There are several things that you should know about the price of gold before you sell your jewelry. The first and most important is that you will not get the price of gold you see listed in newspapers and online. This price is designed for people investing in gold on commodities exchanges not for folks selling jewelry and collectibles.
That price is for a troy ounce of 24 karat gold, in other words a troy ounce of pure gold. Most gold jewelry is not pure gold instead it is made of a composite of gold and other metals. The gold content in jewelry is measured by karats, the more karats the more gold in the jewelry. An 18 karat ring for example would only contain 75% gold, so it would be worth 25% less than a 24 karat ring.
This means you should know how many karats of gold your jewelry contains before you sell it. Unfortunately it is difficult for average people to figure this out. Fortunately a reputable gold buyer will assay your gold and tell you this if you send it to them.
That is why it is so important to send your gold to an honest gold buyer. They can give you a fair assessment and a good price. Some buyers will not do this they simply pay a flat rate usually half the exchange price for gold. They do this because they know they can get away with it.
It is also a good idea to compare the prices of gold at a number of different buyers. Different websites will give you different prices for the exact same gold. Some sites will actually pay several hundred dollars more an ounce for gold.
Another thing to realize is that the weight of your jewelry determines the value. Jewelry, especially old jewelry is often only valuable for its precious metal content. That means it is valued by weight because the buyer plans to melt it down or sell it to a smelter.
Finally there are other factors that can increase or decrease the price. Gemstones such as diamonds can add to the price and some jewelry is more valuable as an antique or a collectible. Fortunately a reputable buyer should be able to tell you this but you will only know it if you send them the gold.
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[...] Gold selling has never been easier thanks to the high price the precious metal is selling for on commodities exchanges and elsewhere. Buyers are willing to pay top prices even for scrap gold, broken jewelry and damaged gold. They will even pay cash for items that are partially made of gold such as old watch cases. [...]