Do you have old gold rings and jewelry? If so, you may be curious about how much they cost and what you can get from them.
Knowing the value of your jewelry can be very helpful, so you know what to expect from people who will make price offers.
For instance: how much does a 14k piece of gold jewelry cost?
Determining the exact value of gold rings can be difficult without a professional opinion. For reference, reselling a women’s 14K gold ring with no jewels can vary between $34-$500. A women’s 18K gold ring with no jewels can be around $50-600. Value varies depending on weight and the gold demand.
There are several factors that play into a piece of jewelry’s value.
Below, we’ll cover some aspects that will help you determine how to find the specific value of your gold jewelry.
How To Determine The Specific Value Of Your Gold Jewelry
Gold is a precious metal that is highly valuable. It can be difficult to determine the specific value of your gold since it depends on so many factors.
Gold Demand
When trying to figure out how valuable your gold jewelry is, it is important to keep in mind the current gold demand.
This is something you may not even be aware of until now, but depending on the supply and demand, your gold’s value will vary.
If you sell your gold jewelry when there is a high demand for gold, it will be valued higher than when there is more supply and less demand.
There are a lot of factors used to determine the accurate gold demand.
One factor that increases the gold demand is when the economy is low.
Many people save gold for when the economy drops, as it is worth more during a depression in the economy.
Gold Purity
The purity of gold in your ring will greatly change the value of your gold rings and jewelry.
When a piece of jewelry has less gold in it, manufacturers have to fill the rest with a separate metal.
Common metals used to fill the lack of gold often include silver, copper, or nickel.
When trying to figure out what percent of your jewelry is real gold, it is important to remember that gold percentage is often measured in 24 parts.
When someone says they have a 24k gold ring, they are saying they have a solid (or mostly solid) gold ring.
All 24 parts are gold. The value of your gold jewelry will change depending on how much of the jewelry is pure gold.
Aside from the value of your gold jewelry, the purity level also changes the color of the jewelry.
24 karat gold jewelry is bright yellow, almost an orange color.
Because of the harsh color, many people decide to purchase 18k, which comes in three different colors.
The 18k gold rings have the strength of gold, but because of the different metals mixed in, it has softer colors.
You can choose between yellow, white, and rose 18k gold colors.
Along with using karats to measure the amount of gold, jewelers also use a system called millesimal fineness.
Instead of measuring 24 parts to rank the gold purity, they use 1000.
This is meant to show how many parts of 1000 molecules are solid gold.
Refer to the chart below to find the purity level of your gold jewelry.
| Karats | Parts of Gold | Millesimal Fineness | Purity |
| 24K | 24 out of 24 | 999 | 99.9% |
| 22K | 22 out of 24 | 916-917 | 91.7% |
| 18K | 18 out of 24 | 750 | 75% |
| 14K | 14 out of 24 | 583-585 | 58.3% |
| 12K | 12 out of 24 | 500 | 50% |
| 10K | 10 out of 24 | 416-417 | 41.7% |
| 9K | 9 out of 24 | 375 | 37.5% |
Remember that the higher amount of gold means the stronger the metal.
Gold is the strongest metal out of the other metals commonly used in jewelry.
State of the Ring
If you are trying to sell your ring or your jewelry as is (not melted) then the price and value of your ring will depend on the state of the jewelry.
The better condition of your ring, the higher the price will be.
Those who are in the market of purchasing gold rings and jewelry as usually not planning on melting down the gold to use for something else.
The common customer of gold jewelry is planning on using the gold as jewelry, either for themselves or for their significant other.
If you are trying to sell your ring and you want to make the ring or jewelry appear in the best position it can be, you should thoroughly clean the jewelry before attempting to sell it.
This will not only make it look shinier and cleaner but can also make some of the scratches or nicks on the jewelry appear smaller by removing the dirt and grime.
If your ring or jewelry has significant scratches or broken pieces, the pawnshop will dramatically lower the value of your jewelry.
This is often because the ring is not in a presentable enough state to sell right away.
The money you receive for your ring is lower because the shop will have to spend money on repairs before they can sell the ring.
Assembled/Complete Ring
Similar to the previous factor, it is important to know when selling your jewelry that those in the market are most likely planning on using the jewelry as is.
If you have a gold ring with a base or stand to hold a diamond or a gem but the jewel is missing, the value of the ring will be lower.
This will be the same if you try to sell the jewelry on your own or to a pawn shop.
Pawnshops are hesitant to purchase jewelry that needs money and work because if the product does not sell, they will lose money.
If you are planning on selling your old jewelry and it is missing jewels or pieces of it, keep in mind the value may be dramatically lower than your original expectation.
Often when someone is selling just the base of a wedding ring without the diamond/jewel in it, it is because it has either fallen off or they have kept the diamond to use in a different piece of jewelry.
Historical Value
In rare cases, you may find yourself in possession of a historical piece of jewelry.
If you were to take your jewelry to a pawnshop to have the value estimated, the value may be higher if your jewelry has some historical value.
This does not mean that just because the wedding ring is 100 years old it will have historical value.
If you are in ownership of a ring or piece of gold jewelry that once belonged to a historical figure, or that was created by a historical jeweler, you will need to have documents to prove such ownership or creation.
In cases where there is historical value, your ring or piece of jewelry will be valued higher.
Weight
The weight of the gold is one of the classic deciders of value and price of gold jewelry.
To see a reference, view the chart below to compare the price of different weights between 14K, 18K, and 24K.
If you are attempting to determine the value of your gold ring, a good rule to keep in mind is a woman’s ring usually weighs between 1-7 grams and a man’s weighs between 3-9.
*Important Notice* The value of these calculations is based on the gold market and demand of June 2021.
| Karats of Gold | Price for 1 Gram | Price for 1 Ounce | Purity of Gold |
| 14K | $34.00 | $963.97 | 58.3% Gold |
| 18K | $43.72 | $1,239.39 | 75% Gold |
| 24K | $58.29 | $1,652.52 | 99.9% Gold |
Selling Your Gold Jewelry
Now that you understand the different factors that go into determining the value of your gold, you can now look into selling it.
The most common ways to sell jewelry are either on your own to an independent seller, or at a pawn shop.
Before attempting to sell your jewelry either online or through a pawn shop, you should first figure out the estimated value of your ring.
Estimated Value
As you now know, it can be near impossible to determine the value of your gold jewelry without the opinion of a professional jeweler who understands all the factors and their values.
To give you a vague estimated value refer to the chart:
*Important Notice* The value of these calculations is based on the gold market and demand for June 2021.
If you are attempting to find an estimated value for your gold rings, you need to find the current gold demand price.
This could either raise or lower your estimated value price.
| Karats of Gold | Average Woman’s Gold Ring (No Jewels) | Average Man’s Gold Ring (No Jewels) |
| 14K | $170.02 | $238.02 |
| 18K | $218.59 | $306.03 |
| 24K | $291.45 | $408.04 |
You may be asking why the men’s rings are of higher value, this is because their rings are often heavier than women’s rings to accommodate for the larger size.
These averages are based simply on the gold weight.
The weight used to find these averages is the average weight for women and men gold rings. For women, it is 5 grams, and for men, it is 7 grams.
Know that this does not mean you will receive this specific amount for your rings.
You may receive more or less depending on the ring itself and the buyer. This is simply giving you the value of the gold.
Review the above factors to examine your ring to make your own estimation of how much you should be charging.
If your ring has a diamond or gem embedded in it, it will have a higher value.
Do your research to find the value of the cut and weight of your diamond. You can add this to your estimated value.
Melt Value
Because it is so difficult to give a specific estimation for your ring, we are giving you an estimation based on “melt value”.
This is the Melt value of the gold.
That means it is the value you would receive if you were to sell it to a refiner who would melt it down and turn it into something else.
Melt value doesn’t take into account the time and effort someone took to shape that specific piece of jewelry.
This is why gold jewelry is so much more expensive than the actual value of gold.
When purchasing jewelry, you are paying for the time and effort someone put in to create that piece.
Generally, the price you pay in-store is at least twice as much as the actual cost of gold.
The good thing for you is that you are likely to get more money than the above estimation if you sell your ring to someone who will use it as is.
This is especially true if your gold ring has unique designs that will most likely raise the price because of the design and effort that was put into the ring.
Melt value depends entirely on the purity of gold, the weight of the gold, and the gold demand market.
Selling On Your Own
As previously mentioned, it is extremely difficult to give an estimation for your ring without a professional opinion.
If you are attempting to sell the ring on your own without first inquiring about the opinion of a professional, begin by figuring out the melt value of your ring.
This can be done by knowing the purity and weight of your ring.
You can then enter the information into the link found under “Weight”. You should not sell under that amount. Double that, this should be about where you begin.
If your ring has diamonds or gems, find the estimated value of those and add that on.
As you are attempting to sell your ring (on whatever platform you choose), keep an eye on it, and lower the price according to how long it has been on sale.
Selling At A Pawn Shop
For many people, selling items to a pawn shop can seem risky.
Before going in, it is a very smart move to do your research.
Find out all the same information you would as if you were selling it yourself.
Find the melt value of the gold and diamond value.
Do not let the pawn shop offer you less than the melt value.
This should be the lowest value you go.
