How Much Is 14K Gold Worth? Per Gram, Per Chain and What Buyers Actually Pay

Quick answer:

14K is the most common karat for gold jewelry in the United States. Most chains, wedding bands, class rings and everyday bracelets are 14K, which means there is a good chance the piece in your hand is too. It is also the karat that causes the most confusion when people sell, because the number on the stamp is not a price, and the number a buyer offers is rarely explained.

This guide does the math for you. It covers what 14K actually means, a per gram table you can use with the day's gold price, worked examples for chains and rings, what pawn shops and other buyers really pay, how to check that your gold is real, and how to sell 14K gold online or in person without being lowballed.

What does 14K gold mean?

Karat is a measure of purity out of 24 parts. Pure gold is 24 karat. 14K gold is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals, which works out to 58.3 percent gold. The rest is an alloy of metals such as silver, copper and zinc, with nickel or palladium added to make white gold. The alloy makes 14K harder and more scratch resistant than pure gold, which is why it is so popular for jewelry that is worn every day.

You will usually find the purity stamped somewhere discreet: inside a ring band, on a chain's clasp or on a small tag near the clasp. Common 14K marks include:

• 14K or 14KT, the standard American marks.
• 585, the European fineness mark, meaning 58.5 percent gold. For selling purposes it is treated as 14K.
• 583, found on some older pieces, which is also roughly 14K.
• 14KP, short for 14K plumb, meaning the gold content is at least a full 14 karats.

Marks such as 14K GF, 1/20 14K, GP, GEP, HGE or RGP mean something very different. They indicate gold filled or gold plated items, which carry a thin layer of 14K over another metal and are worth a small fraction of solid 14K gold.

How much is 14K gold worth per gram?

The formula is the same one every professional buyer uses. Divide the spot price of gold per troy ounce by 31.1 to get the value of one gram of pure gold, then multiply by 0.583 for 14K. With gold at $4,000 an ounce, one gram of pure gold is worth about $128.60, and one gram of 14K gold is worth about $75.02.

Here is the same calculation for every common karat. The figures are melt values, meaning the value of the gold content, at an example spot price of $4,000 a troy ounce. Check the live price on the day you sell and scale the numbers up or down.

Notice that 14K is worth noticeably less per gram than 18K, but much more than 10K. That is why sorting your pieces by karat before you sell matters. If a buyer weighs a mixed pile and pays the lowest karat in it, you lose the difference on every gram of higher karat gold.

How much is 14K gold worth per ounce and per pennyweight?

Gold is priced in troy ounces, not the ordinary ounces on a kitchen scale. A troy ounce is about 31.1 grams, while an ordinary ounce is about 28.35 grams. At $4,000 an ounce for pure gold, a full troy ounce of 14K contains about $2,333 of gold.

Many jewelry buyers quote in pennyweights instead, an old trade unit abbreviated dwt. One pennyweight is about 1.555 grams, and there are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce. At $4,000 spot, 14K gold is worth about $116.67 per pennyweight in gold content.

The unit matters more than people think. A rate of $70 per pennyweight sounds close to $75 per gram, but it is actually a much lower offer, because a pennyweight is more than one and a half grams. Always ask which unit a buyer is quoting, and convert it before you compare offers.

How much is a 14K gold chain worth?

A chain is worth its weight in 14K gold, plus a premium only if it is a signed designer piece. Weight varies enormously with style and thickness, so the only reliable way to value a chain is to weigh it. These examples use the $4,000 spot price from the table above.

Three details change what a chain is worth in practice:

• Hollow or solid. Hollow chains look substantial but weigh a fraction of a solid chain of the same width, and a buyer pays on weight, not looks.
• The clasp. Clasps often contain a small steel spring, and some are a different karat from the chain. A careful buyer weighs or deducts them separately.
• Designer names. A signed chain from a house such as Tiffany or Cartier can sell for more than its melt value, so it should be valued as jewelry before anyone treats it as scrap.

How much is a 14K gold ring worth?

Most 14K wedding bands weigh between 3 and 8 grams, so their gold value at $4,000 spot sits roughly between $225 and $600. A 5 gram band holds about $375 of gold. Men's rings and class rings are often heavier, and class rings are frequently 10K rather than 14K, so check the stamp.

Stones complicate the math. Their weight is not gold, so it is deducted from the total. Small accent stones usually add little or nothing to the offer, while a sizable diamond should be valued on its own merits, separately from the gold in the setting. If a ring contains a significant stone, ask the buyer to price the stone and the metal separately so you can see both numbers.

Is 14K white gold or rose gold worth less than yellow gold?

No. The color comes from the alloy, not the gold. 14K yellow, white and rose gold all contain 58.3 percent gold, so a gram of each is worth the same in gold content. White gold is usually plated with rhodium to make it brighter, which adds nothing to the melt value but does not reduce it either.

How much do gold buyers actually pay for 14K gold?

Melt value is the ceiling, not the offer. Every buyer has to cover testing, refining, overhead and a margin, so the offer is always a share of the melt value. What separates a fair buyer from a poor one is how large that share is and whether they tell you what it is.

As a rule of thumb, a strong offer on 14K jewelry sits in the high range of melt value, an average one sits somewhere in the middle, and an offer below half of melt is a poor deal. The buyers that tend to pay closest to melt are working refineries, because they process the gold themselves instead of selling it on to a middleman. Our guide on who pays spot price for gold in NYC explains that gap in more detail.

How much do pawn shops pay for gold?

Pawn shops usually pay the least for gold, because their business is built around short-term loans and buying low enough to resell at a profit. When a pawn shop buys gold outright, the offer typically sits far below melt value. A pawn loan can make sense if you need cash for a few weeks and want your piece back afterwards, but if you intend to sell for good, a licensed gold buyer or refinery will almost always pay more for the same 14K chain.

How can I tell if my 14K gold is real?

A stamp is a good start but not proof, because stamps can be faked. A few checks help you sort pieces at home before a professional test:

• Look for plating marks such as GF, GP, GEP, HGE or RGP next to the karat stamp. They mean the piece is not solid gold.
• Try a strong magnet. Gold is not magnetic, so a chain that jumps to the magnet has a steel core. A slight pull at the clasp is normal, because many clasps contain a steel spring.
• Check worn edges. If a different colored metal shows through where the piece rubs, it is likely plated.
• Notice skin marks. Green or black marks on the skin can suggest a high base metal content, although some genuine low karat gold does this too.

The definitive answer comes from testing. Professional buyers use an XRF analyzer, which reads the metal content in seconds without marking the piece, or a traditional acid test on a touchstone. Either way, the test should happen in front of you, and the buyer should tell you the result before making an offer.

Can I sell 14K gold online?

Yes, and the safest way to sell gold online is to start online and finish in person. At InstaGold, you can request a free online offer in under a minute: choose Gold, pick 14K from the karat list, and add the approximate weight or a short description of what you have. A specialist reviews it and replies with a preliminary range, so you know roughly where you stand before you leave home.

The final price is set when the gold is weighed and tested in front of you at our office on 47th Street, because no honest buyer can confirm karat and weight from a description alone. That approach gives you the convenience of selling online without the main risk of mail-in services, which is posting your gold to a company you cannot see and accepting whatever it decides your gold is worth. If you want a benchmark before you commit, request a free online offer and compare it with any other quote you have.

Step by step: how to sell 14K gold for the best price

• Find the stamp on each piece and sort your gold into piles by karat.
• Weigh each pile in grams on a kitchen scale. It will not be exact, but it gives you a ballpark.
• Check the live gold price and work out the melt value with the per gram figures above.
• Request a free online offer to get a benchmark before you visit anyone.
• Visit a licensed buyer and watch the weighing and testing.
• Ask what percentage of melt value you are being offered, and get the figures in writing.
• Accept the offer, or walk away and compare. A fair buyer will not pressure you.

Mistakes that cost 14K sellers money

• Selling signed designer pieces as scrap gold, when they may be worth more as jewelry.
• Letting a buyer weigh mixed karats together and pay the lowest karat in the pile.
• Paying to repair a broken chain before selling it. Broken 14K gold is worth exactly the same per gram.
• Comparing a per pennyweight quote with a per gram quote without converting it.
• Leaving stones in a setting without asking how their weight is being deducted.
• Posting gold to a mail-in service without a firm, written offer.

Where can I sell 14K gold in NYC?

New York has one obvious answer: the Diamond District on West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the center of the gold and jewelry trade in the United States. Buyers there handle 14K gold all day, many of them refine it themselves, and the competition between them keeps offers close to the live market.

InstaGold Buyers Refinery is one of them, at 31 W 47th Street, Suite 202. We are licensed by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, license number 2134780, and open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. If you are ready to sell gold in NYC, we weigh and test every piece in front of you, price it against the live spot price and explain the number. If you would rather start with a quick online offer for cash for gold in NYC, the form takes less than a minute.

Frequently asked questions

How much is 14K gold worth per gram today?

Divide the live spot price per troy ounce by 31.1 and multiply by 0.583. At $4,000 an ounce, 14K gold is worth about $75 per gram in gold content, and buyers pay a share of that figure.

Is 14K gold worth selling?

Yes. 14K is more than half pure gold, so even small or broken pieces carry real value at today's gold prices.

How much is a 14K gold chain worth?

Multiply its weight in grams by the per gram value of 14K. At $4,000 spot, a 20 gram 14K chain holds about $1,500 of gold. Signed designer chains can be worth more.

Is 585 gold the same as 14K?

Yes. 585 means 58.5 percent gold, which is the European mark for 14K.

How much do pawn shops pay for 14K gold?

Usually far below melt value, because pawn shops buy low enough to resell at a profit. A licensed gold buyer or refinery typically pays more.

Can I sell 14K gold online?

Yes. Request a free online offer with your karat and approximate weight, then finish in person, where the gold is weighed and tested in front of you before the final price is set.

Is 14K white gold worth less than yellow gold?

No. Yellow, white and rose 14K gold all contain 58.3 percent gold and are worth the same per gram.

Find out what your 14K gold is worth

Request a free, no-obligation offer online with your karat and approximate weight, or bring your gold to InstaGold at 31 W 47th Street, Suite 202, in the Diamond District, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. We weigh and test everything in front of you, show you the live spot price and explain exactly how we reached the number. There is no pressure to sell.

Sophia Bennett

Precious Metals & Luxury Watch Specialist

Sophia Bennett is a precious metals and luxury watch specialist at InstaGold, with experience evaluating gold jewelry, coins, bullion, Rolex watches, and other high-value pieces. Based in New York’s Diamond District, she helps sellers understand what influences an item’s value and guides them through a private, straightforward appraisal process.

Reviewed for accuracy by the InstaGold team.