New Value Vs Used Value
Another big point of confusion with jewelry values is that the value of a used piece of jewelry can be dramatically different from what it cost new. The cost of a new jewelry item includes the intrinsic value and the cost of workmanship which could be 2 to 5 times the value of the gold and gems alone. Even before the work begins, there is the value added by the jewelry designer. This can double the cost of the finished jewelry, or it can have a negligible impact.
There are still more costs to consider with new jewelry. There is the cost of bringing it to market which can include: wholesale costs, import costs, marketing costs, transportation costs, and more. Finally ask: is the jewelry store a high end retailer that can get a two or three times mark up over wholesale cost? Are the sales people receiving a high or low commission? What are the overhead costs where the jewelry is being sold? What is the regulatory and taxation environment like?
Here is an example breakdown of how some of these costs can look. This is a bit exaggerated, but it is just meant to show how much the final price can vary.
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So Many Questions About Gold Prices
What is the cost of gold jewelry? How does the cost of gold jewelry compare to the price per ounce of gold on the metals market?Are rings more expensive by weight than chains? What is retail markup? What makes one type of gold jewelry more expensive than another?
Here at we get asked and try to answer all kinds of jewelry questions. With help from my mathematically happening husband Jeremy, we take on these questions!
Jewelry Appraisals Cash Value And The Truth
The question: how much is my jewelry worth? is not as simple as it may seem. To answer it, we have to first decide which type of worth or value we are talking about because jewelry has different values in different contexts. The main types of value are: intrinsic value, resale value, and appraised value.
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What Is White Gold Worth
A common question many people have with regards to white gold is whether it has the same value as yellow gold. The short answer to this question is yes. It is the gold content in the white gold that primarily determines its value and price.
White gold is an alloy, made by combining gold with other metals. When considering the worth of white gold, we have to take into account the purity of the gold as well as the types of other metals used.
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White Gold Vs Yellow Gold
White gold is known for its cool, white color and luster. Because its alloyed with strong metals, like nickel and zinc, its more durable than white gold. However, white gold needs to be replated every several years to maintain its luster, and because it contains nickel, it may trigger allergic actions in some wearers.
Yellow gold, on the other hand, is appreciated for its warm tone. The overall style of yellow gold hoops is timeless and versatile, particularly simple or traditional hoop styles. One of the drawbacks of yellow gold, however, is that its soft and prone to bending or denting.
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What Is The Value Of Your 14k Gold
The value of your 14K gold depends on how much buyers are willing to pay for it.
Here, we are only discussing the value of 14K gold items when sold as scrap gold. However, retail prices for new jewelry depend on more than just the amount of pure gold in it factors such as the pieces design and brand also come into play.
One way to estimate the value of a 14K gold item is to look at gold market prices. Another way is to check what gold dealers pay per ounce or gram of gold.
How Much Is 14k Gold Worth At Today’s Price
Please enter the weight of your gold into the Precious Metal Calculator and select the currency you want it valued in.
You can find out more about how to test your gold here.
8k, 9k, 10k, 14k, 18k, 21k, 22k, 23k and 24k are all used in different parts of the world. Enter the number of karats into the Precious Metal Calculator to get the value.
14k gold is 14/24 or 58.33% gold. To understand more about gold measurements and how much gold there is in 14k or 18k gold, click here.
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Three Reasons It Costs Way More In The Store
But wait! In the store that 20 gram chain is selling for $1,500.00 Whats up with that?1. Our calculations up to this point havent included the cost of the other metals.
2. We havent figured in the cost of labor to make the chain.
3. We havent bumped up the price to a retail level. So far, we’ve been figuring things out on a beginning level.
Earrings That Are Not Gold
Non-gold earrings
Its difficult to know sometimes whether an old earring is gold or not. The most common non-gold earrings we see are the type of studs used at the time ears are pierced. Theres a very simple test you can use to help separate the gold from the non-gold earrings. Find a strong magnet and pass it over your earrings. If any stick to the magnet, they can be discarded. When trying this out, remember to first separate the butterfly backs from the studs. Again, if any butterfly backs stick to the magnet, theyre not gold.
Using a magnet can also be useful to separate gold chains. However, please be careful if you have any gold bangles. It is very common to have steel tension wires running through them, which can give you a false result.
If all this information about testing gold and non-gold earrings is too much, please dont worry. We dont charge testing fees and anything that turns out not to be gold is always returned, again, for free.
To value your gold earrings, use the calculator in the right-hand column of this page.
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Determine The Gold Purity Of Your Jewelry
To find out how much of the weight of your 14K jewelry is actually pure gold, you need to convert the karats of the items to a percentage.
This is easy: Since your pieces are 14 karats, this means that they contain 14 parts pure gold out of a total of 24 parts.
So, just divide 14 by 24 and multiply the result by 100 to obtain the gold purity percentage of your items, which turns out to be 58.3%.
What Is 14k Gold Worth
Lets talk about value, an important factor when investing into fine jewelry. Is 14K gold valuable? In order to assess worth, we have to revisit the quantity of pure gold in 14K gold. As previously stated, 14K gold contains approximately 58% pure gold. To measure the value of 58% pure gold, youll have to research the present market price for gold. This doesnt mean youll be able to sell 14K gold at that price, rather it is what the actual gold is worth.
Think of it this way:
The higher the karatage, the higher pure gold used, the higher the value.
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Ring With Particular Historical Value
Not so often, it happens that you come into possession of a valuable ring with the heritage. In that case, you need to dig deep for the documents to support the ownership of such a valuable item.
If you have a certificate of the ring origin or any proof that any celebrity wore it at least once, it will significantly increase its price. Your 14K gold ring will also be worth more than regular 22K or 24 K models if it has a famous jewelry designers signature.
The Real Situation In The Pawn Shops
First of all, you shouldnt expect to walk in the pawn shop and get the amount of money you previously researched or determined to claim. It is more complicated than that.
Also, keep in mind that the pawn shops wont offer the same gold price when selling and buying jewelry. It is always significantly different, and you will need to fish out for the best price. To be sure you are not tricked for the real gold ring price, you can always ask to see their license to sell and buy gold.
Be aware that the pawn shop owner needs to make money out of your gold, and you will never get 100% what you have expected.
The fair price you can get is 55 to 75% of the particular rings estimated value. Keep in mind that the given prices are always for a simple ring without a gemstone.
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| 24 | $22 |
When you want to make the final price for more complex rings, you will need to calculate all parts separately. It is quite a challenging job if you are not a professional. However, you can always ask around or check the details.
After comparing the price of 14K gold per gram that the pawn shop offers with its value on the market, you will notice a big difference. Even though one gram of 14K gold is $36 on the market, the pawn shop will provide you with only 13$ per gram for the ring with the same number of karats.
In case you are not in a hurry, you should always check several pawn shops. Compare prices, find the most favorable place, and bargain for the best possible price.
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Value Your 14k Gold Jewelry
Finally, you need to find out the price of gold and use it to value your jewelry.
You can easily find gold prices online, but those that are quoted for gold traded on international exchanges wont be of much use to you, as you wont get the same price when selling your gold.
The prices you should check are those quoted by gold dealers. See how much they buy gold for, per ounce or gram, and calculate how much you could get for the amount of gold you have.
Please note that this is a baseline estimate: It tells you how much you would get if you sold your 14-karat jewelry for scrap gold. Depending on who buys your pieces, you might be able to negotiate for more.
Looking to sell your engagement ring or other diamond jewelry? Check out Worthy, which is an online jewelry auction platform you can mail in your jewelry and let Worthy organize the sale for you, sending you the money after the piece is sold.
Give Me A For Instance
So lets say a particular 14k gold chain weighs 20 grams. Remember, only 58% of the weight is pure gold. The other 42% is a conglomeration of other metals. . So: 58% of 20g = 11.6g. In other words, out of that 20 gram chain, only 11.6 grams of it are pure gold. And with gold at $1300/oz.or $41.80/gramthe gold in the chain would be worth $484.88 .
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What Determines The Value Of 14k Gold
The value of 14-karat gold depends on the amount of pure gold in the alloy.
This means that in order to determine how much an item made of 14K gold is worth , you need to find out its weight and, considering the alloys purity, figure out the amount of pure gold in it.
Once you know how much pure gold you have, you can use current gold market prices to value it.
Looking to sell your engagement ring or other diamond jewelry? Check out Worthy, which is an online jewelry auction platform you can mail in your jewelry and let Worthy organize the sale for you, sending you the money after the piece is sold.
Value: $3323 Per Gram
Besides 58.5% pure gold, an item that has a 585 marking also contains other precious metals such as silver, copper, zinc, palladium, and seldom but sometimes also platinum.
The most common 585 gold alloys consist of:
- Orange-yellow: 585 parts gold, 138 parts silver, 277 parts copper
- Yellow: 585 parts gold, 207 parts silver, 208 parts copper
- Light green: 585 parts gold, 357 parts silver, 58 parts copper
Higher value in designer jewelry and fine jewelry: Later in this article, we provide some information about 585 marked designer jewelry and fine jewelry. The value of .585 designer jewelry is significantly higher than usual pieces marked as 585.
Sell Your 585 Gold to Us!
We buy your 585 gold for a great price. We pay 90% of the stock value for your precious gold. Dont hesitate: order a free shipping kit or request a shipping label by email. Use our gold calculator to pre-calculate our high purchase prices.
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Calculating The Pure Gold Content In White Gold
Regardless of the alloy, all white gold must contain least a minimum of 50 percent of gold. The total number of karats in pure gold is 24, but because 24K gold is generally considered too soft to be used in most types of jewelry, it is mixed with other metals to increase durability and strength.
The purity of gold in white gold is stated in karats. So, in order to find out the worth of your white gold, you first need to know how many gold karats it contains. Check for the hallmark, or the number, stamped into the metal which indicates this karatage. White gold is commonly found in 9K, 12K, 14K and 18K varieties.
But how much gold do these numbers refer to?
To find out you simply have to divide the number of karats in your jewelry by the total value of karats in gold, which is 24.
For example, divide 12 by 24 and you know that 12K white gold contains 50% pure gold and 50% alloys. 18K gold contains 75% pure gold.
White gold does not have its own hallmarks but is generally stamped with the same hallmarks used for gold. These include: .417 for 10K gold, .587 for 14K gold, .750 for 18K gold. As is obvious, these numbers refer to the percentage of gold in the alloy.
For example: If a 14K item weighs .5 ounces, then the amount of pure gold in it is .29 ounces .
Disadvantages Of 14k Gold
14K gold is popular for a reason: for most people, its the best choice. However, it does have a few small disadvantages.
First, to some people, 14K gold isnt quite as aesthetically pleasing as 18K gold. Although it has a rich and impressive color, the appearance of 14K gold isnt quite as strong as that of 18K gold due to its lower gold purity level.
Second, although its unlikely with either type of gold, 14K gold is slightly more likely to result in skin allergies than 18K gold. If your fiancé-to-be is allergic to silver, copper, nickel, zinc, or iron, this could be a point in 18K golds favor.
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Advantages Of 14k Gold
14K gold has several advantages. First, its affordable. Because pure gold makes up 58.3% of the metal content of 14K gold, an engagement ring made from 14K gold will usually cost slightly less than the same ring made from 18K gold.
For example, this 2mm solitaire engagement ring from James Allen costs $560 when 14K gold is chosen as the metal. In 18K gold, the exact same ring from James Allen costs $680.
Second, 14K gold is fairly durable. Gold is quite a soft, malleable metal that scratches, bends and warps easily. This means that the purer a gold engagement ring is, the easier it becomes to scratch it on door frames, desks, tables, the ground and other surfaces.
While 14K gold isnt as durable as platinum or palladium, its more than durable enough for the average person. Its also significantly more durable than 18K gold, making it the better choice if your fiancé-to-be has an active lifestyle or works with her hands.
Third, while 14K gold isnt as pure as 18K gold, its relatively high pure gold content means that it retains the warmth and rich color that people associate with gold. Although it can look slightly dull when compared side-by-side with 18K gold, 14K gold looks stunning on its own.
Finally, 14K gold is ubiquitous and widely available in the world of engagement rings. Its by far the most popular type of gold for engagement rings, accounting for about 90% of all rings sold in the US, UK and other Western countries. This makes it an easy option to find.
Disadvantages Of 18k Gold
Unfortunately, 18K golds biggest advantage its purity is also its biggest disadvantage. Due to its higher percentage of pure gold, 18K gold is quite noticeably softer and easier to scratch or dent than 14K gold.
This means that if your fiancé-to-be works with her hands or has an active lifestyle, an 18K gold ring might not be the best choice.
Another disadvantage of 18K gold is its price. As we briefly mentioned above, 18K gold costs a fair amount more than 14K gold, with most 18K gold engagement rings priced at 150% to 200% as much as their 14K counterparts.
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