Quick answerMelt it if it's plain, unsigned, broken or dated gold. Don't melt it yet if it's signed by a designer, made before about 1950, set with a diamond around half a carat or larger, set with a fine gemstone, or a coin. Those can be worth more than the metal. Get a resale quote first, then compare it with the melt value.
The 30-second check
Tick everything that applies to your piece:
Signed and designer pieces
A maker's signature can be worth more than the gold. Look inside shanks, on clasps and behind pendants for a name or logo next to the karat stamp. Scrap buyers pay for weight and purity. They don't pay for the brand, so a signed piece belongs with a jewelry reseller or consignment shop first. If a buyer offers only melt value for a signed piece, that's your signal to keep shopping it.
Vintage and antique jewelry
Handmade work, old-cut diamonds and period styles have collector demand that has nothing to do with spot price. Melting destroys that value permanently. When in doubt, get one quote from an estate jeweler. It costs you an afternoon, and melting can't be undone.
Diamonds
Policies vary a lot. MailGoldOnline says it pays nothing for stones except GIA-certified natural diamonds of 0.5 ct or more1. The Alloy Market says it doesn't remove or return stones, and it points diamond sellers to a separate service2. Kitco notes that gemstones also increase melt loss3. On the other side, GoldFellow runs a removal program for prong-set stones over 2 mm4, and Express Gold Cash says it pays wholesale for diamonds5. See our full stone-policy table.
Colored gemstones and pearls
Most scrap buyers don't pay for colored stones, and pearls can't survive melting. A jeweler can unset stones, often for a small fee, so you can sell the gold and keep the stones or sell them separately.
Coins
Many gold coins sell at or near metal value, but some carry numismatic premiums. Look up the date and mint mark in the PCGS6 or NGC7 price guides before you treat a coin as scrap.
If you decide to sell
- Separate pure scrap from "maybe worth more" pieces.
- Weigh each karat group and run it through the calculator.
- Get two or three written offers. Michigan's Attorney General recommends shopping around and knowing what you have before you sell8.
- Compare offers as a percentage of melt on our buyer comparison.
Common questions
Is it better to sell gold jewelry for scrap or resale?
Plain, broken, or dated pieces with no maker's mark are usually worth about their melt value, so scrap is fine. Signed designer pieces, antiques, and pieces with good diamonds or gemstones can be worth much more on the resale market. Get a resale or appraisal quote before you melt them.
Do gold buyers pay for gemstones?
Often not. Several mail-in buyers say they pay nothing for most colored stones, and some don't remove or return stones at all. Ask about the stone policy in writing, or have the stones removed first.
- MailGoldOnline: What we buy (karat table, stones, lab-grown)
- The Alloy Market: FAQ (stones, insurance, price match)
- Kitco: How to sell scrap metal (testing, melt loss)
- GoldFellow: Diamond FAQ (stone removal)
- Express Gold Cash: FAQ (diamonds and gemstones)
- PCGS Price Guide (coin values)
- NGC Coin Price Guide
- Michigan Attorney General: Selling precious metals