We Buy Gold Jewelry, Chains, Bracelets, Necklaces, Class Rings and Wedding Bands

Don't Get Ripped Off!  Read Our Gold Selling Guide

Here is the average scenario.  You are cleaning out a loved one's estate and you come across their jewelry box with the typical odds and ends, a group of coins, a class ring, and some random gold jewelry.  When it comes time to sell, a lot of people are overwhelmed and do nothing.  Another large group will just unwittingly take the whole group to a jeweler and be happy with whatever number they get.  Of course you are free to do whatever you choose, but if you read our article below you will have a lot more understanding about what you have and how dealers value gold and silver.

Understand How Karat Relates To Purity

The majority of gold we see in jewelry is 10K or 14k, also called 417 or 585.  Pure gold is 24 karat.  So if you have 10K then it is 41.7% pure and 14K is 58.5% pure.  You need 74.6 grams of 10k to equal a pure ounce of gold and you need 53.2 grams of 14k gold to equal a pure ounce of gold.  We also see 18k jewelry here and there.  22 karat and higher jewelry is definitely out there.  It is usually from Asian countries.  We have seen lots from South Korea, Japan, India and Turkey.  The higher the karat, the higher your payout will be closer to the value of an ounce of gold.

Is Your Gold Plated, Filled, or Fractional?

Most traditional gold jewelry like rings, necklaces, and bracelets are gold all the way through.  More unusual items like cuff links, watch cases, and lockets are often plated or filled, same for buttons and pins.  If you see something like GF, 1/10 or 1/20, that's a sign that the piece has a plated gold exterior but the majority of the weight is coming from a non-precious metal like copper or iron.  There is limited value for plated and filled gold items.  Most costume jewelry will be marked as filled or fractional.  Our XRF gun can test to see if your jewelry is pure or plated.

Quick Comment About Diamonds and Stones

The price of diamonds is down 70% since 2011.  Long story short, the market for natural stones is essentially in freefall now that lab-grown diamonds are virtually the same as mined diamonds.  If you believe you have a true high quality diamond, then we recommend talking to a GIA certified diamond expert.  Less than 1% of diamonds used in jewelry are valuable enough to be removed and sold individually.  Typically speaking, when we value a piece of jewelry based on gold weight, you will get more for the diamond as part of the gold weight than you would if removed and sold by stone weight.  We can explain more in person if you have more questions about diamonds.

What's A Fair Payout?

It is important to understand that jewelry is not bullion.  Bullion refers to a coin or bar that is 99.99% pure gold and is made to be traded related to the spot price of gold.  Spot price refers to the price at which an ounce of gold sells for on the commodoties market.  Pure bullion generally sells at 94-99% of the raw metal price.  Jewelry sells at a great discount because it still has to be refined and turned into bullion.  You should still be able to get 85-95% of the gold price on jewelry if dealing with a reputable gold buyer like us (Greenville Coins).

Why You Should Avoid Pawn Shops and Jewelers

Pawn shops and jewelers are important businesses that every community needs.  However, we would advise not selling your gold to a pawn shop or jeweler.  Pawn shops are mostly interested in buying items cheaply from people who need cash quick.  They also make a great deal of money from pawn loans.  Many pawn shops pay less than 50% of the gold weight when it comes to jewelry.  Jewelers make their money selling highly marked up stones to customers for engagement rings and other specialty pieces.  Many jewelers only take gold if they can get it steeply discounted.  In fact, we have many relationships with jewelers who directly refer gold sellers to us.  They just don't want the hassle of dealing with old gold jewelry that they can't resell so they refer customers to a specialty business like ours.  We love our pawn shop and jeweler associates, but they will all tell you that when it comes to gold, we can pay more here!

How To Find Out What Your Gold Jewelry Is Worth?

It is really simple.  First thing we do is use our XRF gun to test the purity of the gold.  Second thing we do is weigh the jewelry.  Lastly we use the current value of an ounce of gold, combined with the purity and weight to calculate your payout.  It takes less than 90 seconds to value something simple like a single gold class ring.  We can usually sort through an entire jewelry box in 15-30 minutes.  We separate gold items from costume and plated jewelry, do the math, and get you paid as quickly as possible.  If you are in the market to sell any gold jewelry in Greenville or elsewhere, you will definitely want to get our price before making your final decision.