Jewelry IdentifierHow Much Is Gold Per Gram? Current Rates by Karat (2026)
Gold's spot price gets quoted in troy ounces, but nobody sells a troy ounce of jewelry. What you actually want to know is the per-gram rate for your specific karat, and how that number translates into cash in hand. At the current spot price of $4,030 per troy ounce, the difference between 10K and 18K gold is more than $43 per gram on the same piece. That gap matters whether you're selling, insuring, or just trying to understand what you have.
At $4,030 per troy ounce, 24K gold runs about $130 per gram, 18K about $97, 14K about $76, and 10K around $54. To find your piece's melt value, multiply the per-gram rate for your karat by the weight in grams. That number is the metal floor price, before craftsmanship, gemstones, or brand are factored in.
How the Gold Per Gram Price Is Calculated
One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams. Divide $4,030 by 31.1 and you get roughly $129.58 per gram for pure 24K gold. Every karat below 24 reduces that by its purity fraction.
The karat system measures gold in 24ths. Eighteen-karat means 18 parts gold out of 24, so 75% pure. Fourteen-karat is 14 parts out of 24, or 58.3% pure. Ten-karat gold is 41.7% pure, the legal minimum for jewelry sold as gold in the United States.
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) sets the gold price reference twice daily, at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM GMT. That price, quoted in troy ounces, flows through to dealers, pawn shops, and calculators worldwide. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams. At $4,030 per troy ounce, pure gold (24K, 99.9% purity) is worth approximately $129.58 per gram. Eighteen-karat gold, which is 75% pure, comes to $97.19 per gram. Fourteen-karat gold at 58.3% purity works out to $75.55 per gram. Ten-karat gold at 41.7% purity calculates to $54.03 per gram. Nine-karat gold (common in UK and European jewelry) at 37.5% purity sits at $48.59 per gram. The millesimal fineness hallmarks (999, 750, 585, 417, 375) correspond to these exact purity percentages. British hallmarking laws trace back to a 1300 statute from the Goldsmiths' Company; the karat fractions predate those laws.
Gold Per Gram Rates by Karat: September 2026
Here's the full breakdown at the current $4,030/oz spot price.
| Karat | Purity | Per Gram (Melt) | 5g Piece | 10g Piece | |-------|--------|-----------------|----------|-----------| | 24K | 99.9% | $129.58 | $648 | $1,296 | | 22K | 91.7% | $118.83 | $594 | $1,188 | | 18K | 75.0% | $97.19 | $486 | $972 | | 14K | 58.3% | $75.55 | $378 | $756 | | 10K | 41.7% | $54.03 | $270 | $540 | | 9K | 37.5% | $48.59 | $243 | $486 |
A couple of notes on this table. Twenty-two-karat gold is common in Indian and Middle Eastern jewelry but rare in American pieces. Nine-karat gold appears frequently in British and Australian jewelry but isn't recognized as gold in the US, where the 10K minimum applies.
These are melt values only. They tell you what the raw metal is worth, not what a jeweler or collector would pay for the finished piece.
What Dealers Pay Per Gram of Gold
Melt value is the theoretical ceiling if you refined the metal yourself and sold pure gold. Real buyers pay less, because they need margin to cover refining, overhead, and risk.
Gold buyers (specialist jewelers and refiners) typically pay 70-80% of melt. A 10g 14K piece with a $756 melt value would fetch $529-$605 at a specialist gold buyer. Pawn shops tend to come in lower, around 40-60% of melt, because their overhead is higher and they factor in uncertainty about the piece.
For that same 10g 14K piece, expect $302-$454 at a pawn shop. That's a big spread, and it's why getting multiple offers before you sell matters. How much pawn shops pay for gold breaks down the exact rates by venue and explains how to negotiate a better number.
Private buyers on platforms like eBay tend to pay closer to 85-95% of melt for desirable pieces, but you take on the work of listing, shipping, and buyer disputes. For scrap gold with no collector value, specialist gold buyers hit the sweet spot between pawn shops and private sales.
How to Calculate Your Gold's Value at Home
You need two things: the karat stamp and the weight in grams. With both, the math takes about 30 seconds.
Step 1: Find the karat stamp. Look inside rings on the inner shank, on chains near the clasp or end-bar, and near pendant bails. Common stamps are 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, or 24K. European pieces often use millesimal fineness instead: 375 (9K), 417 (10K), 585 (14K), 750 (18K). If the stamp is worn or hard to read, a hallmark reading guide covers what each mark looks like and where to find them.
Step 2: Weigh the piece. A jeweler's scale accurate to 0.1g is ideal. Kitchen scales lack the precision needed for small pieces, especially rings and earrings under 5 grams. Weigh in grams, not ounces.
Step 3: Multiply weight by per-gram rate. At today's prices, a 14K ring weighing 4.5g is worth: 4.5 × $75.55 = $340 in melt value. A 10g 18K chain: 10 × $97.19 = $972 in melt value.
For a faster estimate, Jewelry Identifier's web tool can scan your piece from a photo and return a value estimate based on the metal content it identifies. Your first appraisal is free at jewelryappraisals.app/sign-up.
Why Your Jewelry's Value Often Differs from Melt Math
Melt value is a floor, not a ceiling. Several factors push the real-world number higher, and a few push it lower.
Signed or designer pieces. A 14K Cartier Love bracelet's melt value is roughly $1,749 (about 18g × $97.19). It sells for $3,000-$8,000+ on the secondary market because of the name. Tiffany, Van Cleef, and Bvlgari pieces can command 5-15x melt at auction. If you have a signed piece, check comparable sold prices on eBay before going anywhere near a pawn shop.
Gemstones. The per-gram calculation covers metal only. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and other stones have separate value that the melt math doesn't capture at all. A gold ring with a 1-carat diamond needs the stone valued independently. Adding the stone's resale value to a melt calculation gives you a much closer picture of what the piece is actually worth.
Antique and estate pieces. Collector demand routinely pushes prices above melt. An Art Deco platinum brooch might have a melt value of $200 but sell for $3,000 based on craftsmanship and rarity. Estate jewelry appraisal involves an entirely different calculation than commodity melt math.
Gold-filled and gold-plated pieces. These stamps can look deceptively like solid gold marks. "GF" (gold-filled) means the piece is at least 1/20 gold by weight; "GP" or "GEP" (gold electroplate) has only a surface coating. A 1/20 14K GF bracelet contains maybe 1g of actual 14K gold no matter how heavy the piece feels. At $75/gram for the gold content, the melt value is around $75, not the $756 you'd calculate on a solid 10g 14K piece.
Hollow pieces. Some chains and bangles are hollow to reduce weight and cost. They look substantial but weigh far less than a solid piece of the same size. Weigh before you calculate.
Quick Checks Before You Sell
Before running the numbers, confirm you actually have gold. Three fast tests help.
The magnet test takes five seconds. Gold isn't magnetic. A strong neodymium magnet pulls at steel, iron, and nickel. If your piece moves toward it, the base metal is magnetic and it's not solid gold. This doesn't confirm gold; it just rules out the most common fakes.
The density test takes no equipment. Gold is heavy at 19.3 g/cm³. Pure gold feels noticeably dense for its size. A piece that feels light for how big it looks may be hollow, plated, or a base metal.
The stamp check is the most reliable. Almost every piece of sold-as-solid-gold jewelry made after 1906 in the US carries a karat stamp somewhere. No stamp on a newer-looking piece is a reason to look closer. Older pieces (pre-1900) sometimes lack stamps because marking requirements came later.
For anything where the answer matters financially, a proper acid test or XRF analysis from a jeweler removes all doubt. Testing and selling gold jewelry covers both approaches in detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is 14K gold per gram today?
At $4,030 per troy ounce, 14K gold is worth approximately $75.55 per gram in melt value. A 14K piece weighing 5 grams has a melt value of about $378. Specialist gold buyers typically pay 70-80% of melt ($265-$302), while pawn shops offer 40-60% ($151-$227). Get multiple quotes before selling.
How much is 18K gold per gram today?
At $4,030/oz spot price, 18K gold runs about $97.19 per gram since 18K is 75% pure gold. A 5-gram 18K piece has a melt value around $486. A specialist gold buyer would typically offer $340-$389 for it. Pawn shops would offer $194-$291.
How much do pawn shops pay for 14K gold per gram?
Pawn shops typically pay 40-60% of melt value for 14K gold, which works out to about $30-$45 per gram at current prices. On a 5-gram 14K piece with a $378 melt value, you'd generally receive $151-$227 at a pawn shop. Specialist gold buyers and jewelers pay closer to 70-80% of melt.
What does the millesimal fineness stamp mean on my gold?
Millesimal fineness marks show gold purity as parts per thousand. A 585 stamp means 585 parts gold per 1,000, which equals 14K (58.5% pure). A 750 stamp is 18K (75% pure), 417 is 10K (41.7% pure), and 999 is 24K (99.9% pure). European jewelry uses these numbers instead of the 10K/14K/18K system common in the US.
Does a heavier gold piece always mean more gold?
Weight and gold content usually track together for solid pieces, but not always. Hollow chains and bangles can weigh very little despite looking substantial. Gold-filled pieces can feel heavy but contain only a surface layer of actual gold. Always identify the karat stamp before assuming the metal weight reflects the gold content.
Gold is worth about $130 per gram at its purest, but what you'll actually receive depends on the karat, the buyer, and whether the piece has value beyond the metal itself. Running the melt math first gives you a baseline so no offer surprises you. For a detailed estimate that accounts for gemstones, hallmarks, and comparable sales, get your free appraisal at Jewelry Identifier in seconds.