Gold · all karats
Gold melt value is the spot price of pure gold scaled by the item's purity (its karat). Below is the live value of one troy ounce and one gram of 24k, 22k, 18k, 14k and 10k gold — the numbers a refiner or jeweler uses to price scrap jewelry.
Live spot via gold-api.com. Melt value = spot per troy oz × purity × weight in troy oz.
Open the full calculator →One troy ounce (31.1035 g) of each purity, at the live spot price.
| Karat | Purity | Melt value / troy oz |
|---|---|---|
| 24k | 99.9% | |
| 22k | 91.7% | |
| 18k | 75.0% | |
| 14k | 58.5% | |
| 10k | 41.7% |
One gram (0.03215 troy oz) of each purity, at the live spot price.
| Karat | Purity | Melt value / gram | Per 10 g | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 99.9% | |||
| 22k | 91.7% | |||
| 18k | 75.0% | |||
| 14k | 58.5% | |||
| 10k | 41.7% |
1 g = 0.032151 troy oz. To price any weight or purity, use the free calculator.
Gold is priced in troy ounces and quoted at 99.9% to 99.99% purity. Jewelry is almost never pure — it is alloyed with copper, silver, zinc, nickel or palladium to make it harder and to change its colour. The karat tells you how much of the metal is actually gold: 24k is 99.9% gold, 18k is 75%, 14k is 58.5% and 10k is 41.7%. The rest is base metal with no melt value.
The melt value is therefore the pure-gold content multiplied by the gold spot price — the hard floor an item is worth no matter what its design, brand or age. A jeweler or refiner pays some percentage of that number for scrap. Anything above melt (maker's marks, antique value, stones) is a separate premium that melt value deliberately ignores.
One formula covers coins, bars and jewelry, in grams or troy ounces:
Because there are 31.1035 grams in a troy ounce, weighing in grams needs one extra step — divide by 31.1035 first:
Illustrative per-gram values at example spot prices — for reference only. The live tables above use the real market price.
| Example spot | 24k /g | 22k /g | 18k /g | 14k /g | 10k /g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 / oz | $64.24 | $58.95 | $48.23 | $37.62 | $26.81 |
| $3,000 / oz | $96.36 | $88.42 | $72.34 | $56.42 | $40.22 |
| $4,200 / oz | $134.90 | $123.79 | $101.28 | $79.00 | $56.31 |
| Karat | Purity | Stamp / hallmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 99.9% | 999, 999.9, "fine gold" | Bullion bars and coins; too soft for everyday jewelry. |
| 22k | 91.7% | 916, 917 | Crown gold; common in Asian and Middle-Eastern jewelry and in many bullion coins. |
| 18k | 75.0% | 750, 18k | Premium jewelry; durable and rich in colour. |
| 14k | 58.5% | 585, 14k | The most common US jewelry karat. |
| 10k | 41.7% | 417, 10k | US minimum to be sold as "gold"; the most affordable. |
Melt value per gram = spot per troy ounce ÷ 31.1035 × fineness. At a $4,200/oz spot that is about $134.90 for 24k, $101.28 for 18k, $79.00 for 14k and $56.31 for 10k. The live tables above use the current spot price.
Look for the hallmark: 999 for 24k, 916 for 22k, 750 or 18k for 18k, 585 or 14k for 14k, 417 or 10k for 10k. No stamp means you should have it tested — acid or XRF — before selling.
Almost nothing. Plated and gold-filled items have only a microscopic layer of gold over base metal. Stamps of GP, HGE, RGP or GF mean plating, not solid gold.
No. Expect about 70–90% of melt from a refiner or honest dealer, up to ~95% for clean bullion, and much less at kiosks. Always compare a few quotes before selling.
Yes — weigh only the metal. Diamonds and gemstones have separate value and should not be counted as gold weight. A jeweler can give you the exact metal weight.
This page values one karat at a time. The Silver Stacking Spreadsheet keeps the whole record — coins, bullion and scrap (silver, gold, platinum and palladium), what you paid, and your running profit or loss, auto-calculated from the spot price you enter.