Read how Tiffiny G from Southern Illinois made instant cash!

A friend of mine invited me to a “Gold Party” back in March 2011.  I was skeptical at first and really didn’t want to go but my friend kept asking me and insisted that I come.  So at the last minute I rummaged through my jewelry box and pulled out some broken chains and a few earrings thinking I would be happy to get fifty dollars for everything.  When I showed up for the party the gold broker tested my jewelry and then told me I had $580 worth of gold.  I about fell out of the chair!  My friend made over $400 just for hosting the party!

With gold at the highest price it has every been in history (currently fluctuating between $1,350 and $1,400 for a troy ounce) you have no doubt wondered if it is worth selling your old and unwanted jewelry.  One of the biggest decision factors is how much your jewelry is actually worth.

As a gold party company, it is our goal to make everything as simple, easy, and fun as possible.  Therefore we are going to try to provide you this answer in our edition of “Understanding the value of your jewelry: for novices” (not for dummies!)

1. What is this $1,400 per ounce number?  How does that apply to me?

All precious metals work under an old system called the Troy Ounce.  The Troy Ounce is different than the standard ounce, as the troy ounce actually contains more grams than a normal ounce.  The normal ounce contains 28 grams, whereas the troy ounce contains 31.1 grams.  This is important because it definitely impacts the value when you are thinking what the actual value of a gram is.

The other thing to note is that this is in actual grams (g), not pennyweight (dwt).  This is one way that many untrustworthy gold buyers trick the novice public.  One dwt (pennyweight) is equal to 1.555 grams.  Untrustworthy gold buyers will state that they “pay $20 per gram”, but they are actually paying in pennyweight.  If you convert that $20 price to grams, they are actually paying less than $13 per gram!  So be careful here and be aware.  We always weigh in actual grams, never pennyweight.

2. So how much gold is in my jewelry?

We don’t purchase plated gold. If you bring plated gold to a party because you aren’t sure, that’s fine.  We’ll test it and hand it back to you.  That’s the first thing to note.

If the gold is solid, the next question is if we need to remove anything from it.  We remove stones (precious or non-precious — we give back to you at a party), glass, non-gold clasps, etc.  To get the correct value we need to get it down to the actual gold weight without the distractions from non-gold elements.

After that is done we need to know how many karats the gold is.  Everyone has heard of karats, but how do you figure out how many your piece has, and what does it mean anyway?

To figure out what karat your gold is, the easiest way is to look at the stamp.  Most jewelry has a stamp that says 14k, 18k, etc.  European jewelry will sometimes have a number that pertains to the percentage (such as 583), which I’ll discuss a bit later.  If you have a stamp, then you most likely know.  I say most likely, because at a party we still need to test to ensure the gold is not falsified or incorrectly stamped, but almost all the time the stamp is correct.

If your gold is not stamped then you need to test the gold using acid testing or a karat tester.  This is what we do at the parties, so if you have an unstamped piece your best bet is just to book a party with us and we’ll tell you

So now what does the karat mean?  The karat directly pertains to the percentage of pure gold in your jewelry.  You can determine the percentage of actual gold by dividing the karat by 24 (24 karat is pure gold).  So:

- 14 karat gold is 58.3% pure (14/24)

- 18 karat gold is 75% pure (18/24)

And so on for all the karats.

So this takes us to the end.  To know the value of the gold you need to know the amount of PURE gold in the piece.  You can determine that based on the karat, and then can determine the value based on the weight of the piece in grams multiplied by the percentage of the karat (so if you have a 4 gram piece that is 18 karat you perform the multiplication 4*.75 and determine that there are 3 grams of gold in the piece).  Then you tie that to the market price (you can find that on www.kitco.com to determine the actual value of your piece.

Now, does this mean you will actually get that much money for your gold?  No, it does not.  All gold purchasers (parties, pawnbrokers, jewelers, even refineries) have overhead to account for and other costs.  Therefore, you will never be paid the full value for your gold unless you have large 24k pure gold bullion from Fort Knox!  But at least you know what it’s worth and can make a determination of if its time to cash in on your old and unwanted gold!

Question:

I was just invited to a gold party. As a jewelry lover, I have quite a bit of jewelry. Most of it just sits around , but I’m still hesitant to sell. What should I do?

Answer:

With unsentimental pieces, a good way to look at jewelry is to look at it the way you would any other market. When a market is low you buy, when a market high you sell. A smart jewelry buyer never actually buys their jewelry, instead, they lease it. What do I mean by “leasing” jewelry?

Let me give you an example. Lets say you bought a rope-chain back in the mid-80’s when the market was significantly lower than it is now. The chain cost you $500. Since that time the necklace has had its fair share of wearing and tearing, and for the past 5 years it’s been sitting at the bottom of your drawer collecting dust. Because of the market shift, you now can sell that necklace for nearly the cost of what you paid, if not more. By taking advantage of the return rate you essentially leased that necklace for an extended period of time at little to no cost. Who knows, you may even make some money off of it! Now you can take that money from your old necklace and go buy a new piece of stylish jewelry that you really love, when the time is right of course. This is how well-informed jewelry owner, lovers, and gold investors operate. If you know when to buy and when to sell, in the end, you’re essentially wearing your jewelry for free.