How much are gold earrings worth?

What gold earrings are worth today, per gram

Gold is trading at $3,925 per troy ounce (the Kitco bid). We pay 94% of melt value:

Scrap prices are per gram of metal after melting, not per gram of what you send. Stones are removed, and dirt, glue, springs, and anything else that isn't gold or silver burn off or separate out, so the weight paid is usually less than your scale shows.

A pair of 14K hoops weighing 3 grams, for example, comes to $207.48 today.

What decides an earring's value

• The stamp: usually on the post, the hook, or the back. It can be tiny; a magnifier helps. See how to read gold stamps.
• Backs and posts: backs are often a lower karat, or not gold at all, and some posts are steel. They're weighed with the earring, but only the gold counts.
• Hollow hoops: big hoops are often hollow and weigh very little.
• Stones: diamonds and gemstones don't count toward the gold. If a stone is worth keeping, take it out before you send the earring.
• Single earrings and broken ones are worth exactly the same per gram.

Combine them with other gold

Our minimum is $1,000, and for scrap gold, half a troy ounce of scrap material. A few pairs of earrings usually come in under that, so add them to chains, rings, and other gold you're selling. Pieces with personal engravings can't be accepted.

Gold guides: Gold price per pennyweight · Gold chains · Gold earrings · Gold rings · Gold bracelets · White gold · Gold stamps · Scrap gold per gram

We pay more than pawn shops, jewelers, and mail-in gold kits: in Consumer Reports' tests, jewelers and pawn shops paid 36% to 71% of melt value, and mail-in kits 11% to about 29%. We pay 94% for scrap gold. Who pays the most?