1.
Live spot price.
Pulled every 15 seconds from the LBMA gold fix. Today's price is on the screen and printed on every offer. We don't quote stale prices.
Every offer comes from the same formula: live spot price, multiplied by purity, multiplied by weight, multiplied by payout band. Every variable is visible on the screen above the scale.
If a buyer can't show you these four numbers, walk out. This is the entire math.
Pulled every 15 seconds from the LBMA gold fix. Today's price is on the screen and printed on every offer. We don't quote stale prices.
XRF analyzer reads the actual alloy. 24K = 99.9% gold. 22K ≈ 91.6%. 18K = 75%. 14K ≈ 58.3%. 10K ≈ 41.7%. Stamped karat is sometimes wrong — the reading is what we pay on.
Calibrated scale to two decimals of a gram. Stones, springs, clasps — anything that's not gold — gets displaced or removed.
How much of melt value we pay. Bullion 96–98%, scrap and jewelry 85–92%, dental gold 88–92%, numismatic coins quoted separately.
Numbers vary daily with spot — these are illustrative, not guarantees.
Spot $4,780/oz × 58.3% purity × (18.4g / 31.1) × 90% payout ≈ $1,488 cash.
Spot $4,780 × 91.67% (alloyed) × 1 oz × 97% payout ≈ $4,250 cash. Bullion premiums apply when above spot.
Sorted, tested per piece, weighed by karat. Average payout in the range of $8,400–$9,100 at this week's spot.
We tell you upfront. Most other shops bury these in the formula.
Set diamonds, springs, clasps, watch movements — none of it is gold. Either physically removed or weight-deducted by displacement. We pay on the gold only.
Marked GP, GF, RGP, HGE, 1/20, or vermeil — recoverable gold is a tiny fraction. Most shops won't quote these. We don't either.
Some "14K" pieces from the 1970s test at 11K. We pay on the actual reading, not the stamp. The XRF report is shown to you.
Structural reasons, not promotional pricing.
Our team is salaried. There's no incentive to lowball or upsell — and no built-in margin to fund commission checks.
One location, no franchise fees, no chain marketing budget. That money flows back into the payout band.
We sell to two refiners directly, not through a middle broker. Tighter spreads on our end means more of melt value to you.
The screen shows the formula running in real time as we test and weigh. No surprise deductions, no hidden fees, no spread games.
We'll call back within a business hour with a realistic range — no spam, ever.
Expect a call from (408) 594-3624 within the next business hour.