If you're asking the price of gold per gram UK today to sell broken chains, mismatched earrings or old jewellery for melt value, the figure you need isn't the raw spot price — dealers buy at a discount to cover refining and their margin. This page estimates that scrap price by purity.
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Estimated scrap value (GBP)
Est. scrap £/gram
Live spot £/gram
Estimate only — not a dealer quote. Actual offers vary by purity, volume and dealer.
Why Scrap Gold Sells Below the Spot Price
When you sell gold for scrap, a dealer isn't paying the live spot rate — they're paying spot minus a margin that covers refining costs, testing, and their own profit. This calculator applies an adjustable estimate factor to the live per-gram price by purity, clearly labelled as an estimate, not a quote — actual dealer offers vary by purity, weight sold, and which dealer you use. Always get a second quote before selling, and ask whether the dealer tests purity in front of you.
What Percentage Do Gold Dealers Actually Pay?
Seller type
Typical % of spot (indicative)
Specialist bullion/scrap dealers
~80-92%
High-street jewellers
~65-85%
Pawnbrokers & cash-for-gold shops
~50-75%
Postal cash-for-gold services
~60-85%
Indicative ranges only, based on typical UK market patterns — not a quote from any specific dealer, and actual offers vary by weight, purity and how competitive a particular buyer is on the day.
Questions to Ask Before You Sell
Will you test the purity in front of me, and how?
Is your price based on today's spot rate — what rate are you using right now?
Do you value mixed-purity items separately, or all at the lowest purity present?
Is the quote in writing, and does it expire?
What's your fee or deduction if I decide not to proceed (especially for postal services)?
Where to Get a Quote
This site doesn't buy gold itself — it's a price reference, not a dealer. A few well-known UK options if you want to compare quotes (not endorsements, and not a complete list):
No. Dealers buy scrap gold below the live spot price to cover refining costs and their margin. The exact discount varies by dealer, purity and the weight you're selling — this calculator shows an adjustable estimate, not a guaranteed quote.
Get quotes from at least two or three dealers, ask them to test purity in front of you, and sell items together by purity (9ct separate from 18ct, for example) rather than as a mixed lot, since mixed-purity gold is often valued at the lowest purity present.
Yes — significantly. 22ct scrap is worth much more per gram than 9ct scrap, since 9ct is only 37.5% pure gold by weight. Always check the hallmark before comparing offers.
As a rough guide, specialist online bullion/scrap dealers tend to pay towards the higher end (commonly cited around 80-92% of spot for good-purity scrap), while high-street jewellers and especially pawnbrokers often pay less. These are general market ranges, not a quote — always compare actual offers.
Specialist online dealers (bullion/scrap refiners) usually offer better rates than a local jeweller or pawnbroker because refining and reselling gold at scale is their core business, but a local sale avoids postage and lets you inspect the process in person — weigh convenience against the size of the price gap for your specific weight and purity.
Transparency & Methodology
GP
Gold Price Per Gram UK
Independent, Open-Source Live Tracker
An independent calculator that pulls a live gold spot price and applies the standard troy-ounce-to-gram conversion deterministically — no manual price entry, no AI estimate.
Live goldapi.io feed
Updated 3×/day
Methodology & Limitations
Prices are the live interbank/wholesale spot rate sourced from goldapi.io, not a retail dealer quote. See the full methodology for the exact formula and update schedule.
Not a Dealer or Adviser
This site is not a bullion dealer, refiner or financial adviser — prices are indicative only. Before selling, compare quotes from a reputable dealer; for industry-standard benchmark pricing see the LBMA Gold Price.
Open Source
The fetch, formula and page-generation code is public. Inspect it or suggest improvements on GitHub.