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Selling Your Gold: Karats, Weight, And Market Trends

by Laurie Washington

When you have a bunch of old, broken gold jewelry just sitting in a drawer, you may want to consider selling that gold instead. When times are tight in the economy, gold prices tend to rise. If you are looking for ways to earn some extra cash, you can sell gold coins, old jewelry, and even dental gold to a buyer who deals in gold. This is because gold is ultimately recyclable and can be melted down over and over to create new pieces of jewelry, coinage, or whatever else the artisan comes up with.

How Karats Affect Gold Value

Valuable gold that isn't mixed with any other metals is 24 karats. Most buyers want 24 karat gold because it is the easiest to recycle and the most valuable by weight. Anything less than 24 karat gold has to be melted down and separated. You may have two necklaces of the same weight and length but labeled 12 karat and 18 karat. The 18 karat gold necklace will be worth more money because there is more gold in it than in the one labeled 12 karat.

How Weight Affects Gold Value

When a buyer considers how much to offer you for your old gold products, they will weigh the gold. The buyer will understand how much gold is worth in the current market per gram and offer you a price where they can make some kind of a profit. Gold prices fluctuate, and it's up to you to know what current market trends are to see if you are getting a fair price. It's important to remember that you aren't going to get the current gold prices that you see on indexes for a variety of reasons, one being you are working within a complex system and selling your gold to a dealer.

What the Buyer Does With Your Gold Jewelry

When you sell your gold jewelry to a gold dealer, they have some options. If the jewelry is broken down or undesirable, the jewelry can be melted down for pure gold and made into something else. If the jewelry can be sold as is, the dealer may choose to try and sell the piece for more than they paid for it. Jewelry prices and values go up and down, and it's important to remember that you probably won't get what you paid for when it comes to your jewelry.

Check out a dealer like Rocky Mountain Gold & Silver Exchange to sell your gold.

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