Gold has more than tripled in the past ten years, and the last time it even neared these prices was during the late 1970's.  For those who have unwanted gold jewelry, coins or other items at home, now is the time to take those items to a Gold ladies party or fundraiser event and sell.

The chart below shows the market price of Fine Gold (.999 pure) in US dollars per Troy ounce.

While you may come across coins made of 24K gold, it is very rarely used to make jewelry.  Twenty-four karat gold is extremely soft and impractical for daily wear, so gold is mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability, as well as to alter color.  This results in alloys, or mixes of metals, of lower karat quality, or purity of gold.  The price of a particular karat quality is proportional to the percent of fine gold in the item.  The most common jewelry you will see will be 10K and 14K, though you will find some 18K and even 22K items. 

The trading price of gold on the market does not reflect the costs of brokerage fees, market spread and other factors. The gold items that The Gold Ladies purchase are valued at its scrap metal value. However, the prices that The Gold Ladies pay are based on today's precious metals market price. We stand behind our committment to give the most competitive offer for your silver, platinum and gold jewelry as well as sterling flatware, US Silver Coins and dental gold.

DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY -top of page-

Karat Quality (K, KT) - indicates the parts of fine gold in a total of 24 parts.

Most jewelry, but not always, has a karat quality hallmark that indicates what proportion of gold is mixed with other metals.  For example, 14K gold contains 14 parts of gold mixed in with 10 parts of base metal.  Note that the parts total 24.  14 / 24 = 58.3%, so 14K is 58.3% fine gold.  Likewise, eighteen karat gold is 18 parts gold, 6 parts base metal, or 75.0% fine gold.  The higher the karat rating, the higher the proportion of gold is in the mix. 

Karat Plumb (KP, kp) - Karat plumb is used to guarantee that the gold content is no less than the mark shown.  For example, if the item is stamped 14kp, that means it is exactly 14 karat or higher, and not a smidge below.  Do NOT confuse with K.P., Karat Plate which is the same as Gold Plate, G.P.            

Solid Gold - The term, “solid gold” refers to an item made of any karat gold as long as the inside of the item is not hollow and the gold and base metal are mixed throughout.

Gold Inlays - Solid gold or gold alloy items attached by dovetailing.  Usually 14-24 karat gold.

Gold Leaf - Gold leaf is 3-4 millionths of an inch made by flattening under pressure.  It can be hammered thin enough to transmit light.  The Gold Ladies do not buy items with gold leaf. 

Gold Plate (G.P.) -   Jewelry can be plated with gold mechanically or electrolytically to attach a layer of gold onto the surface of a base metal.  Gold plated items are not called “solid gold” even if they are not hollow because the metals are layered, not mixed.  The Gold Ladies do not buy gold plated items.

Gold Filled (G.F.) - Refers to a base metal such as nickel that has a sheet of gold attached by soldering or other means applied to its surface.  Gold filled was once commonly used in watch cases.  The hallmark is usually preceded by a fraction.  Example: a hallmark of 1/20 12K G.F. means that the piece is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight.  The Gold Ladies do not buy gold filled items.

Gold Electroplate (G.E.), Heavy Gold Electroplate (H.G.E) - Jewelry that is electroplated has a minimum layer of 7 millionths of an inch (0.175 microns) with a minimum of 10K gold or higher karat quality.  The Gold Ladies do not buy gold electroplate or heavy gold electroplate items.

Gold Flashed and Gold Washed - Plated jewelry with a 2-5 millionth of an inch layer of gold.  The Gold Ladies do not buy gold flashed or gold washed items.

Gold Overlay - same as Gold Filled.  The Gold ladies do not by gold overlay items.

Rolled Gold Plate (R.G.P.) - Jewelry with a layer of 10K gold or higher that is bonded mechanically to a base metal, then drawn or rolled to a specific thickness.  The gold layer may be less than 1/20th by weight and must be marked (1/30 RGP, 1/40 RGP).  The Gold Ladies do not buy rolled gold plate items.

White Gold - Gold alloy mixed with silver, palladium or nickel for a silver appearance.

Rose Gold - Gold alloy mixed with copper or bronze for a reddish or rose tone.

Blue Gold - Gold alloy mixed with iron.

Purple Gold - Gold alloy mixed with aluminum.
                       
Vermeil (VERMEIL) - Pronounced “ver-MAY”, vermeil is a gold-plated product having a sterling silver base metal.  The item is gold in color.

Sterling Silver (STERLING, STER, SS, 925) - English silver is marketed as sterling and contains 92.5% fine silver. 

Platinum (PLAT, 950Pt, 950PLAT) - Jewelry or other item that contains 95.0% by weight of fine platinum.

Dwt or pennyweight - the unit of measurement that The Gold Ladies use to weigh precious metals.  There are 20 dwts. in a troy ounce.

WEIGHT STANDARDS -top of page-

For centuries, gold, silver and platinum have traditionally been weighed using the Troy measurement system.  The ancient Troy System weighed metals in units of troy pounds, troy ounces and pennyweights. 

Do notconfuse or interchange a troy ounce (OZT, ozt) with what is commonly considered an ounce today used to describe the weight of grocery item which is an avoirdupois ounce (OZ, oz).  A troy ounce is actually 9.7% heavier than an avoirdupois ounce, so if you accidentally weigh something in oz and pay them for an ozt, you just paid too much!  Likewise, a troy pound is not the same as an every day pound (an avoirdupois pound).  And to make it even more confusing, there are 16 ounces in a pound, but there are only 12 troy ounces in a troy pound.  Most people do not have a troy ounce of gold to sell so we have to weigh in smaller measurements called grams or pennyweights.  There are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce and 31.103 grams in a troy ounce. Some companies pay in grams.  Grams and pennyweights are different units of measurement for the same troy ounce. The Gold Ladies weigh items in pennyweights.  But a Gold Ladies buyer can tell you what they would pay for an item in grams if requested.  See the conversion table below.

Conversion Table

 *To convert from units in the 2nd column to units in the 1st column, divide by the factor in the 3rd column.