Gold Value Calculator

Estimated gold value = weight converted to troy ounces × karat purity ratio × gold price per troy ounce. If a payout percentage is selected, it is applied after the spot value is calculated.

Each term matters independently. Weight has to be gross weight of gold only, with stones and non-gold components excluded. Purity has to be the karat decimal rather than the karat number: 18K is 0.750, not 18. And the price has to be per troy ounce of pure gold, which is what every spot quote refers to.

A worked example end to end. A 22.5 gram 14K bracelet at $4,060 spot: 22.5 ÷ 31.1035 = 0.7234 troy ounces gross; × 0.5833 = 0.4220 troy ounces of fine gold; × $4,060 = $1,713 of gold content. At an 80% payout that is a $1,371 expected offer.

Weight units: troy ounces, grams, kilograms, pennyweight (1 dwt = 1.5552 g), tola (11.6638 g), Thai baht (15.244 g), grains (480 to a troy ounce), and the regular avoirdupois ounce (28.3495 g) that kitchen and postal scales use. That last one is included deliberately, because weighing gold on a kitchen scale and treating the result as troy ounces overstates value by 9.7%.

Purities: 24K (0.999), 23K (0.958), 22K (0.9167), 21K (0.875), 20K (0.833), 18K (0.750), 16K (0.667), 14K (0.5833), 12K (0.500), 10K (0.4167), 9K (0.375) and 8K (0.333). The millesimal stamps map directly: 999, 958, 916, 875, 833, 750, 667, 585, 500, 417, 375, 333.

Currencies are converted from the USD spot price before any weight or purity calculation, so per-gram, per-pennyweight and per-tola figures all appear in your selected currency.

Pure gold weight is the fine gold content after purity is applied. This is the figure that actually maps to money, and it is why two items of identical gross weight can be worth very different amounts.

Price per gram and price per ounce show the market price in your currency, so you can sanity-check any quote you are given against the same reference the buyer is using.

Spot value is the melt value: the market value of the recoverable gold. Payout applies a percentage to model what a real offer looks like. The payout selector is not a prediction - it is a way of seeing the range, so an offer at 45% of melt is visibly different from one at 85%.

The live spot price refreshes every 60 seconds while the page is open, which is right for a quick estimate or a general check.

Use the manual price field when you have a specific number to work against: a dealer quote, a local rate, a broker price, or a hypothetical price you want to model. This matters more than it sounds - if a buyer quoted you at 10am and you check the arithmetic against an afternoon feed, you are comparing their offer to a different market than the one they quoted from.

Manual price is also how you verify a buyer. Enter their stated spot price, enter your weights and karats, and see whether their total actually corresponds to the percentage they claim to be paying.

The calculator returns melt value, and that is a hard ceiling on what any scrap buyer will pay. It does not include gemstones, pearls, or their settings; craftsmanship, brand or designer premium; numismatic value on coins; antique or period value; or the retail markup you originally paid.

It also cannot know whether a piece is hollow, plated or filled. It prices the weight and the purity you give it, so the quality of your inputs sets the quality of the output.

This cuts both ways, and the upside matters. A signed designer piece, an antique with intact hallmarks, or a pre-1933 gold coin can be worth several multiples of its melt value. If a piece has a maker mark, a date, or is a recognisable coin, have it valued as an object before you price it as metal - melting is the one decision you cannot reverse.

Work out your melt value first so you have an anchor, then judge any offer as a percentage of it against the band for that type of business - roughly 80-95% for refiners and specialist mail-in buyers, 70-90% for jewelers and coin dealers, and often 40-60% for pawn shops.

Good signs from a buyer: testing done in front of you, ideally with XRF; each karat group weighed and quoted separately; a stated spot price you can verify; a written offer; and no time pressure.

Then export a CSV or copy a share link before you go. Walking in with a written list of karats and weights changes the conversation, because buyers price partly on material and partly on how informed the seller appears.