How scrap gold is priced

Any honest gold offer comes down to three numbers: weight, purity and the live gold price. Multiply them together and you have the melt value of your gold.

The formula

Melt value = weight (g) × purity × spot price per gram

For example, a 10g 9ct chain contains 10 × 0.375 = 3.75g of pure gold. At a spot price of £100 per gram, its melt value is £375.

Why buyers pay less than melt value

Scrap gold has to be sent to a refinery, melted, assayed and turned back into pure gold. Refiners charge for this and buyers carry the risk of price moves in between. Our buy rate is a published percentage of melt value, shown on our live price page.

What lowers an offer

• Stones, springs, steel and other non-gold parts, which are weighed out
• Gold-plated or gold-filled items, which contain very little gold
• Lower carats — 9ct is only 37.5% gold