Free tool
Scrap gold calculator
Spot price, carat, weight and your buy rate. It gives you the intrinsic metal value per gram and what you pay at your rate, for every carat at once - so you can quote a mixed lot off one screen.
You pay for 10 g of 18ct
£554.30
Intrinsic metal value
£629.90
Gross spread at 88%
£75.60
| Carat | Fineness | Intrinsic /g | You pay /g | Total for 10 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9ct | 0.3750 | £31.50 | £27.72 | £277.20 |
| 10ct | 0.4167 | £35.00 | £30.80 | £308.00 |
| 14ct | 0.5850 | £49.13 | £43.24 | £432.40 |
| 15ct | 0.6250 | £52.49 | £46.19 | £461.90 |
| 18ct | 0.7500 | £62.99 | £55.43 | £554.30 |
| 21ct | 0.8750 | £73.49 | £64.67 | £646.70 |
| 22ct | 0.9167 | £76.99 | £67.75 | £677.50 |
| 24ct | 0.9990 | £83.90 | £73.83 | £738.30 |
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere. There is no live spot feed on this page - enter the figure you are working to.
How this is calculated
- Spot is per troy ounce of fine gold. One troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams, so the price of a gram of pure gold is spot divided by that.
- Carat is a fraction. 9ct is 0.375 fine, 18ct is 0.750, 22ct is 0.9167. Multiply the fine gram price by the fineness and you have the intrinsic value of a gram of that alloy. Everything else in the piece - the copper, the silver, the solder - is worth nothing at this counter.
- Your buy rate is the spread. At 88% you pay 88p of every pound of metal you take in. The other 12p covers refining loss, the refiner’s fee, the float you have tied up between buying and settling, and your margin.
- The total is the rounded per-gram rate times the weight. Not the unrounded one. That is deliberate: it matches the arithmetic you do out loud at the counter, so the printed ticket and the customer’s phone agree to the penny.
What it does not account for
- Stones, and what removing them costs. Weigh gem-set pieces after removal, or discount for it.
- Refining terms. Your refiner’s assay, lot minimum and settlement lag all sit inside your buy rate. If you have not worked out what they cost you, the rate is a guess.
- VAT. Where you buy at or below the open-market value of the contained metal, the gold reverse charge in VAT Notice 701/21 section 11 applies and it is compulsory, not a choice - the buyer accounts for the VAT. The second-hand margin scheme explicitly excludes precious metals bought at metal value. Getting this wrong is expensive in both directions. Check it with your accountant; this page is a price calculator, not tax advice.
- Hallmarking and resale. A piece worth more intact than melted should not be on this page at all - price the resale, subtract the refurbishment, and compare.
No spot price is fetched here and nothing you type leaves your browser. Use the fix you are actually settling against.