Determining Value

What We Pay

Main Line Precious Metals takes pride in providing our clients with exceptional, high-quality service and fair exchange rates. We’ve been in business since 1979, are fully licensed, and are recognized as one of the top gold buyers the Main Line has to offer for four years in a row.

The value of an item depends on variety of factors from market demand, current prices, weight, and occasionally condition.

Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, & Non-Ferrous Metals

  • In the United States, the purity of gold is designated by Karat markings. Pure gold is 24K and is too soft for making jewelry. Alloying elements like copper, silver, nickel and zinc are added to strengthen it.

    Gold can usually be identified by markings on your jewelry in karats, such as: 8kt, 9kt, 10kt, 14kt, 18kt, 22kt or 24kt. Some gold may be marked as .585 for 14kt and .750 for 18kt.

    Karat denotes the amount of gold by weight in an alloy, known as the fineness. The popular jewelry alloys in the U.S.A. are:

    • 22 karat or 22/24ths by weight of gold (91.67% pure gold) marked as 22K or 22kt

    • 18 karat or IS/24ths by weight of gold (75.00% pure gold) marked as 18K or 18kt

    • 14 karat or 14/24ths by weight of gold (58.53% pure gold) marked as 14K or 14kt

    • 10 karat, or 10/24ths by weight of gold(41.67% pure gold) marked as 10K or 10kt

    10 karat is the minimum recognized purity of an alloy to be called “gold” in the United States.

    The karat and color of gold are determined by the amount of those elements that are added. For example, If you divide 10K by 24K, you would have 41.67% of pure gold and the other elements would be 58.33% of copper, silver, and zinc for yellow gold.

Gold purity is measured in karats. One karat is 1/24th gold purity by weight, therefore pure or fine gold is known as 24 karat. For pink (rose) gold, a larger percentage of copper is used. For white gold, a larger percentage of nickel is used. Yellow and white are the most common colors for gold, but gold can also be green and rose-colored.

  • For an object to be called platinum it must contain at least 95% pure platinum. So if your jewelry has the words platinum, plat or pt then it contains a minimum of 95% pure platinum. Alloys containing less than 95% pure platinum but 85% pure platinum or above will be marked with the parts per thousand number as follows:

    • 900Plat or 900Pt (contains 90% pure platinum)

    • 850Plat or 850Pt (contains 85% pure platinum)

  • There is no actual hallmarking laws regarding palladium in the U.S. at present, but jewelers will mark palladium jewelry in much the same way as platinum, except using the marks pall or Pd instead of plat or Pt.

Platinum and palladium are part of the platinum precious metals groups and can usually be identified by unique markings denoting parts per thousand. These are also considered to be precious metals, based on their rarity. Both are considered hard precious metals, so they are usually only alloyed 5-10%. Both metals are also naturally white in appearance.

The Value of Your Gold is Determined By

  • Spot price is what one ounce of gold or silver is now trading

  • Karat Gold is the percentage of gold vs alloys (10K, 14K, 18K, etc)

  • Weight is in Troy oz (vs Avoirdupois). 

  • Gold is purchased in Pennyweights or 1/20th of an ounce.

How much is gold worth? We calculate how much cash you'll receive for your gold based on the current market price. All cash payments are calculated in pennyweights (DWT), the standard weight measurement in the precious metal business.

Main Line Precious Metals pays up to 85% of the refined value of gold jewelry. That's because we have more than 30 years of industry experience, so we have the know-how to get top dollar for your gold.

We’ll evaluate your items, explain how we determine their value, and offer you the current market rate minus a small percentage for commission. As a result, this gets you cash in hand the same day.

Silver can usually be identified by markings denoting the percent of the total weight that is fine silver. For an object to be marked as either solid silver or sterling silver, at least 92.5% of the objects total weight must be fine silver. The usual marks used are sterling or 925. In some cases objects may be marked ster or STR.

“Coin silver” is 90% pure silver.

“Vermeil” is gold plated on sterling silver and will be valued as silver.

Diamonds

We buy diamonds of all sizes and quality. We are prepared to pay more than our competitors for large, clean and colorless diamonds in the 1 to 10 carat range.

Main Line Precious Metals makes it easy to sell your diamond and fine jewelry at the very best market prices.

  • A diamond’s value is determined by a variety of factors, the most important of which include the stone’s color, cut, clarity, and carat.

  • A diamond appraisal is a document that specifies the key characteristics of a diamond and its setting, including carat, color, clarity, cut and measurements, and gives a dollar value estimate of what it is worth — whether for insurance purposes, or on the resale market.

  • Grading and valuing a diamond is a complex process, one that requires a professional expert and benefits from sophisticated laboratory technology.

  • The price you will receive for any diamond, no matter where you sell it, depends on many factors, including the size, clarity and cut of your diamond as well as the market demand for your gemstone.