Twenty four karat is pure gold, 999 fine or better. It is the only karat whose price per gram is simply the spot price converted, with nothing to subtract.
Spot gold$4,133.30 a troy ounce.
Spot price as of 10 November 2026.
What a buyer would actually pay
a pawn shop
$2,064 – $2,477
a local jeweller
$2,683 – $3,096
a cash-for-gold buyer
$2,271 – $2,890
a mail-in refiner
$3,303 – $3,509
Ranges are typical published trade spreads, not an offer. A buyer takes refining,
assay and margin out of melt before paying you, so nobody pays spot.
Troy ounces (31.1 g) are the metals ounce, not the 28.3 g ounce a kitchen scale shows.
What 24k gold is worth per gram today
A gram of 24k gold is worth
$132.76,
a pennyweight
$206.46
and a troy ounce
$4,129.
That is 99.90% of the gold price, because 24k is
24 parts gold in 24. The price behind it is the gold spot
price as of , and every
figure on this page moves with it.
Gold price by karat, at the current benchmark. 24k is highlighted.
purity
stamp
per gram
per dwt
per troy oz
24k
999
$132.76
$206.46
$4,129
22k
916
$121.81
$189.44
$3,788
21k
875
$116.28
$180.83
$3,616
20k
833
$110.74
$172.22
$3,444
18k
750
$99.67
$155.00
$3,099
14k
585
$77.52
$120.55
$2,411
12k
500
$66.44
$103.33
$2,066
10k
417
$55.37
$86.11
$1,722
9k
375
$49.83
$77.50
$1,549
8k
333
$44.30
$68.89
$1,377
What the 999 stamp means
Pure gold is stamped 999, 9999, 24K or fine. The benchmark you see quoted anywhere in the world, including at the top of this page, is a price for this metal and nothing else. Every other figure on this site is that number multiplied by a fraction, which is why 24k is the one karat where the price per gram needs no adjustment at all.
In practice almost nothing you wear is 24k. Pure gold is soft enough to mark with a fingernail and will not hold a clasp, a hinge or a stone, so it appears as bullion bars, coins, and the heavy plain jewellery sold as savings in parts of Asia. If a delicate Western ring is stamped 24K, treat the stamp with suspicion and have it tested, because the piece almost certainly could not survive being made at that purity.
The difference between 999 and 9999, three nines and four nines, is a tenth of one percent. It matters to a refiner buying a hundred kilos and it does not matter to you. Both are sold and bought as pure gold, and no buyer will pay you a premium for the fourth nine on a single coin.
A worked example: a 1 troy ounce bullion coin
Take a 1 troy ounce bullion coin weighing 31.1034768 grams. Multiply by
0.9990 to get
31.07 grams of pure gold, then multiply
that by the gold price per gram. The melt value is
$4,129.
That is the metal, not the offer. The same piece at a pawn shop is typically worth
$2,064
to
$2,477
(50% to 60% of melt), and at a mail-in refiner
$3,303
to
$3,509.
The calculator at the top of the page shows all four kinds of buyer for whatever you enter.
Selling 24k gold
Bullion is the one form of gold where the spread between what you can buy and sell for is genuinely narrow. A recognised one ounce coin or a bar from a good refiner will be bought by a dealer at a small discount to spot, or occasionally at a small premium if the product is in demand, because they can resell it without assaying or refining anything. Nothing in a jewellery box gets treated that way.
That is also why the payout bands further down this page fit bullion badly. They describe what happens to scrap jewellery, which has to be tested, melted and refined before anyone knows what is in it. If what you are holding is a sealed, recognised coin or bar, ignore them and get quotes from two bullion dealers instead.
The percentages above are typical published trade spreads rather than quotes.
What buyers actually pay sets out where each band comes from,
and how we calculate shows every constant used on this page.
24k gold questions
How much is a gram of 24k gold worth?+
It is the spot price per troy ounce divided by 31.1034768, because a troy ounce is 31.1 grams and 24k is pure. The figure at the top of this page does exactly that with the current London benchmark. It is the ceiling for any piece of gold of that weight.
Is 999 gold the same as 24k?+
Yes. 999 means 999 parts gold per thousand, which is as close to pure as commercial refining goes, and 24 karat means all 24 parts of 24 are gold. 9999 is a further refinement that makes no practical difference to what a seller is paid.
Why is my 24k ring bending?+
Because that is what pure gold does. It is soft enough to deform under normal hand pressure, which is why 24k jewellery is made in thick, simple shapes and why Western rings are 14k or 18k instead. A bent 24k piece is not defective and its melt value is unchanged.
Do I get spot price for 24k gold?+
For a recognised bullion coin or bar, close to it, usually a few percent under. For 24k jewellery or an unmarked bar, no, because the buyer still has to prove what it is before they can sell it on, and the cost of doing that comes out of your offer.
Recommended Gold Testing & Smelting Equipment
Laboratory-grade scales, non-destructive electronic testers, and digital melting furnaces for accurate scrap valuation and refining.
Digital Electric Gold & Silver Melting Furnace (1kg to 3kg, 1150°C / 2100°F)
Commercial digital smelting furnace with high-density graphite crucible, insulated heating chamber, and heavy-duty crucible tongs. Heats up to 2100°F (1150°C) with precise digital PID temperature control to cleanly melt scrap gold jewelry, sterling silver, and brass into tradeable bullion bars in under 45 minutes.
Laboratory-grade electronic gold analyzer that instantly determines karat purity from 10K to 24K and verifies platinum without messy acid drops or destructive scratching. Rapid self-calibration ensures quick, reliable scrap valuation without damaging collectible jewelry.
0.001g High-Precision Analytical Milligram Jewelry Scale (50g x 0.001g)
Laboratory-grade analytical milligram balance measuring down to 0.001 grams, 0.005 carats, and 0.0001 troy ounces (ozt). Features a clear protective draft shield, tare function, and stainless steel calibration weights to catch fine weight fractions before smelting.
Multi-Cavity High-Density Graphite Ingot Mold for Bar Casting
Machined high-purity fine-grain graphite mold designed for pouring clean 1 oz, 2 oz, 5 oz, and 10 oz gold and silver bars. Delivers high thermal stability, rapid heat dissipation, and a smooth cavity finish for effortless ingot release.
Master Gold & Silver Chemical Acid Scratch Assay Kit with Touchstone & Loupe
Complete precious metal appraisal kit featuring 10K, 14K, 18K, and 22K gold testing acids, silver testing solution, a genuine dense testing touchstone, and an illuminated triplet jeweler loupe to distinguish solid karat gold from heavy plating.
Kevlar-reinforced split-cowhide foundry gloves rated for temperatures up to 2000°F with extended gauntlet forearm protection, paired with a high-impact anti-glare face shield designed for safe scrap metal handling and pouring.
Compare essential equipment specifications for establishing an efficient scrap gold testing and melting workstation:
Equipment Type
Primary Purpose
Capacity / Accuracy
Key Advantage
Electric Smelting Furnace
Melting scrap jewelry, dental gold, and coins into bullion
1 kg to 3 kg crucible capacity
Clean flameless PID temperature control up to 2100°F
Electronic Karat Tester
Instant purity check on intact jewelry and high-end watches
10K to 24K gold and platinum ranges
Non-destructive testing with no acid stains or scratches
Analytical Milligram Scale
Precise scrap weight measurement before refining
50g capacity at 0.001g (0.0001 ozt)
Catches fine weight margins standard kitchen scales miss
Multi-Cavity Ingot Mold
Casting molten scrap metal into tradeable bullion bars
1 oz, 2 oz, 5 oz, 10 oz bar cavities
High-density graphite prevents sticking and oxidation
Acid Touchstone Assay Kit
Distinguishing solid karat alloy from heavy vermeil or plate
10K, 14K, 18K, 22K acid standards
Time-tested chemical confirmation for scrap buyers
Scrap Valuation Pro Tip: Melt Loss & Non-Destructive Testing
When melting scrap jewelry lots, expect an average 1% to 3% melt loss due to burn-off of non-precious solder joints, skin oils, and enamel. Before melting high-value items, verify karat content using a non-destructive electronic tester. Acid scratch testing can leave noticeable etch marks and may read false positive on heavy gold-filled or rolled gold plate items (such as 1/10 10K RGP or vermeil).
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