Scrap Gold Calculator for UK Residents


	
		Gold Calculator
	
  
    Weight (grams):
    
    Karat:



    Live Gold Prices (GBP):
    
      24k Gold Items   £71.47 per gram
      22k Gold Items   £65.51 per gram
      20k Gold Items   £59.56 per gram
      18k Gold Items   £53.60 per gram
      14k Gold Items   £41.69 per gram
      9k Gold Items    £26.80 per gram

With gold prices soaring to record highs, UK residents are increasingly turning to scrap gold calculators to determine the value of their old jewellery and gold items. A scrap gold calculator UK tool is essential for anyone looking to sell gold, as it provides a quick estimate of your item’s worth based on weight, purity, and current market rates. Knowing your gold’s value upfront empowers you to make informed decisions and avoid undervalued offers. In this guide, we’ll explore what makes the best scrap gold calculator for UK users, how to track scrap gold prices, and how gold purity and current gold price per gram UK impact your gold’s value.

Understanding Gold Price per Gram UK and Scrap Gold Prices

The price of gold is the foundation of any scrap gold valuation. Gold trades on global markets and is usually quoted in troy ounces, but UK sellers often think in terms of gold price per gram. In London, the benchmark is the LBMA Gold Price, which is set twice daily (at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM UK time) as a reference for the market. This price fluctuates based on supply, demand, economic conditions, and currency values. When gold prices rise, scrap gold prices rise with them, meaning your broken or unused gold jewellery could be worth more than you expect.

How to Track Gold Prices in the UK

You can track live gold prices through financial news, dedicated websites, or even via gold price apps. Many UK bullion dealers display the current gold price per gram in GBP on their websites. For example, gold is traditionally priced per troy ounce (31.1 grams); to get the price per gram in pounds, you divide the ounce price by 31.1035. If needed, convert the currency to GBP (though the London price is often quoted directly in £). Keeping an eye on these live prices or the daily LBMA AM/PM fix gives you a baseline for valuing scrap gold.

Impact on Scrap Gold Valuation

Scrap gold value is directly tied to the pure gold content in your items and the current price per gram. Simply put, scrap gold value = weight of pure gold (in grams) × current gold price per gram. For instance, if 24-carat gold (99.9% pure) is £50 per gram, then 9-carat gold (which is 37.5% pure) would have an intrinsic value of about 37.5% of £50 (since 9ct is only 37.5% gold) – roughly £18.75 per gram in pure gold content. In general, 24k (99.9% pure) commands the full price per gram, while lower purities are worth proportionally less. (18k gold is 75% pure, so it’s worth 75% of the 24k price per gram, 14k is ~58.5%, 9k is 37.5%, etc.) By knowing the daily gold price and your item’s purity, you can estimate its melt value before using a calculator.

Pro Tip: Gold prices can change multiple times a day as the market moves. Check a reliable source for the live gold price in GBP on the day you plan to sell. Many calculators use the live spot price or update at least daily, so your scrap gold estimate will reflect current market conditions. If the market is volatile, the value can shift even within hours, so timing can slightly affect your quote.

Using a Gold Scrap Value Calculator (UK Edition)

A gold scrap value calculator UK takes the guesswork out of valuations. It’s a simple online tool where you input the weight of your gold and its purity (carat), and it outputs an estimated value based on the latest gold price. These calculators are popular among UK sellers because they quickly convert the global gold price into the value of your specific items in pounds.

Benefits of a Scrap Gold Calculator

Accurate Valuation: It uses real-time gold prices to provide users with an accurate estimate of their gold’s worth, factoring in weight, purity, and market fluctuations.
Time-Saving: No need to visit multiple gold buyers or take items to a jeweler for valuation. The tool provides instant results.
Cost-Efficient: Many calculators are free to use, which is a cost-saving option compared to paying for appraisals.
Educational: Users can learn about gold purity and market trends, helping them make smarter decisions about when and how to sell their gold.
Market Insights: Some calculators offer a historical view of gold prices, which helps users understand market trends and determine the best time to sell.

How a Scrap Gold Calculator Works

Most calculators use the current spot price of gold (the market price for pure gold) and then adjust for the purity of your item. For example, if you enter 10 grams of 18ct gold, the calculator knows 18ct is 75% pure gold. It will calculate the value of 7.5 grams of pure gold (which is 75% of 10g) at the current per-gram rate. Good calculators update the gold price automatically – often using live data – so the result is accurate at that moment. The output is usually the melt value (also called intrinsic value) of the gold content in your item.

Step-by-Step: Estimating Your Gold’s Value with a Calculator

Gather and Sort Your Gold: Collect the gold items you want to value (e.g. rings, chains, coins). Sort them by purity (karat) if you can. It’s important to calculate 9ct pieces separately from 18ct pieces, for instance, since their values per gram will differ. Why? Because different purities have different gold content – 9k has much less gold per gram than 18k or 22k.
Determine the Purity (Carat): Check the hallmark on each item to find the karat rating. In the UK, common hallmarks include 375 for 9ct, 750 for 18ct, 916 for 22ct, etc. A “375” stamp means the item is 37.5% gold (9 karat). If you’re unsure, you might use a gold testing kit or consult a jeweller.
Weigh Your Gold Accurately: Use a digital scale to weigh each group of items (preferably in grams). Accuracy is key – even a small weight difference can affect the value. Aim for a scale that measures to at least one-tenth of a gram (0.1g) or finer. Tip: Avoid old kitchen scales that might only do 1g increments; for best results use a jeweller’s scale accurate to 0.01g. Note down the weight of each purity group separately (e.g. 15.5g of 9ct, 8.2g of 18ct, etc.).
Input the Data into the Calculator: Open a reputable scrap gold calculator UK online. Select the purity (carat) of your gold from a dropdown menu (or enter the fineness), and enter the weight. Make sure you’ve chosen the correct unit (grams, ounces, etc – most UK calculators default to grams). If the calculator covers multiple metals, be sure you’re on the gold section.
Check or Set the Gold Price: Many calculators will automatically use the current gold spot price in GBP. Ensure the price seems up-to-date (some sites even show the live price they’re using). If given the option, select “UK (£)” or GBP as the currency. In most cases, the tool will display the current price per gram it’s using for each purity – some even list a table of values per gram for 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, etc., based on today’s market rate.
Calculate the Value: Hit the “Calculate” or “Value” button. The calculator will instantly display the estimated value of your gold. This is typically the melt value (what the pure gold content is worth at spot price). For example, 10 grams of 18ct might show a result like “~£400” (as an illustration) if gold is around £50/gram for pure gold. This is a guide price for what your gold’s content is worth.
Repeat for Other Purities and Sum Up: If you have multiple purity categories (say some 9ct and some 18ct), do separate calculations for each purity. Then add the values together to get the total estimated worth of all your scrap gold.

These steps will give you a ballpark figure of your gold scrap value. Modern online calculators are very user-friendly: you select the carat, enter weight, and it does the math for you. Some even allow you to adjust the gold price if you have a specific rate or to include a buyer’s fee or margin (though for most users, sticking to spot price gives the highest theoretical value).

Note: The calculator’s result is typically the maximum melt value based on pure gold content. In reality, a gold buyer may pay slightly less to cover refining and handling. For example, even a top-tier buyer like The Royal Mint pays about 96% of the live gold price for gold they buy from the public. So if your calculator says £100 worth of gold, a fair offer might be around £90–£96. Use the calculator as a benchmark: offers significantly lower than the calculator’s value (after accounting for purity and weight) may indicate you’re not getting a good deal. We’ll cover more on fair prices in the FAQ.

Features of a Good Scrap Gold Calculator:

Multiple Purity Options: You should be able to select all common UK gold purities (9k, 14k, 18k, 22k, 24k, etc.).
Automatic Price Updates: The best calculators pull in current market prices automatically, so you always get an up-to-date valuation.
Price per Gram Display: Many tools show you the price per gram for each carat. For instance, it might list that 9ct is £X/gram, 18ct is £Y/gram today. This transparency helps you verify the pricing makes sense.
Multiple Units: Some calculators let you switch units (grams, ounces, etc.), but in the UK context grams are standard.
Clear Currency Option: Ensure the calculator can display values in GBP (£). Most UK-focused ones do by default.
Melt Value Only: Remember, these calculators give you the melt value of the gold content. They typically do not account for gemstones or any antique/resale premium of jewellery. If your item has diamonds or other stones, the calculator will still value it as if it were pure gold weight alone. (Remove or deduct any stones’ weight for an accurate reading. A heavy stone can significantly skew the weight – for example, a ring with a big gemstone might weigh 5g total, but only 3g of it might be gold. The calculator doesn’t know that and would overestimate the gold value.) The price offered will be lower than your online calculation if stones or non-gold parts add extra weight, since those parts are subtracted in the actual offer. In short, only the gold counts.

By using a scrap gold calculator, you’ll get a solid estimate of your gold’s worth in today’s market. This knowledge is power – it allows you to negotiate confidently or shop around for the best offer.

Gold Purity Calculator UK: How Purity Affects Scrap Value

Understanding gold purity is crucial when valuing scrap gold. In the UK, gold purity is often expressed in karats/carats (ct). Pure gold is 24 carat, but most jewellery is an alloy of gold with other metals, making it harder and more durable. The common purities you’ll encounter are 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct, and 24ct. A gold purity calculator or formula helps convert an item’s carat into the percentage of gold content, which is key for valuation.

Carat and Fineness Explained

Carat (not to be confused with gemstone carat weight) indicates how many parts out of 24 are gold. For example:

24 carat = 99.9% gold (virtually pure gold)
22 carat = ~91.6% gold (22/24 of the alloy is gold)
18 carat = 75% gold (18/24)
14 carat = ~58.5% gold (14/24)
9 carat = 37.5% gold (9/24)

The remainder in each case is made up of other metals like copper, silver, zinc, etc., which add strength or affect the color of the gold. UK law actually permits 9ct as the minimum purity to be sold as “gold” so won’t typically find anything lower marked as gold in the UK market.

Why Purity Matters

The value of scrap gold is proportional to its purity. One gram of 24k gold has 2.67 times more pure gold than one gram of 9k gold (since 24k is 100% vs 9k’s 37.5%). This is why, when you use a calculator, you must input the correct carat – it ensures the calculator multiplies by the right fraction of the current gold price. High-purity items (like a 22ct sovereign coin or a 24k bullion bar) will yield much higher prices per gram than 9ct gold earrings.

Using a Gold Purity Calculator or Formula:

If you ever need to manually calculate or double-check the purity values: take the current gold price per gram (for 24k) and multiply it by the purity percentage of your item. For instance, say gold is £60/gram for pure 24k. An 18k item is 75% pure, so its per-gram value is 0.75 × £60 = £45/gram. Similarly, 9k being 37.5% pure gives 0.375 × £60 = £22.50/gram. Many online calculators essentially do this math for you behind the scenes. They use the formula: (carat ÷ 24) × current gold price (or equivalently, use the hallmark number like .375, .750 as a multiplier). Some dedicated “gold purity calculators” let you input a weight and carat to see how much pure gold it contains. For example, inputting 10 grams of 14k gold would output 5.83 grams of pure gold (since 14k is 58.3% gold). This is helpful to understand the melt weight of gold you actually have.

Hallmarks and Purity Identification

In practice, figuring out purity is made easy by hallmarks on your jewellery. UK-hallmarked gold will have a number like 375 (for 9ct), 585 (for 14ct, though 14ct is less common in UK), 750 (for 18ct), 916 (for 22ct), or 999 (for 24ct bullion). These numbers correspond to the parts per thousand of gold content. For example, a stamp reading “750” means the item is 75.0% gold = 18 carat. If you’re using a scrap gold calculator, you typically select the carat rather than entering the fineness number, but it’s good to know how to read these stamps. If an item isn’t stamped or you suspect it might not be accurate, you might consider a gold testing kit (acid test or electronic tester) to confirm its karat.

How Purity Affects Price Offers

When selling, buyers will test your gold’s purity (often with an XRF analyzer or acid test) to ensure it matches what you think it is. Your calculator estimate is only as good as knowing the correct carat. If you overestimate purity (e.g., think something is 18k when it’s actually 14k), your calculated value will be high and the offer you get will seem low. Conversely, if you underestimated purity, a reputable buyer will happily tell you it’s worth more. This is why understanding gold purity is so important – it directly influences the price per gram used in your valuation.

By choosing a calculator with these features, you ensure that your scrap gold valuation is as accurate and transparent as possible. This in turn helps you when it comes time to sell: you’ll know roughly what your gold is worth and can identify the best place to sell gold by comparing offers. A good calculator is the first step in the process of converting old jewellery or scrap into cash, so picking the right one is worth it.

FAQs: Scrap Gold Calculators and Valuing Gold

Q: How does a scrap gold calculator determine the value of my gold?

A: A scrap gold calculator works by taking the weight of your item and the purity (carat) of the gold, and then multiplying these by the current gold price for that purity. Essentially, it calculates how much pure gold you have (by weight) and what that amount of gold is worth at the moment. Most calculators have the latest gold market price programmed in (or fetched live). For example, if you input 5 grams of 18ct gold, the calculator knows 18ct is 75% pure, so it computes the value of 3.75 grams of pure gold at today’s rate. The result is the melt value – what the gold content is worth on the open market. Keep in mind this is a gross value; a dealer’s offer may be a bit lower to account for processing costs or profit margin. But the calculator’s number gives you a reliable figure to within a few percentage points.

Q: How often do scrap gold prices change in the UK?

A: Scrap gold prices change whenever the market gold price changes. The underlying gold price fluctuates constantly during trading hours (typically 24 hours on weekdays worldwide). In the UK, there are key benchmarks each day – the LBMA Gold Price is set twice daily in London. But prices can move in between those fixes due to global trading. Practically, for consumers, gold prices update daily (and sometimes intra-day). If you check a price one week and then the next, it could be different. That’s why a good scrap gold calculator will update at least daily or pull live prices. Always ensure you’re using as fresh a price as possible, especially if the markets are volatile. In summary: scrap gold prices rise or fall with the international gold market; they don’t stay static for long.

Q: Where can I find the current gold price per gram in the UK?

A: There are several places to find the current gold price per gram UK:

Bullion Dealer Websites: Many UK bullion dealers have live price charts that show the price per gram in GBP. These are updated in real-time.
Financial News & Apps: Financial news sites and apps often let you view commodity prices. You might have to convert from per ounce to per gram (divide the price per troy ounce by 31.1035).
The LBMA or Gold Fixings: The London Bullion Market Association publishes the official daily morning and afternoon gold price. Some sites will list the LBMA AM/PM price in £ per ounce, which you can convert to per gram.
Gold Price Trackers: Websites like GoldPrice.org or others allow you to set GBP and grams to see the current rate.
Many scrap gold calculators themselves display the rate they use, effectively telling you the current price per gram. Always double-check the date/time on any quoted price to ensure it’s current.

Q: What does 9ct, 14ct, 18ct mean, and how does it affect the value?

A: These numbers refer to the gold’s purity, measured in carats (or karats). 24ct is pure gold. The lower the carat number, the less pure gold the item contains. Specifically:

9ct gold = 37.5% pure gold
14ct gold = 58.5% pure gold
18ct gold = 75% pure gold
22ct gold = 91.6% pure gold
24ct gold = 99.9% gold (virtually pure gold)

The remainder is other metals like copper, silver, etc. The purity directly affects value: a 10 gram 18ct gold chain has 7.5g of pure gold, whereas a 10g 9ct chain has only 3.75g of pure gold. So, the 18ct chain will be worth about double the 9ct chain’s value in scrap terms (assuming the same price per gram of pure gold). When you use a calculator or get quotes, 18ct will fetch a higher price per gram than 9ct. Always know your item’s carat so you can estimate accordingly – higher carat = more gold content = higher scrap value per gram.

Q: Why is the price a gold buyer offers sometimes lower than the calculator’s value?

A: It’s normal for a buyer’s offer to be a bit lower than the raw value the calculator shows. The calculator gives you the melt value at 100% of spot price (the theoretical maximum if the gold were refined with no costs). However, gold buyers need to cover refining fees, business costs, and have a margin for profit. Typically, a competitive offer might be around 90% of the melt value (somewhere in the 80-95% range depending on the quantity and the dealer). For example, if your gold is worth £200 by spot value, an offer of around £180 (90%) is reasonable from a high-street or online buyer. Top-end buyers (large volume dealers) might offer closer to 95% for hefty amounts, while less competitive places might try 70% or less – which is quite low. In fact, research has shown some jewellers or mail-in services have offered as little as 15-60% of the gold’s true value, which is why knowing your gold’s value is so important. It protects you from accepting a poor offer. Use your calculator’s result as a benchmark; if an offer is significantly lower, you’re free to walk away and find a better buyer.

Q: What’s the best way to sell my scrap gold once I know the value?

A: The best approach is to get quotes from a few reputable buyers and go with the one offering the most and a safe, convenient service. Some options include:

Specialist Gold Buyers: These could be online gold-buying companies or bullion dealers that purchase scrap. Many have calculators on their websites (which you may have used) and offer mail-in or walk-in services. Check reviews and ensure they have transparent rates.
Jewellery Shops/Pawnbrokers: Local jewellers or pawn shops often buy gold on the spot. Their rates vary widely – some may surprise you with good offers, others might be low. Use your calculated value to gauge their offer. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, especially if you have a quote from elsewhere.
Postal Gold Services: There are mail-in services where you send your gold and they deposit payment. These can be convenient but research their reputation. Make sure they insure your package.
Auctions or Private Sales: If you believe your item has value beyond just gold (e.g., vintage jewellery), you might get more than scrap value by selling as a piece (through auctions or online marketplaces). But if it’s broken or common, scrap value is likely highest.

Before selling, it’s a good idea to know the best places to sell gold by reading up on reviews or guides. Also, remember to factor in any shipping or transaction fees in your net gain. Ultimately, the “best” place is one that offers a combination of a high price, trustworthiness, and ease of transaction for you. Armed with your scrap gold calculator estimate, you’ll be well prepared to choose the right buyer and get a fair deal.