Gold jewelry is one of the most common pride of their owners. Indeed, at all times, gold has been an expensive metal because of its unique composition and rare properties, gifted to it by nature itself.
What is scrap gold?
Gold scrap is any product made of precious metal that has expired due to wear and tear and is designed to be processed by smelting with the further production of new gold standards. In ancient times, only kings or rich people could afford gold items.
Nowadays, almost every person has some kind of jewelry made of this noble metal. Over time, fashion, style changes, and gold products also undergo changes. Earlier purchases of jewelry become obsolete and old-fashioned, or can simply wear out. An ideal solution would be the exchange of old products for new types, which is often practiced in specialized stores, or scrapping with the subsequent purchase of more modern analogues.
Types of Gold Alloys
As a rule, jewelry is not made of pure gold, but of an alloy of metals. This is due to the fact that gold itself is a very soft metal, which in its pure form quickly wears out, undergoes scratches and cracks. Alloys of other metals give greater functionality to the gold composition, which provides significant wear resistance to products. The main components of such a ligature are: gold, silver, copper, platinum, nickel, palladium and others.
Depending on the impurities added to the basic composition, the following types of gold metals are distinguished:
- yellow - the color is acquired due to the greater addition of silver and zinc. (decorations of this color are traditional in the West);
- white - the shade is achieved due to the alloy of gold and palladium (products of this color scheme are very popular and are considered representative species);
- pink - color is acquired by adding copper to the composition;
- red - the color is achieved due to the addition of copper, silver and zinc (jewelry of this shade is common both in our country and in eastern countries).
The cost of gold scrap depending on the sample
An important component in assessing the value of jewelry made of gold is the test. What is a test? This is the percentage of gold-bearing composition in the alloy used in the manufacture of jewelry. Traditional samples that are used to brand gold jewelry in our country are:
- 375 test - the gold content in the alloy is about 38%. The cost of scrap gold of such a sample ranges from 700 to 900 rubles per gram.
- 500 samples - contains about 50% of pure gold metal. Price run per gram is 900-1100 rubles.
- 583/585 samples - the alloy includes about 59% of the basic composition. Such alloys are widespread in jewelry production, as they have high strength and hardness, minimal oxidizability. The price ranges from 1000 to 1400 rubles. per gram.
- 750 samples - a fairly high gold content - about 76%. Such metal is used, as a rule, for filigree jewelry. The cost of a gram of gold scrap ranges from 1300 to 1800 rubles.
- 958 and 999 samples - the alloy contains the maximum amount of gold - more than 96%. It is practically not used in jewelry production; it is used for the manufacture of ingots. The cost of gold scrap is 1850-2350 rubles. per gram.
As can be seen from the above data, the price per gram of jewelry ranges from 700 to 2350 rubles. The higher the sample of the product, the higher the percentage of gold in the alloy and the higher the cost of scrap gold.
Where do they take scrap gold products?
One of the most common scrap collection points is a pawnshop. Lombard activity consists in issuing loans to individuals on the security of movable property, which includes jewelry. Moreover, scrap of gold products can be taken as security. If the borrower does not return the money to the pawnshop within the terms established by the contract, his pledge will be sold at the corresponding price. Even if good products are accepted as collateral, they are valued based on the value of gold scrap. The activities of pawnshops are regulated by applicable law, therefore their actions are lawful.
In addition to pawnshops, jewelry factories or factories can accept gold scrap, but they only accept a large volume of products.
Specialized stores may become the receivers of scrap gold. The difference with the pawnshop is that outdated jewelry models will be replaced with new designs, and in most cases with a substantial surcharge for the client.
You can exchange gold scrap for other models in a jewelry workshop. However, it is worth remembering that here, most likely, you will also need to pay the difference between the cost of scrap and a new product. In addition, the jeweler will require payment of his services for the production of a new sample.
Gold scrap price today
The main criteria for determining the value of scrap gold products are the sample, weight, level of wear, the presence of stones and their value. Perhaps the most important assessment factor is the quotation of precious metals on the exchanges of the Central Bank of Russia.
What is the price of scrap gold today? As practice shows, the main products that are handed over as scrap to collection points are jewelry with a sample of 585. It is this stigma on gold models that is the most popular and common in our country. Therefore, as an example, consider the cost of scrap gold 585 samples.
So, as of May 13, 2018, the accounting price per gram of this metal, according to the Central Bank, is 2,629.51 rubles. This figure must be multiplied by the coefficient of the sample 585, namely 0.585. We get the value of 1538.27 rubles. But this is not the end. About 10% should be taken away from this figure - these are the services of reception centers for assessment, purchase and other actions related to the activities of appraisers. 1538.27 - 10% = 1384.45 rubles. This indicator is the total cost of gold scrap 585. However, each collection point for itself determines the final price with slight deviations from the original data in the direction of decrease or increase.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we summarize all of the above. As of May 13, 2018, the actual cost of gold scrap for 1 gram of 585 samples is 1384.45 rubles.