Selling Gold for Cash or Bitcoin

How Much Is 14k Gold Worth Per Gram Today?

By Michael Tanguma, Founder & CEO of Heirfolio. Reviewed by Diana Cruz, GIA Graduate Gemologist. Updated continuously.

TL;DR. As of today, 14k gold is worth ${{ liveSpot14kPerGram }} per gram at melt — that's the raw metal value. Most buyers pay 60-85% of that, which is the spread they keep for refining, margin, and inventory risk. The number below updates every 60 seconds against the live London gold fix. Below it, the math and the honest breakdown of what you'll actually get paid.

Live 14k gold price per gram

${{ liveSpot14kPerGram }} per gram · PER GRAM · 14K · MELT VALUE · Updated at {{ timestamp }} · Source: London gold fix

What this number means

The price above is the pure melt value of 14k gold per gram, computed from the live London gold fix spot price and the gold content of 14k (which is 58.5% pure gold — see below). It's the number a refinery would pay if all that mattered was the metal.

No retail buyer pays this number to a private seller. Every legitimate buyer keeps a spread — typically 15-40% — to cover refining costs, their operating margin, and the cost of carrying the gold on their books until they melt or resell it. The next sections explain why and how to compare quotes.

→ Get a real quote in 60 seconds

How 14k gold pricing works

Gold purity is measured in karats out of 24. Twenty-four karat gold is 100% pure. Anything below 24k is alloyed with other metals (copper, silver, nickel, zinc, or palladium) to add strength, change color, or reduce cost. The breakdown:

Karat	Pure gold content	Common uses
24k	99.9%	Investment bars, coins, Asian jewelry tradition
22k	91.7%	Some wedding bands, Indian/Pakistani/Middle Eastern jewelry
18k	75.0%	High-end designer jewelry (Cartier, Tiffany standard)
14k	58.5%	The American jewelry standard — wedding bands, chains, rings
10k	41.7%	Class rings, lower-cost jewelry, mass-market chains

To compute 14k gold's melt value per gram, the math is:

(spot price of pure gold per gram) × 0.585 = melt value of 14k per gram

So if pure gold is trading at $97.65 per gram (about $3,037 per troy ounce), then 14k gold is worth $97.65 × 0.585 = $57.13 per gram at melt.

The live number at the top of this page does that calculation continuously, every 60 seconds, against the current London gold fix.

→ Use the gold melt value calculator

What you'll actually get paid (the spread question)

The melt value is what your gold is worth to a refinery. What you'll be paid is melt value minus a spread.

The spread covers:

Refining costs. Melting 14k gold and separating the pure gold from the alloy metals isn't free — refineries charge $0.50-$2.00 per gram, depending on volume.
Operating margin. The buyer is a business. They keep something for the work.
Inventory risk. The price of gold moves daily. A buyer who holds your gold for two weeks before refining is exposed to that volatility.
Cost of customer acquisition. The buyer paid to advertise to you. That comes out of the spread.
Insurance, shipping, processing. All baked in.

Here is what spreads typically look like across the channels you can sell through:

Where you sell	Typical spread on 14k gold
Direct platform with published spread (e.g., Heirfolio)	8-15%
Mail-in gold buyer (Express Gold Cash, SellYourGold, Gold Guys)	15-30%
Local jeweler buying for melt	20-35%
Local jeweler buying for resale	10-25% (if they can resell as-is)
Pawn shop	40-65%

That means if the melt value of your 14k gold is $57.13 per gram and you're selling 20 grams (a typical chain), the math works out to:

20 grams × $57.13/gram = $1,142.60 raw melt value

Channel	What you'd actually be paid
Heirfolio (10% spread)	~$1,028
Mail-in buyer (22% spread)	~$891
Local jeweler for melt (28% spread)	~$822
Pawn shop (50% spread)	~$571

That's a $457 difference between the best and worst legitimate channel for the same piece. The decision of where to sell is, in raw dollar terms, often more impactful than the karat math itself.

→ Paste any quote into our spread checker — see what's fair

How to verify your gold is really 14k

Before you sell, verify the karat. Pieces that look like 14k aren't always 14k. Five tests:

1. Look for the hallmark

Genuine gold is stamped with its karat. On 14k pieces, look for: 14K, 585, .585, 14KT, 14kt, or sometimes 14 K. The stamp will be on a clasp, the inside of a ring band, or the back of a pendant. No stamp doesn't necessarily mean fake — some older or imported pieces aren't marked — but it raises the question.

2. Magnet test (free, 30 seconds)

Gold is not magnetic. Hold a strong magnet next to the piece. If it sticks or pulls, the core is not gold. This rules out steel jewelry plated to look gold, but a piece that fails the magnet test could still be plated gold over copper (not magnetic) — so this is necessary but not sufficient.

3. Acid test ($15 home kit)

Buy a small gold testing kit (Amazon, eBay, $15-25). It comes with bottled acids calibrated to different karats. Make a tiny scratch on the piece in an inconspicuous spot, apply a drop of the 14k acid. If the scratch fades or dissolves, it's lower than 14k. If it holds, it's 14k or higher.

4. Electronic gold tester ($60-200)

A more accurate version of the acid test. Touches a probe to the piece, reads electrical conductivity, displays the karat. Reliable for plain pieces; less reliable for pieces with stones or layered construction.

5. XRF testing (professional)

The gold standard for verification. An X-ray fluorescence machine reads the exact metallic composition non-destructively. Most jewelers will do it for free if you're considering selling to them; pawn shops sometimes charge $20. Heirfolio runs XRF on every piece received for sale.

→ Read the full karat verification guide

How to weigh your gold

Spot price is quoted per gram or per troy ounce. To convert what you have into what it's worth, you need an accurate weight.

A kitchen scale that reads to 0.1 grams will work for any piece over about 5 grams. They cost $15 and are accurate enough.
For smaller pieces (a single earring, a small charm), you want a jewelry scale that reads to 0.01 grams. Same price range.
Weight in grams is more useful than weight in pennyweights or troy ounces — most buyers quote in grams, and the conversions are an extra step that hides the math.

A few gotchas:

Stones add weight. If your piece has diamonds, sapphires, or any other stones, the scale weight includes the stones, but you're not getting paid for the stones at melt value. A reputable buyer will weigh the piece, then estimate the stone weight, and pay you only for the gold weight. If a buyer doesn't break this out, ask them to.
Clasps, chains, and findings are part of the gold weight (assuming they're gold). They count.
Some pieces are filled or plated — meaning the gold is a thin layer over a base metal. These pieces are weighed differently and pay far less. The hallmark "GF" (gold-filled) or "GP" (gold-plated) tells you what you have.

Common 14k gold pricing scenarios

Some real-world weights to anchor the math:

Piece type	Typical weight in 14k	Melt value at today's spot
Wedding band (men's, 6mm wide)	6-10 grams	${{ wedding_band_melt }}
Wedding band (women's, 2mm wide)	1.5-3 grams	${{ wb_women_melt }}
Standard chain necklace (18 inches, 2mm)	5-9 grams	${{ chain_18_melt }}
Heavy chain (22 inches, 5mm Cuban link)	25-50 grams	${{ chain_heavy_melt }}
Class ring	8-15 grams	${{ class_ring_melt }}
Bracelet (medium, 7 inches)	8-15 grams	${{ bracelet_melt }}
Charm or pendant	1-5 grams	${{ pendant_melt }}
Pair of stud earrings	2-4 grams	${{ earrings_melt }}

These are melt values, not payout values. Subtract 10-30% for a typical buyer spread. The gold melt value calculator computes both.

Should you melt a piece or sell it whole?

A common question. Two answers depending on the piece:

Sell whole if:

The piece is branded (Cartier, Tiffany, David Yurman, John Hardy, etc.) — branded pieces sell for 30-100% above melt to the right buyer.
The piece is in good condition and stylistically current — a jeweler may resell it as-is for a meaningful premium.
The piece has stones of any meaningful value — diamonds especially, but also sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and high-quality pearls. Selling the stones separately is often the right move; melting destroys their value entirely.
The piece has historical or sentimental value that another buyer might pay for.

Sell for melt if:

The piece is broken, mangled, or unrepairable.
It's plain (no branding, no stones, no special design).
It's old-fashioned in a way that hurts resale (very dated styles).
You don't have time or interest in finding the right resale-channel buyer.

Mail-in gold buyers and pawn shops almost always melt what they take in. A jeweler or auction house is more likely to resell as-is. A direct platform like Heirfolio offers both paths and chooses the one with the highest payout to you.

Why 14k specifically?

A note on why 14k is the American standard and what that means for resale.

In the 19th century, U.S. jewelers settled on 14k as the workhorse alloy because it balances four things well: it's hard enough to hold prongs and resist daily wear, it's gold-content-rich enough to hold long-term value, it's affordable to produce at scale, and the color is a warm yellow that the American market preferred to the higher-color 18k or the brassier 10k.

The practical implications for resale:

U.S. buyers know 14k, so the buy-side market is liquid and competitive. You'll get more quotes faster than for an unusual karat.
Designer pieces are often 18k, which means a 14k piece is less likely to have brand premium and more likely to be valued purely on melt.
Older pieces (pre-1940s) often pre-date strict hallmarking, so a piece that looks 14k might assay at anything from 12k to 18k. Always test before assuming.

What changes the price you see on this page

The number at the top updates every 60 seconds. It moves because the underlying spot price of gold moves. Spot is driven by:

Macroeconomic conditions — inflation expectations, real interest rates, currency strength (especially the U.S. dollar).
Geopolitical events — gold rises during uncertainty.
Central bank buying — when the Fed, ECB, China's PBOC, India's RBI, or others buy gold, the price moves.
Industrial demand — gold is used in electronics; rising demand pushes spot up.
ETF flows — the major gold ETFs (GLD, IAU, SGOL) hold real gold. When they take in capital, they buy physical gold, which pushes spot up.

If you're trying to decide when to sell, the honest answer is: short-term timing of gold is hard, and the variance in spread (10-50% depending on who you sell to) is much bigger than the variance you'll capture by timing the spot price within a few weeks. Pick the right channel first, time the sale second.

Frequently asked questions

How much is 14k gold worth per gram today?

As of the latest London gold fix, 14k gold is worth ${{ liveSpot14kPerGram }} per gram at melt. That's the raw metal value. Buyers typically pay 60-85% of that, with the rest going to their spread (refining, margin, inventory risk). The number on this page updates every 60 seconds.

What's the difference between melt value and what buyers actually pay?

Melt value is the raw worth of the pure gold content if it were melted and refined. What buyers pay you is melt value minus their spread — typically 15-40% depending on the channel. Direct platforms with published spreads pay closest to melt (8-15% spread). Mail-in buyers and local jewelers fall in the middle (15-30%). Pawn shops are the widest (40-65%).

How is 14k different from 18k or 24k?

The number indicates how much pure gold is in the alloy out of 24 parts. 24k is 99.9% pure gold. 18k is 75% pure gold (the rest is alloy metals like copper and silver). 14k is 58.5% pure gold. Higher karat means more pure gold per gram and a higher melt value, but also softer metal that wears faster. Most American jewelry is 14k because it balances durability and value.

Is 14k real gold?

Yes. 14k gold contains 58.5% pure gold by weight, alloyed with other metals to add strength and color. It is genuine gold, recognized as such by every refinery, dealer, and jeweler. Pieces stamped 14K, 585, or 14KT are 14k gold. Pieces stamped GF (gold-filled), GP (gold-plated), or RGP (rolled gold plate) are not solid 14k — they're a thin layer of gold over a base metal and pay far less.

How do I test if my 14k gold is real?

The fastest free test is a magnet — gold is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks, the piece is not solid gold. For more certainty, a $15 acid testing kit from Amazon will tell you the karat reliably. The most accurate test is X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which most jewelers will do for free if you're considering selling to them.

What's the typical spread on 14k gold?

Direct platforms with published spreads charge 8-15%. Mail-in gold buyers charge 15-30%. Local jewelers buying for melt charge 20-35%. Pawn shops charge 40-65%. To check any quote: divide the offer by (weight in grams × today's 14k melt value per gram). The result is what percent of melt value you're being offered. Anything under 70% is below industry-fair for a private seller.

Where is the best place to sell 14k gold?

It depends on the piece. For plain 14k chain or scrap, a direct platform like Heirfolio or a reputable mail-in buyer (Express Gold Cash, SellYourGold) will pay closest to melt. For a branded piece (Cartier, Tiffany), online consignment (Worthy, The RealReal) or an auction house pays higher because of the brand premium. For pieces with significant stones, sell the stones separately and the metal separately. Read the full where-to-sell comparison.

Why is my online quote different from the in-store offer?

Two reasons. First, online buyers ship and process at scale, which is cheaper per piece, so their spread can be narrower. Second, in-store buyers have to pay rent, staff, and overhead, which gets baked into a wider spread. The trade-off: in-store offers you immediate cash and the ability to walk away if you don't like the offer; online means you ship first and see the offer second, with a return option if you decline.

How long do gold prices fluctuate?

Gold spot price moves continuously during market hours (about 23 hours a day, 5 days a week). Day-to-day moves of 0.5-1.5% are normal. Larger moves (3-5% in a day) happen a few times a year on big economic data releases or geopolitical events. Most legitimate buyers re-price their quotes every 15 minutes to an hour. Heirfolio quotes are locked for 60 seconds once you accept them.

Is 14k worth more if it's branded?

Yes, if the brand is recognized. A 14k Tiffany piece sells for 30-100% above melt to a brand-aware buyer (Worthy, The RealReal, eBay, auction). A 14k Cartier Love bracelet sells for 60-80% of retail. A generic 14k piece with no brand sells at or near melt. The key is finding the buyer whose customer is willing to pay for the brand, not the metal — that's a different channel from a mail-in gold buyer.

Should I clean my gold before selling?

For melt sales: no. The buyer is going to melt it anyway, and aggressive cleaning can scratch or damage the piece, which doesn't help anyone. For resale (consignment, auction, jeweler resale): yes, gently. A soft toothbrush, warm water, and a drop of dish soap will remove most surface dirt. Don't use silver polish, jewelry cleaners marketed for plated pieces, or anything ultrasonic on pieces with stones — you can dislodge settings.

Tools mentioned in this article

Gold melt value calculator — input weight + karat, see live melt value
Karat converter — convert between karats and pure-gold percentages
Spread checker — paste any dealer's quote, see what spread they're keeping