Get Cash for Gold in Greater Boston

A Troy Ounce has approximately 31.1 grams in each ounce. A standard Avoirdupois Ounce is made up of 28.35 grams.

Often, with big-box jewelry retailers, their payroll and other expenses, such as rent in malls, marketing, and promotions, are high, so they pass the cost along to customers. These large retailers have become efficient at selling large volumes of jewelry both in their brick-and-mortar stores and through their extensive online presence. Dealing with independent jewelers generally provides a better experience than with large, big-box retailers, where employees often have little vested interest in the company and customer experience. The diamond buying experience is personal, and having a face-to-face conversation with a jeweler who genuinely cares about the customer is something that an online sale cannot replicate. Additionally, most jewelry purchasers do not consider the resale value of their pieces in the future, which can cause frustration when they attempt to sell them later.

Unfortunately, not all that glitters like gold is genuine gold. One should be careful when determining if an item is authentic. Just because an item has a stamp, does not mean it is genuine gold. There are a lot of types of jewelry that merely appear to be true gold, such as gold-filled jewelry, gold-plated jewelry, gold mixed with copper, gold stamped, and inflated karat genuine gold. While a piece of jewelry may look expensive or high-end, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is made of real gold.

The first and easiest way to determine authenticity is to look for a small karat mark or a manufacturer’s trademark stamped on the inside of a clasp, inside of a gold ring, on the end cap of a gold Figaro bracelet, or even a tiny mark on a gold diamond earring post. You will likely see a number stamp or 18k, 14k, or 10k on your item, numbers such as 750, 417, 585, 916, 999, 375, or the word “gold plum.” We often see customers come in with stamped genuine gold on jewelry, but we’ve also seen customers who have purchased gold chains and gold jewelry from a friend, thinking that the item was authentic and that it was a “good deal,” only to find out the item wasn’t true gold.

Of course, we will be happy to take a look at your gold jewelry or gold coins and determine their quality and authenticity for you right here in our Quincy, Massachusetts gold jewelry pawn shop. You can send us a text message, email a picture, or call and stop by during business hours. A small amount of gold collecting dust in a jewelry box can add up fast!

Very simply, 10k means ten parts pure gold or 41.7% pure. 10k/24k = 41.7%. 14k means fourteen parts pure gold out of 24k. In other words, 14k/24k= 58.5% pure, and so on.

If you have something that is 24k, then it is pure gold, which is the best quality of gold. However, chances are, this won’t be in the form of a piece of jewelry, as it is too soft to use in jewelry pieces. This is often found in India, China, Russia, Europe, and South America where higher karats of gold in jewelry are more common. American gold jewelry is usually 10k, 14k, or 18k yellow or white gold.

Gold jewelry that is 18k is very high in gold purity. This means it is made with 75% pure gold and other metals such as copper, zinc, palladium, and a little silver to help strengthen the piece. A simple rule to follow is the higher the karat of gold, meaning 10k, 14k, 18k, 20k, 22k, and even 24k, and the heavier the jewelry, the more money you would receive. Jewelry that is 10k gold is made up of more metals than gold and is actually only 41.7% pure. Ten-karat gold is most common in gold-class ring jewelry, gold chains, and gold earrings, and these items tend to be slightly darker than 14k and 18k jewelry.

If your gold jewelry bears a 585 stamp, it is likely 14k gold. This stamp comes from the simple equation 14k/24k= 0.585, which is where the stamp came from.

When a piece of gold jewelry bears a 417 stamp, it is likely a 10k piece of gold jewelry. This is because 10k gold is 41.7% pure.

Gold jewelry marked with a 750 stamp is likely 18k gold, or 75% pure gold. You will likely notice these pieces are brighter yellow in color thanks to a large amount of pure gold in them.

These stamps are not very common as they are typically only used on European jewelry items such as Claddagh rings, Celtic Crosses, and even old pocket watches. Gold jewelry with a 375 stamp on it is likely 9K and tends to be very dark in color.

Many customers come to us looking to sell gold jewelry pieces that are “gold filled.” This is a very common way to make jewelry today, and while it gives off the appearance of solid gold jewelry, it isn’t the same. Gold-filled jewelry, also known as a gold overlay, is made by using heat and pressure to apply a layer of karat gold to a base metal. This creates an “overlay” of gold on top of the metal.

In order to qualify as a gold-filled piece, the karat of gold in each item must equal at least 1/20 of the total weight of that item. Gold-filled pieces can also be 2/20 or 5/10. Gold-filled items typically have a cash value, as a certain amount of gold is used to create these pieces.

Gold-plated jewelry is another type of jewelry that may give off the appearance of solid gold but is actually made mostly of other metals. If a piece of jewelry is gold plated, it means a very thin layer of gold color or real gold is deposited on top of a metal base. The color will look similar to 14kt gold. In most pieces, this plate is only about 1/1,000-1/1,00,000 of an inch. Typically, you will see 14KGE or 18K GEP stamps on gold-plated items. This type of gold has very little value.

Gold-filled jewelry has a significantly larger portion of gold in it, as opposed to gold plated. Typically, gold-filled jewelry will hold a greater cash value, slightly more than silver jewelry.