In short
750 is 18 karat gold: 750 parts of gold in 1,000, or 75% by weight. The other quarter is copper and silver in yellow gold, more copper in rose, palladium or nickel in white. It is the everyday fine jewelry standard of Italy, France, Switzerland, Portugal and much of the Middle East, and the mark on most European wedding rings. At today's spot the gold in one gram of 750 is worth $106.30, against $82.92 for 585 and $129.83 for 916. The number is only a claim until something beside it guarantees it: a French eagle's head, an Italian star with a maker's number, a British shield with an office symbol. A lone "750 Italy" on a cheap chain is the most copied stamp in the trade.
Contents
The number is a fineness
Gold purity is written two ways and 750 is the European one. Karats divide the metal into 24 parts, so 18 karat is 18 parts gold in 24, which is 18 ÷ 24 = 0.75. Millesimal fineness writes the same fraction in parts per thousand: 750. An American 18K and a European 750 describe the same alloy, and both may legally be a little under: the US guides allow three parts per thousand below the mark on a piece without solder and seven with, so a lawful 750 can assay at 743.
| Stamp | Karat | Gold by weight | Where it is standard | Gold value per gram today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 375 | 9k | 37.5% | UK, Ireland, Australia | $53.15 |
| 585 | 14k | 58.5% | US, Germany, Northern Europe, Russia | $82.92 |
| 750 | 18k | 75% | Italy, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Middle East fine jewelry | $106.30 |
| 916 | 22k | 91.6% | India, Gulf states, Southeast Asia | $129.83 |
| 999 | 24k | 99.9% | bullion, Chinese and Indian investment jewelry | $141.59 |
Where 750 is the everyday gold
The karat a country calls normal is history, not metallurgy. France required 18 karat as the minimum for anything sold as gold until the mid-1990s, so French jewelry is 750 almost by definition and carries the eagle's head. Italy makes the world's chains at 750 under a system where the maker's registered star mark stands beside the fineness. Switzerland hallmarks 750 watch cases with the head of a St Bernard. Portugal, Spain, Greece and the Middle East sell 18k as the everyday grade, and Indian jewelers use 18K750 for diamond-set pieces where 22k would be too soft. The United States and Germany went lower, 14k and even 10k or 8k, so an American sees 750 mostly on imports, on heirlooms and on the higher end of a jeweler's case.
That geography is why a "750 Italy" chain in a US market stall is suspicious in a way a 14K one is not: real Italian 750 chain is expensive, and the words are printed on a great deal of plated brass. The hallmark guide shows what the real Italian and French marks look like.
What a 750 piece is worth today
Multiply the weight by 0.75 and by the spot price per gram, $141.74 at build time, and you have the ceiling of any offer. A 5 gram 750 band holds $531.51 of gold; a 20 gram 750 chain holds $2,126.05; a 3 gram pair of 750 hoops $318.91. A refiner or mail-in buyer pays a share of that, 85 to 90% at the good end, a shop around half; the payout calculator shows the offer as a percentage of melt for any weight. Retail runs the other way: a jeweler prices a 750 piece at two to four times its metal for plain machine-made work and far more for design, brand and stones.
Scrap payoutA mixed lot: melt value and what buyers actually payOpen calculator- grams
- pennyweight (dwt)
- troy ounces
Gold in your 750 piece
$1,063.02
10 g × 75% gold = 7.5 g of pure gold at $141.74 per gram. Buyers pay a share of this.
- Mail-in refiner, 85–90%
- $903.57–$956.72
- Local buyer, 50–70%
- $531.51–$744.12
- Gold per gram of this alloy
- $106.30
Spot $4,408.50/oz t = $141.74/g · gold-api.com · 2026-09-04
Because 750 holds more gold per gram than 585, the share of a purchase price that comes back as metal is higher, which is one reason 18k is the default where jewelry is also a form of saving. The karat comparison works through the buy-to-scrap arithmetic for all three everyday karats.
How 18 karat wears
With a quarter of the metal being copper, silver, palladium or nickel, 750 is softer than 585: about 125 to 140 Vickers for yellow 18k against 140 to 160 for 14k. In hand terms an 18k band scratches and thins a little faster, prongs need checking more often, and thin 18k chain stretches sooner than 14k of the same width. It is also less reactive: 18k rarely tarnishes, seldom marks skin, and shrugs off pool water better than lower karats, though nickel white 750 still cracks under long chlorine exposure. Color is the reward: the deep warm yellow that 14k only approximates, a pinker rose, and a white gold that is more often palladium-based and nickel-free than at 14k.
For a ring worn every day, 750 is a fair choice if you accept a polish every year or two; for earrings and pendants the softness costs nothing. The tarnish page explains why the higher karat stays bright, and the nickel page covers which white golds are safe.
Reading the marks next to 750
| Beside the 750 | What it means | How much to trust it |
|---|---|---|
| a five-pointed star, a number and two letters | an Italian maker's registered identification mark; the letters are the province, AR for Arezzo, VI for Vicenza | a legal responsibility mark, and the most copied one; check the punch is a clean polygon and weigh the piece |
| an eagle's head | the French state guarantee for 750 since 1838 | an assay mark struck by customs or an accredited lab |
| 750 in a shield with a leopard, anchor, rose or castle | a British hallmark struck by an assay office | an assay mark; the office tested the metal |
| a St Bernard dog's head | Swiss hallmark on a precious-metal watch case | an assay mark |
| 18K and a company trademark | a US quality mark, which by law must carry the maker's registered name or mark | a claim by the maker, checked by nobody before sale |
| 18KP | plumb gold, exactly 18/24 with no tolerance used | a maker's promise of the full fineness |
| 750 GP, GEP, HGE or RGP | a 750 layer over base metal | a plated piece; the gold is a film, worth cents |
| 750 or "750 Italy" alone | a fineness claim with no guarantee beside it | test before paying gold prices |
The stamp decoder reads the letters and numbers you find; the hallmark guide explains who stands behind each symbol.
Stamp decoderWhat 417, 585, 750, GF or GP meanOpen calculatorFake 750: the most copied stamp
Because Italian 750 chain is the world's reference for gold chain, "750 Italy" is stamped on more plated brass than any other mark. The tells are simple. Price: a 20 gram 750 chain holds $2,126.05 of gold today, so a "750 Italy" chain for a hundred dollars is not one. Weight: gold is heavy, brass is not; a 4 mm 750 Cuban at 20 inches weighs about 30 grams solid, and a plated brass copy weighs two thirds of that; the chain weight calculator gives the figure for any style and width. Wear: brass shows pink or yellow at the clasp and the edges of a plated chain within weeks.
Chain weightGrams and value by style, width and lengthOpen calculatorTo test, use density first: 18k yellow gold sits at 15.2 to 15.6 grams per cubic centimeter, far above 14k at about 13 and brass at 8.5, so a water displacement check on a plain chain settles it. An acid kit's 18k grade confirms the surface, and a file on a hidden link shows brass under plating. The methods are on the testing page. Gold filled marked 1/20 18K GF exists too and is real 18k on the surface only; the fraction in front of the number is the tell.
Is 750 better than 585?
| Compared | 750, 18k | 585, 14k |
|---|---|---|
| Gold per gram today | $106.30 | $82.92 |
| Hardness, yellow alloy | 125–140 HV | 140–160 HV |
| Color | deep, warm yellow | lighter, slightly brassier |
| Tarnish and skin marks | rare | occasional on acidic skin |
| Chlorine | tolerant; nickel white still at risk | more sensitive |
| Metal share that survives resale | higher | lower |
| Daily ring | fine, with more polishing | the default |
Better is the wrong word. 750 has 28% more gold per gram, a richer color and more resale in the metal; 585 scratches less and costs less. Buy 750 for color, for pieces that do not rub, and where jewelry doubles as savings; buy 585 for a ring that takes knocks every day. Either way, the stamp matters less than the grams: the karat calculator turns any weight and fineness into gold and dollars.
Selling 750 gold
Scrap buyers pay on gold content: weight × 0.75 × spot per gram, then their percentage. Because 750 pieces are often European, branded or hand-finished, check the resale route before the melt route. A signed Italian or French 18k piece, a designer chain or a vintage watch case sells for more whole than its $106.30 per gram, and melting is the one decision that cannot be reversed. For anonymous, broken or worn pieces, the mail-in refiners and local buyers described on the selling guide pay the highest share of melt, and the guide's offer checker turns any quote into a percentage in seconds.
Questions people ask
What does 750 mean on a ring?
Eighteen karat gold: 750 parts gold per thousand, 75% by weight, the rest copper and silver in yellow gold, more copper in rose, palladium or nickel in white. It is the everyday fine jewelry standard of Italy, France, Switzerland and much of the Middle East, and the mark on most European wedding rings. 18K in the US is the same alloy.
Is 750 gold real gold?
Yes, it is 75% pure gold alloy, the second highest common jewelry grade after 916 and 999. What needs checking is not the number but who stands behind it: a French eagle's head, an Italian star with a maker's number or a British hallmark are guarantees; a lone 750 is a claim, and 750 GP or 1/20 18K GF means a layer over base metal.
How much is 750 gold worth per gram?
The gold in one gram of 750 is worth $106.30 at today's spot, which updates with every build of this page; a 5 gram ring holds $531.51, a 20 gram chain $2,126.05. Scrap buyers pay a share of that, 85 to 90% at the good end. Retail jewelry costs a multiple of it, for design, labor and brand.
Is 750 gold the same as 18k?
Yes. 18 karat is 18 parts gold in 24, which is 0.75, written in parts per thousand as 750. Europe stamps the number, the US the karat, and both allow small tolerances below the mark; 18KP means plumb, exactly 18/24. Only letters after the number change the meaning: GP, GEP, HGE or GF mark a gold layer, not solid metal.
Does 750 gold tarnish?
Rarely. With 75% gold, 18k has too little copper and silver to darken noticeably or to mark skin, and it tolerates pool water better than 14k or 10k; nickel white 750 is the exception under long chlorine exposure. The price of that stability is softness: 18k scratches and thins a little faster than 14k and wants a polish every year or two on a daily ring.
What does 750 Italy mean on a chain?
On a genuine piece, an Italian 18 karat chain: 750 is the fineness and the star, number and province letters beside it are the maker's registered mark. The words are also the most copied stamp in the trade, printed on plated brass sold at gold-looking prices. Weigh the chain against its solid weight, check the density, and look for brass at the clasp before paying for 750.