How to sell your old gold jewelry

If you're planning to sell jewelry to take advantage of the high price of gold, you might be better off selling unwanted pieces as jewelry, rather than for the melting pot.
If you sell gold jewelry for its scrap value, you'll lose much of its retail value, perhaps 75% or more. The scrap price is based on the value of the metal alone and doesn't reflect the craftsmanship or any aesthetic or antique value, let alone emotional attachment you or family members may have to the piece.
"When reality kicks in, it's not such a great idea," said Donald Palmieri, a master gemologist appraiser and the president of Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab in New York City.
Some pieces indeed have little or no resale value, like old class rings (minus the gemstone) and used garden-variety wedding bands, and would make good candidates for the scrapheap if you need extra cash. Also consider scrapping a gold earring if you've lost its mate.

What's it worth?

If you wonder what your gold jewelry is really worth, have it appraised. You can find credentialed appraisers at the Web sites of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers and the American Society of Appraisers.Short of a full-blown appraisal, you can hire an appraiser for a consultation. The fee, depending on your location, ranges from about $50 to $200 an hour.

How can you find out how much your unwanted wedding band or damaged gold bangle bracelet is worth as scrap? Here's a brief tutorial about gold prices:

• The price of gold based on a troy ounce of 24-karat, or pure, gold. A troy ounce contains 31.1 grams, or 20 pennyweights. (You can find the current price for gold at Kitco or Goldprice.org.)

• Gold less than 24K is discounted proportionately: 18K is 75% pure gold, 14K is 58.3%, and 10K is 41.7% gold. Gold jewelry of 10K or more will have a karat stamp.

What's that wedding band from your despised ex-spouse worth? Ask a jeweler to weigh it and give you a quote based on the spot price for gold. The price will be further discounted by the fees to assay and refine it -- normally 10% to 20% -- and any profit the buyer hopes to make.
In the week after gold hit a historic high of $1,035 an ounce and then dropped below the $1,000 milestone, a 14K wedding band was selling for about $75.