Category Archives: Gold

“I was recently given a gold gemstone ring and am looking to sell it. Is it possible for you to remove the gem and buy the gold? If so, how much can I expect to get from the ring or is it better to just sell the ring as is?”

Thanks, Shelly – Houston, Texas.

Hi Shelly,

First off thank you for your question. As a gold refining company, we do not remove gems or diamonds from jewelry as a standard. However, Arch is equipped for gold recovery after a gem has been removed, but we will need the rings weight in order to establish a proper estimate. Once we have that information, we use the following payout schedule to determine the amount of money you will receive in return for your gold jewelry.

• 70% if customers send in less than 0.5 fine ounces.
• 80% if customers send in less than 1 fine ounce.
• 85% if customers send in less than 2 fine ounces.
• 90% if customers send in more than 2 fine ounces.
• More than 90%, based on frequency and volume of shipments.

Another aspect we consider with gold recovery is the number of karats the jewelry is comprised of. Based on its karat, we can determine its purity and overall worth in order to give you a proper estimate for its value. For more information on Karat options, visit our website about gold jewelry. If you would like to get your ring appraised as is, we recommend contacting your local jeweler.

If you know the weight of the ring (without the gem) and the karat of the gold. Find the daily price of gold, and use our gold calculator to find the market value of the gold.

We find that in cases like class rings or old jewelry (but not considered an antique) the gold value can be worth more than the resale value of the ring as a whole. Our recommendation is to see if you can sell the gem as is once it is removed. Or even reusing the gem for a new piece is a common practice. If you think you have an antique or rare type of ring, get it appraised as is.

We appreciate your inquiry and hope this helps with determining the best option for your gold ring. Should you decide to sell us your gold, here is our packing slip.

Thank you!

*Images displayed are only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

“I have a White Gold necklace I am looking to sell, what will I get in terms of price because it’s White Gold instead of regular Gold? Thanks from Clay in Detroit, MI.”

Hi Clay,

Thanks for the inquiry! White gold can be refined in the same process that yellow (“regular”) gold. In fact, white gold holds the same amount of gold ratio that yellow gold jewelry and products contain. The primary difference has to do with the composition of the other materials that are mixed with the gold, called alloys. White gold will typically contain either silver or palladium metals, which accounts for the “white” coloring, whereas yellow gold contains either copper or zinc as its alloys.

Pictured is a chart that can be used to evaluate the gold content of items we will refine. Depending on the amount of karats your necklace is, we can give you an estimate of what the refined gold would be worth.

Our payout schedule on gold depends on the purity and amount that you have. We pay 70% of the gold value back to you if you have less than 0.5 fine ounces.

Visit our website to learn more information about Gold Refining and about the types of gold items we refine and recover.

If you decide to sell your white gold necklace, please refer to our Packing Slip.

Thanks for your question Clay!

*Images displayed are only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

Needing some extra income before the holidays?

Clean out those old jewelry boxes and let us know if you have any scrap gold or silver jewelry to sell. You will never find the match to that gold earring that you have been holding on to and that gold necklace won’t fix itself! Turn these things that are just collecting dust into holiday smiles!

Contact us and let us know if we can help.

I have two dental crowns, two gold molars made of mixed metal, according to my dentist. He said metal refiners buy such things and break them down into their separate metals. Do you do that? Thanks from Brett in Milwaukee, WI.

Hi Brett,

Yes! As a precious metal refiner we have the capabilities to recover gold from the dental items you have described. Since dental gold is not hallmarked like gold jewelry (14k, 18k etc), you need to make sure that your buyer has the ability to find the exact purity of your items, as dental gold can really vary in purity. We have seen dental gold to be as high as 85% gold, while other times it can be as low as 15%. However, most of the dental gold we see is about 12k, which is 66.66% gold. We run tests with an XRF analytical machine to determine how much gold is available to refine. An at home gold kit may not suffice to give accurate results for the purity of dental gold.

Our next-step advice for you is to make sure that your items are as separated from other non-precious metals and materials and you can get them, then weight on a postal scale. You can refer to our payout schedule for gold, but note that these percentages are based on the actual gold content (not the total weight of your items).

You can refer to our Dental Gold category for more posts about refining dental gold. Thanks for your question Brett!