What gold is worth per gram today, by karat and stamp
In short
Pure gold is $141.74 per gram right now. Jewelry is never pure, so a gram of 14k is worth $82.92, 18k $106.30, 10k $59.10. That is the melt value: the gold inside, at spot. A buyer will offer a percentage of it. Pick your karat and weight below, find your stamp in the table, or decode the stamp if you are not sure what it says.
- 24k (99.9% gold)
- 22k (91.6% gold)
- 21k (87.5% gold)
- 18k (75% gold)
- 14k (58.5% gold)
- 12k (50% gold)
- 10k (41.7% gold)
- 9k (37.5% gold)
- grams
- pennyweight (dwt)
- troy ounces
- ounces (avdp)
Spot $4,408.50/oz t = $141.74/g · gold-api.com · 2026-09-04
Melt value per gram, pennyweight and troy ounce
| Karat | Stamp | Gold content | Melt value per gram | Per pennyweight | Per troy ounce |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 999 / 24K | 99.9% | $141.59 | $220.20 | $4,403.94 |
| 22k | 916 / 22K | 91.6% | $129.83 | $201.91 | $4,038.17 |
| 21k | 875 / 21K | 87.5% | $124.02 | $192.87 | $3,857.46 |
| 18k | 750 / 18K | 75.0% | $106.30 | $165.31 | $3,306.30 |
| 14k | 585 or 583 / 14K | 58.5% (58.3% US minimum) | $82.92 | $128.95 | $2,579.10 |
| 12k | 500 / 12K | 50.0% | $70.87 | $110.21 | $2,204.31 |
| 10k | 417 / 10K | 41.7% | $59.10 | $91.91 | $1,838.22 |
| 9k | 375 / 9ct | 37.5% | $53.15 | $82.66 | $1,653.15 |
Per gram in Canadian dollars, pounds, euros and Australian dollars
The same spot price converted at the reference exchange rates of 2026-09-04. Gold trades in US dollars everywhere, so a buyer in Toronto, London or Sydney quotes the dollar price times the exchange rate, less the same kind of margin. Use the currency switch in the result panel above to see the calculator in your currency.
| Karat | USD | AUD | CAD | EUR | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 141.59 | 196.56 | 195.39 | 121.82 | 104.65 |
| 22k | 129.83 | 180.23 | 179.17 | 111.71 | 95.96 |
| 18k | 106.30 | 147.57 | 146.69 | 91.46 | 78.57 |
| 14k | 82.92 | 115.11 | 114.43 | 71.34 | 61.29 |
| 10k | 59.10 | 82.04 | 81.56 | 50.85 | 43.68 |
| 9k | 53.15 | 73.78 | 73.35 | 45.73 | 39.28 |
How the number is calculated
Karat is parts of gold out of 24, so 14k is 14 ÷ 24 = 58.3%. American jewelry may legally be stamped 14K at that fraction. Most European and much modern American jewelry carries the 585 stamp, which is 58.5%. On a 10 gram chain the two readings differ by about $2.83, so we use 58.5% and tell you when 58.3% applies. The same logic gives 750 for 18k (75.0%) and 417 for 10k (41.7%).
What moves the price
The spot price is set by trading in London and New York and quoted in dollars per troy ounce; everything on this page is that number divided down. It moves with the dollar (a weaker dollar means a higher gold price in dollars), with real interest rates (gold pays no interest, so it does better when rates are low), with central bank buying, and with fear, since gold is what people buy when they distrust everything else. Day to day the moves are usually under one percent; over a year they can be a third either way. For a seller with a few rings, none of this matters as much as the spread between buyers, which is often larger than a year of price movement. For a buyer of jewelry, it matters even less: retail prices follow spot slowly and partially.
One ring, five numbers
| The same 6 g 14k ring | Share of melt | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| Melt value at spot | 100% | $497.50 |
| Mail-in refiner, large lot | 85–95% | $422.87–$472.62 |
| Local jeweler who batches scrap | 65–80% | $323.37–$398.00 |
| Pawn shop or mall kiosk | 40–60% | $199.00–$298.50 |
| Retail price when new (2–4 × melt) | 200–400% | $994.99–$1,989.98 |
The table is the whole economics of gold jewelry in five rows. You buy at two to four times melt, because design, labor, brand and retail margin sit on top of the metal. You sell at a fraction of melt, because every buyer needs a margin and the refiner is the only one who turns the ring back into money. The same ring is worth $1,989.98 in a display case and $248.75 at a pawn counter on the same afternoon, and both numbers are honest. Knowing the melt figure in the middle is what keeps a seller from accepting the bottom row when the top of the third row was available across the street.
Reading the stamp instead of guessing the karat
The three-digit number inside a ring or on a clasp is the gold fraction in thousandths: 375, 417, 585, 750, 916, 999. A K number is the same thing in karats. Two stamps mean the piece is not solid gold and the table above does not apply: 925 is sterling silver (often gold-plated silver sold as vermeil), and letters such as GF, GP, HGE or RGP mark a thin gold layer over base metal. A 1/20 12K GF stamp means five percent of the weight is 12k gold; the melt value of a typical gold-filled piece is a dollar or two.
Selling: the steps, and the red flags
Before you go
Sort by karat using the stamps. Weigh each lot in grams on a scale reading to 0.1 g. Multiply by the per-gram figures above and write the melt value down; that number is your reference for every offer. Pull anything signed, antique or set with real stones into a separate pile, because it may be worth more than melt as jewelry.
At the counter
Ask for the price per gram, by karat, today. A buyer who quotes that way is quoting; one who names a single total for the bag is not. Watch the weighing: stones, steel springs and watch parts come out first. Get two quotes on the same day, because offers on identical lots commonly differ by a third.
Red flags
One price for a mixed-karat lot. Quotes in pennyweights only, which sound larger. A refusal to state the spot price they are working from. Pressure to sell today because the price is about to fall. Testing that scratches or files without asking. Any of these means the second quote is the one to take.
What a buyer will actually pay
Nobody pays spot. A pawn shop or mall kiosk covers rent and risk and offers the least; a local jeweler who refines in bulk offers more; a refiner or mail-in buyer usually offers the most, because they are the last step in the chain. The gap between the best and worst offer on the same piece is commonly larger than a day of price movement, which is why the payout field in the calculator is yours to set, not our claim. Melt value is also the floor, not the ceiling. Signed pieces, antique work and anything with good gemstones can sell for more intact than melted; a buyer who only quotes melt is telling you what they plan to do with it.
Questions people ask
How much is 10k gold worth per gram?
$59.10 at today's spot, because 10k is 41.7% gold. A typical 10k class ring of 8 grams holds 3.3 g of gold, worth $472.83 melted; pawn counters commonly quote 10k pieces well under that because a small 10k lot costs as much to refine as a 14k one. If a buyer quotes a single price per gram for a mixed bag, they are using the 10k rate for everything in it.
How much is 18k gold worth per gram?
$106.30, since 18k is three quarters gold, which is $23.38 more per gram than 14k and the reason 18k pieces are worth separating before a sale. A 5 gram 18k ring holds 3.75 g of pure gold ($531.51); the same ring in 14k holds 2.93 g ($414.58). The difference on one ring buys dinner; on a jewelry box it buys a flight.
Is 10k gold worth anything?
More than people expect. A chunky 20 gram 10k bracelet carries 8.3 grams of pure gold, about $1,182.08 at spot, which is real money. What is not worth much is 10k jewelry as jewelry: it has the lowest resale as a finished piece, so its floor and its ceiling sit close together. It is also the hardest common alloy, which is why school rings and men's bands are made of it and why they survive.
Why is the buyer's price per gram so far below the number here?
Because this page shows melt value at the spot price and nobody pays spot. A refiner keeps a few percent for assay and refining, a jeweler who batches scrap keeps more, and a pawn shop, which may hold your piece for months, keeps the most. On the same 14k ring, offers commonly run from about half to about ninety percent of the melt figure. Ask for the price per gram by karat and divide it by the table above; that ratio, not the dollar figure, tells you who is fair.
What is 585 gold worth per gram?
Exactly what 14k is worth, $82.92 today: 585 is the European stamp for 58.5% gold. If your piece is stamped 583 it is American 14k at the strict 14/24 fraction and worth $0.28 less per gram, a difference that only matters if you are selling by the kilogram.
Is 14k gold worth buying compared with 18k?
For daily wear, 14k: it is harder, scratches less, and holds $23.38 less gold per gram, so a 6 gram band costs less and is cheaper to replace. For color and for resale, 18k: its yellow is deeper and a refiner pays 28% more per gram for it. Neither is an investment. A retail ring is priced at two to four times its melt value and sells back at melt, so gold bought as jewelry loses half or more of its price the day it leaves the shop.