You may have inherited an antiquated piece of jewelry or are sick of looking at a piece you never wear lying at the bottom of your jewelry box. Whatever the case may be, you have several options when it comes to getting rid of unwanted jewelry. You can try to resell the jewelry piece, transform it into something new, or scrap the gold. If you’re leaning more towards the latter option, you may be wondering how much money your gold jewelry is actually worth. Here are some steps you can take to determine the approximate value of your gold jewelry:

1. Weigh your gold. Use a precise scale that can accurately measure grams to determine the overall weight of your gold. If you don’t have that type of scale available, consider digging out an old appraisal. Detailed appraisals will typically state the gold’s weight. Make sure to take into account/remove gemstone weight in case your old jewelry has a gemstone set into it.
2. Check the current price of gold per gram. A simple Google search will tell you the current price of gold. If the price you found is listed per ounce, simply divide that amount by 31.1 to get the price per gram.
3. Determine the gold purity. Is your gold jewelry 14 karats, 18 karats, or another level of fineness? Typically, gold jewelry will feature a stamp on the inside of the piece that indicates fineness. You may need to use a magnifying glass to read that stamp since most are relatively small. Additionally, its important to note whether the jewelry piece is solid gold vs. gold plated. If you’re not sure, take the piece to a jeweler who will able to tell the difference.
4. Calculate the scrap gold’s price per gram. Multiply the current price of gold per gram (found in step #2) by the fineness of your gold jewelry piece. To determine the fineness of your gold, simple divide the karat value (determined in step #3) by 24. For instance, if your gold jewelry is 14 karats, divide 14 by 24 to get approximately 0.58333.
5. Calculate the value of your scrap gold. Multiply the price per gram (calculated in step #4) by the weight in grams (found in step #1) to determine the overall value of your scrap gold.

Congratulations, you’ve (hopefully successfully) determined the value of your scrap gold! It’s important to note, however, that this value is not going to be the amount you’ll receive from a gold buyer. Overhead costs in addition to the labor required to melt and refine gold affect the amount you’ll actually receive. If you are interested in selling your scrap gold, we suggest contacting a local jeweler you trust to find out what they’ll offer you for your old gold.