How Is Old Gold Jewellery Valued? A Simple Guide

1. Gold Purity

Not every piece of gold jewellery contains the same amount of pure gold. You must have noticed terms such as:

18K, 20K, 22K, or 24K. Here the “K” stands for karat and indicates the proportion of gold in the item.

For example, according to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), recognised gold fineness grades include 18K750, 20K833, 22K916, 23K958 and 24KS995, among others. These numbers represent gold content in parts per thousand.

If your gold is 22K, it means the gold has a fineness of 916 parts per 1,000, or approximately 91.6% gold.

This matters the most because even when two jewellery pieces weigh the same, they can have different values depending on their purity levels.

2. Gross Weight Is Not Always Gold Weight

If your necklace weighs 20 grams, that doesn’t mean that it has 20 grams of gold.

Jewellery may also contain gemstones, beads, enamel or other non-gold materials. These components are not considered gold when determining gold’s value.

This is the reason why buyers look at the net weight of gold rather than automatically valuing the entire weight of the jewellery as gold.

This is very important to consider before selling the jewellery that also contains different decorative components and stones.

3. The Current Gold Rate

The value of gold keeps changing over time with the market conditions. A buyer can consider the applicable gold rate based on the purity and net gold weight of the jewellery.

For example, if two people have identical 22K gold chains weighing the same amount, they sell them at two different times, then there is a high chance that their valuations may also differ.

That doesn’t mean that the rate you see online is the rate that you will receive. A buyer’s offer can depend on its evaluation process, applicable adjustments and purchasing terms.

4. How Is Gold Purity Tested?

You can already know the purity of your jewellery from its hallmark or old purchase documents. Still, a buyer may test the jewellery before providing a final valuation.

One commonly used method is X-ray fluorescence, or XRF testing.

XRF can analyse the elemental composition of a material and help assess gold purity without melting the jewellery.

Nidhi Gold Buyer uses non-destructive XRF machines to test gold purity and evaluates it in front of the customer.

Transparency is very important for customers; you should understand how the purity of your jewellery was determined.

5. Does a Hallmark Affect Gold Value?

A hallmark can be helpful to identify the declared purity of your jewellery. Under the current BIS hallmarking system, hallmarked gold jewellery carries the BIS logo, purity/fineness information and a six-digit alphanumeric HUID. The HUID can be verified through the BIS Care App.

For example:

But also consider that a hallmark does not tell you the current selling price of your jewellery.

It provides information about its purity and fineness. The valuation still depends on factors such as the actual weight, purity and applicable gold rate.

Before You Accept an Offer

A transparent valuation should make it clear what purity was found, how much net gold is present, which rate is being applied and whether any deductions or adjustments are included.