Gold Price Converter

What each variable means:

• 31.1035 — the number of grams in one troy ounce, the unit the world market uses to quote spot gold.
• Fineness — the share of pure gold in the alloy, such as 0.916 for 22k or 0.75 for 18k.
• Item weight — the total weight of the piece in grams, including the other metals mixed in with the gold.
• Exchange rate — how many units of your currency one US dollar buys, such as 0.86 euros per dollar.

Example: at an illustrative spot price of $4,150 per troy ounce, one gram of pure gold is worth about $133.43. At 22k, the price per gram is 4,150 ÷ 31.1035 × 0.916 ≈ $122.22. Every $1 move in spot shifts that 22k gram price by about $0.029. The prices on this page are illustrative, so check the live spot price before you rely on any figure.

What do karat and fineness mean?

Karat measures gold purity on a scale of 24, so 18k gold is 18 parts gold out of 24. Jewelers stamp the same idea as fineness in parts per thousand, such as 750 for 18k or 916 for 22k. This converter uses 0.999 for 24k, because investment bars and coins are usually refined to at least 99.9% pure. The rest of a lower-karat alloy is silver, copper or zinc, which adds strength and color but little value.

Why do jewelry and bars sell above melt value?

The numbers here are melt values, the worth of the gold content alone at today's spot price. Dealers add a premium to bars and coins to cover refining, minting, shipping and their own margin. Jewelry carries a much larger markup, because design, labor and retail overhead all sit on top of the metal. Many countries also charge sales tax or VAT on gold, and investment gold is often taxed differently from jewelry.

For a full breakdown of those costs, read Gold Jewelry vs Gold Bars: The Real Round-Trip Cost.

What do you get back when you sell?

Buy-back prices usually sit below melt value, because the buyer has to cover testing, refining and a profit margin. Jewelry often sells back at melt value minus a discount, and the making charge you paid is rarely recovered. Bars and well-known coins tend to get the tightest buy-back spreads, since they are easy to verify and resell. Use the melt value here as a yardstick, then ask each buyer what share of it they will pay.

How does a local currency change the price?

Spot gold is quoted in US dollars, so your local price depends on the exchange rate as well as the gold price. Enter how many units of your currency one dollar buys, and the tool converts every price at that rate. A weaker local currency can push local gold prices up, even on days when spot in dollars barely moves. The tool does not fetch live rates, so use a current rate from your bank or a trusted data source.