melt value — the karat purity times the weight times the current spot price of gold — not what you paid at retail. Read the karat stamp (14k = 0.585), weigh the piece in grams, and run it through a melt value calculator. When you sell, expect to receive roughly 70–90% of that melt figure, since the buyer takes a margin.
What do the stamps on my jewelry mean?
Karat stamps show gold purity: 10k is 41.7% gold, 14k is 58.5%, 18k is 75%, and 22k is 91.6%. The three-digit marks (417, 585, 750, 916) say the same thing as parts per thousand. A “925” stamp means sterling silver, not gold. Marks like “GF,” “GP,” “HGE,” or “1/20 12k GF” mean gold-filled or gold-plated — base metal with a thin gold layer, and little to no melt value.
Do diamonds and gemstones add to what I’ll get?
Usually not much. Small accent diamonds and common colored stones have thin resale demand, and a melt-based buyer often ignores or discounts them. The exception is a significant, certified stone with a recognized grading report — that can carry value on its own, but it is sold as a stone through a jeweler or auction, not bundled into a scrap-gold sale.
Where should I sell signed designer or antique jewelry?
Through a specialist, not for scrap. Signed pieces from houses like Cartier or Tiffany, and genuine antique jewelry, can be worth well above their gold content because of brand and scarcity. Use a reputable auction house, estate-jewelry dealer, or the brand’s resale channel, and bring any boxes and papers. A refiner will only pay melt and miss the collector value entirely.