Calculating Gold Value: What Is Really in Your Jewellery?
Almost every household has some gold tucked away: an inherited ring, a necklace with a broken clasp, a single earring, perhaps a few silver spoons from a wedding set. With gold at around €120 per gram (example value from 24 Sept 2026), that quickly adds up to several hundred euros. If you want to sell, you should know what the pieces are worth first. Otherwise it is hard to judge any offer.
This guide shows how to calculate the value of gold yourself, what the stamps 333, 585 and 750 mean, why dealers pay less than the market price and which German tax rules apply when you sell. You can recalculate every example with your own items in the gold value calculator, including several pieces at once and silver.
The Basic Formula: Weight × Fineness × Price
The value of a piece of gold depends on three numbers: how heavy it is, how much pure gold it contains and what the gold price is today. The formula is:
Melt value = weight in grams × fineness ÷ 1,000 × gold price per gram
An example: a ring weighs 10 grams and is stamped 585. It contains 10 × 585 ÷ 1,000 = 5.85 grams of fine gold. At €120 per gram of fine gold, that is 5.85 × 120 = €702 melt value. This is the pure metal value, i.e. what the gold would be worth if it were already sitting in a vault as fine gold.
The gold price is usually quoted internationally in US dollars per troy ounce. A troy ounce weighs 31.1034768 grams, heavier than the common ounce of about 28.35 grams. To convert a euro price per ounce into a price per gram, divide by 31.1035. At €3,750 per ounce, that is about €120.57 per gram. In the calculator you can enter the price per gram or per ounce.
What Do the Stamps 333, 585, 750 and 999 Mean?
The hallmark states the fineness in thousandths. 585 means 585 out of 1,000 parts are pure gold; the rest are alloy metals such as silver, copper, zinc or palladium. They make the gold harder and determine its colour (yellow, rose or white gold). Many countries use karats instead: 24 karat equals pure gold.
Gold finenesses at a glance
1. 333 gold (8 karat): 33.3% fine gold. Affordable everyday jewellery, widespread in Germany.
2. 375 gold (9 karat): 37.5% fine gold. Common in British and Irish jewellery.
3. 585 gold (14 karat): 58.5% fine gold. The classic for wedding rings, chains and quality jewellery.
4. 750 gold (18 karat): 75% fine gold. Jeweller's quality, rich colour, considerably more valuable.
5. 900 and 916 gold (21.6 and 22 karat): typical for older and well-known bullion coins and for jewellery from South Asia and the Middle East.
6. 999 gold (24 karat): fine gold, mainly in bars and modern bullion coins.
At the example price of €120 per gram, one gram of 333 gold is worth about €39.96, 585 gold €70.20, 750 gold €90 and 999 gold €119.88. The chart in the calculator shows exactly this scale. The difference between 333 and 750 gold is more than double at the same weight.
And silver?
Silver follows the same principle. Common grades are 800 silver (older cutlery), 835 silver, 925 sterling silver (jewellery, modern cutlery) and 999 fine silver (bars, coins). On 24 Sept 2026 silver was at roughly €56 per ounce, about €1.80 per gram. A cutlery set with 120 grams of 925 silver therefore contains 111 grams of fine silver worth just under €200. Beware: much cutlery is only silver-plated (stamped 90 or 100) and contains hardly any silver.
Weighing: How to Get the Weight Right
For a reliable estimate you need scales accurate to at least 0.1 gram. A kitchen scale with 1-gram steps is not enough for chains and rings, because a single gram of 750 gold is worth around €90. Precision scales are inexpensive.
What you weigh matters. Gemstones, pearls, watch movements, steel spring rings or plastic parts do not count towards the gold weight. The buyer will deduct or estimate them, so weigh jewellery with stones conservatively. Also sort items by fineness, because a 585 chain and a 333 pendant are valued differently. In the calculator, simply add several items.
Melt Value Is Not the Selling Price: the Buy-Back Discount
No buyer pays the full melt value. The gold price refers to fine gold in large bars traded on the markets. Scrap gold first has to be tested, melted and refined back into fine gold. That costs money, and the dealer wants a margin, so a discount is deducted.
The size of the discount depends heavily on the goods:
1. Bars and common bullion coins: usually 2 to 5% below the price, because they can be resold without processing.
2. Scrap gold, broken gold and jewellery: often 10 to 25%, more for small quantities or walk-in customers.
3. Silver jewellery and cutlery: in percentage terms usually much higher than gold, because the value per gram is low and the effort is the same.
With a 15% discount, our €702 melt value becomes a realistic buy-back value of €596.70. That is exactly what the calculator shows as its main result. You set the discount with a slider and immediately see whether an offer is fair.
How to spot a fair offer
Always ask to see how the items are weighed and tested. A reputable buyer states the weight, fineness and the price used, and puts it in writing. Get at least two or three offers, ideally on the same day, as the price moves daily. Be careful with flat-rate offers without weighing, doorstep deals and mail-in services where the gold is melted before you have agreed.
For jewellery with design value, signed pieces or antique work, an appraisal by a jeweller can be worthwhile. Such pieces may be worth more than their metal, and that extra value is lost when they are melted down.
Valuing Several Items at Once
Anyone clearing out a jewellery box usually has several finenesses. In the calculator you can add up to ten items, each with metal, weight and fineness. The table then shows the fine content, melt value and buy-back value for each item, with the total underneath. You can see which pieces account for most of the value. Often it is one or two heavy 585 or 750 pieces, while many small 333 items add little.
The entire list is stored in the address bar. You can save the link or send it to family members, for example in an inheritance, and everyone sees the same calculation.
Taxes When Selling Gold in Germany
For private individuals in Germany, physical gold is tax-friendly. The relevant rule is § 23 of the Income Tax Act on private disposal transactions. If more than one year lies between purchase and sale, the gain is completely tax-free, however large. For jewellery that has been in the family for decades, tax therefore practically never matters. For inherited gold, the deceased's holding period counts.
If you sell within one year, an exemption limit applies: if all private disposal gains of a calendar year total less than €1,000, no tax is due. This limit has applied since 2024; before, it was €600. Important: it is an exemption limit, not an allowance. If the gain is €1,000 or more, the entire gain is taxed at your personal rate, not just the part above the limit. Fill in the tax check in the calculator with your purchase price and holding period. Read more in Selling Gold in Germany: When Is the Gain Tax-Free?
VAT matters when buying. Investment gold is VAT-exempt under § 25c UStG. This includes bars of at least 995 fineness and gold coins of at least 900 fineness that were minted after 1800 and are or were legal tender in their country of origin. Jewellery does not qualify. Silver is never VAT-exempt: bars carry 19%, coins are often sold by dealers under the margin scheme. That is why the gap between buying and selling prices is much wider for silver than for gold.
Common Mistakes When Estimating Gold Value
1. Using the ounce price per gram: confusing €3,750 with one gram puts you off by a factor of 31.
2. Forgetting the fineness: 10 grams of 333 gold is not 10 grams of gold but 3.33 grams.
3. Weighing the stones: a large stone can weigh several grams and distort the calculation.
4. Using outdated prices: the gold price can move several percent within a few weeks. Enter the current price on the day you sell.
5. Confusing melt value with payout: always calculate with a discount, or you will be disappointed at the counter.
Conclusion
Calculating the value of gold is easier than many think: weight times fineness times price gives the melt value, minus the dealer's discount. If you weigh your items, check the stamps and enter today's price, you know the realistic value before you walk into a shop. The gold value calculator does the maths for gold and silver, for a single item or a whole collection, without tracking and without sign-up.
Note: this guide is for general information and does not replace tax or legal advice. All prices are example values from 24 Sept 2026.