What Karat is Your Gold Jewelry? When An Ounce Isn’t an Ounce!

23 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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In this video, Adam Zimmerman explains how the value of gold jewelry depends on both its weight and its karat purity. He clarifies that the market price of $3,340 per ounce refers to 24‑karat (pure) gold, which is 99.9% gold. Most U.S. jewelry is 14‑karat (58.5% gold) or 18‑karat (75% gold), meaning an ounce of such pieces contains less pure gold and is therefore worth less than the quoted ounce price. He contrasts bullion items like Krugerrands or gold ingots, which are priced for the full ounce of pure gold, with jewelry that contains alloy metals. He also notes regional differences: India and sometimes China use 22‑karat or 24‑karat gold, which can affect weight and value. The video ends with a call to subscribe for future content.

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If you're trying to figure out what— how much is that bracelet in my thing, in my cabinet, if it's an ounce. So when you're talking about an ounce of gold at $3,340, that is for 1 ounce of pure gold. So that's 24-karat gold. Most of the jewelry in the United States, with the exception of big-name pieces, are going to be 14-karat gold. That's 58.5% gold. 18-karat is 75% gold. When you're talking about pure gold, that number, that's 99.9% gold. So it's a little bit of math. If you have bullion like Krugerrands or if you have solid like ingots or something like that, that's the full price of gold. But if you're talking about jewelry, the only time it's going to be 999 pure gold is if it's bullion or sometimes if you go like India, they use 22-karat sometimes and sometimes 24. Sometimes the Chinese also use 24-karat gold. That's when it's heavier, and if it's higher karat, it's gonna be heavier. Please subscribe so you don't miss any future videos.