Jewelry IdentifierGold Calculator
Scrap and melt value by weight and karat, at today's live gold price. Free, no sign-up.
Pure gold content
5.85 g
58.5% of 10.00 g
Melt value
$786.99
$78.70 per gram at this karat
Typical buyer offer
$550.89–$708.29
70–90% of melt (gold buyers, refiners)
Melt value is the floor. Signed, antique, or gem-set pieces often sell for more than their gold — check real eBay sold prices before you accept a scrap offer, or get the app to weigh, read the stamp, and price a piece in one scan.
How to use the scrap gold calculator
- Weigh the piece on a kitchen or jeweler's scale. Grams are easiest; buyers often quote in pennyweight (dwt), so both are supported.
- Find the karat stamp — usually inside a ring band or on a clasp: 585 is 14K, 750 is 18K, 417 is 10K, 375 is 9K. Can't read it? Photograph it with the free Hallmark Reader.
- Check the price. The calculator loads the live spot price; replace it with a buyer's per-ounce quote to see exactly what their offer is worth.
Remove any stones first if you can (they aren't gold), and remember that clasps, posts and springs on a piece are sometimes lower-karat or base metal.
Melt value vs. what you can actually get
Melt value is what the gold is worth if it's refined — the number every buyer starts from. Nobody pays 100% of it: refining costs money and the buyer needs a margin. As a rule of thumb, online gold buyers and refiners pay 75–90% of melt, local jewelers 70–85%, and pawn shops 40–70%. Our guides on how to sell gold jewelry and what pawn shops pay for gold cover getting the best offer.
And melt is only the floor. A signed Cartier bracelet, an Art Deco ring, or a piece with real diamonds is worth far more sold as jewelry than as scrap. Before you take a scrap offer, run the piece through the eBay Price Checker to see what the same kind of piece actually sold for, or get a free jewelry appraisal.
Frequently asked questions
How does the gold calculator work?
It converts your piece's weight to grams, multiplies by the karat's purity (14K = 58.5%, 18K = 75%, and so on) to get pure gold content, then multiplies by today's spot price per troy ounce. The result is the melt value — what the gold itself is worth.
How much is 14K gold worth per gram?
14K is 58.5% pure, so one gram contains 0.585 g of gold. At a $4,000/oz spot price that is about $75 of gold per gram; buyers typically pay 70–90% of that. Use the calculator above with the live price for today's figure.
What do scrap gold buyers actually pay?
Reputable online gold buyers and refiners pay roughly 75–90% of melt value; local jewelers 70–85%; pawn shops often 40–70%. Always weigh the piece and calculate melt yourself before taking a quote.
Is melt value the same as what my jewelry is worth?
No — melt value is the floor. Signed designer pieces, antiques, and jewelry with genuine gemstones usually sell for more than their gold content. Check comparable eBay sold listings before you scrap anything.
How do I know my gold's karat?
Look for a stamp inside the band or on the clasp: 10K/417, 14K/585, 18K/750, 22K/916, 24K/999. Marks like GP, GF, or HGE mean plated or filled, not solid gold, and have almost no melt value.