Selling Your Unwanted Gold

Chad Williams, with the Wasatch Gold Exchange, explains how it can be done.

Bring us your old gold jewelry, odd pieces or scrap gold. We pay top cash on the spot. All testing is done right in front of you while you wait, and you are given the offer in just minutes.

The karat system is used to reveal the amount of pure gold found in an item. This is not to be confused with the “carat” system which is used in the weight of gemstones.
Pure gold is quite soft and malleable, so it is mixed with various amounts of other metals to yield a more durable alloy. This leads to different karat grades or ratings.
Some different grades of karats are:

• 24 karat (24K) is pure gold

• 18 karat (18K) contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of another metal or metals making it 18/24 = 75% gold.

• 14 karat (14K) contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of another metal or metals yielding 14/24 = 58.3% gold.

• 10 karat (10K) contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of another metal or metals yielding 10/24 = 41.7% gold.

10K is the minimum karat designation that can still be called gold in the USA.

Karat grades are usually stamped on jewelry. Karat stamps from third-world countries may be unreliable, so alternative testing in any event is necessary.