Gold Melt Value Calculator
The dealer's math, in the open: spot price × purity × weight, in grams, troy ounces, pennyweight or tola.
Find today's spot price by searching “gold price today” — use the per-troy-ounce figure from a major source (Kitco, your bank, or a news site). Prices move during the day; dealers quote from the same spot.
How to use it
Look at the stamp inside your item's band or clasp — 10K, 14K, 18K, 585, 750 (those numbers are the same purities in thousandths). Weigh it on a kitchen or jewelry scale. Enter today's spot price and the three numbers, and you have the melt value: what the gold itself is worth as metal, before any dealer's margin.
Worked example
A 14K necklace weighing 10 grams, with spot at $2,650/ozt: pure-gold content is 10 × (14 ÷ 24) = 5.83 g. Per-gram pure price is $2,650 ÷ 31.1035 = $85.20. Melt value = 5.83 × $85.20 ≈ $497. A fair dealer offer typically lands at 70–90% of melt for scrap, because refining and risk come out of their side — walk in knowing the $497 and the negotiation changes completely.
What melt value is not
It is not the retail price (jewelry sells for far more — you are paying for design and labor) and not necessarily the offer (dealers take a margin). It is the floor of the conversation, and the number this site exists to put in your hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find today's spot price?
Search “gold price today” and use the dollar figure per troy ounce from a major financial source. If a site quotes per gram, it has already divided by 31.1035 — this calculator wants the per-ounce figure.
My jewelry has stones. Does that change the value?
Dealers weigh the whole piece but pay for metal only — stones are usually removed or discounted. For an accurate melt weight, a jeweler can estimate the stone weight to subtract.
Related
Gold Weight Converter (Grams · Troy Oz · Dwt · Tola)
Convert between the units gold is actually traded in — including the troy ounce that confuses everyone.
📊Gold Karat Chart: Purity, Stamps and What They Mean
24K down to 10K — purity percentages, the number stamps (585, 750, 916), colors, and which karat suits which job.
🤝How to Sell Gold Without Getting Underpaid
Know your melt value, pick the right buyer, and use the three questions that reveal a fair dealer in one minute.