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Sell Unwanted & Scrap Gold in Bodmin, Cornwall

Gold Traders is delighted to announce the imminent opening of our Bodmin branch. We’re ideally located for anyone in Cornwall to easily sell their unwanted gold, silver, platinum and palladium – for market-leading prices.

Our Bodmin branch will be geared up to handle all types of precious metals sales, including jewellery, coins, bullion and dental scrap. Full x-ray testing will be available, so we can value any non-hallmarked scrap, including platinum thermocouple wire, crucibles and other scientific material.

What makes Gold Traders different to other gold buyers?

Gold Traders has been operating since 2008 and has always strived to be open and transparent when buying precious metals from the public. Unlike many of our competitors, we publish the rates we pay, so you can obtain an up-front estimate as to how much we’ll pay you.

If a gold buyer is unwilling or unable to confirm their rates, it generally means they have something to hide!

Buy With Confidence Scheme

In 2022, Gold Traders became the first precious metals dealer in the country to obtain Trading Standards accreditation through their national ‘Buy With Confidence‘ scheme.

Businesses that undertake to become part of the Buy With Confidence scheme are regularly monitored and checked by Trading Standards to ensure that customers are dealt with in a fair, honest and transparent fashion.

External link: View our Buy With Confidence record.

Gold Traders Bodmin

Located in the former HSBC bank building, you’ll be able to visit us, Monday to Friday.

Our address is:

Gold-Traders (UK) Ltd
3 Fore Street
Bodmin, PL31 2HU

Our telephone number is:

01208 420331

Steve & his team are looking forward to welcoming you. In the meantime, please feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have.

August 8th, 2023 No Comments » Gold, Selling Tips |

How much is 14ct gold worth per gram?

14ct gold rings

Having all the necessary information is the key to making a good decision. If you’re looking to sell some of your 14 carat gold items and aren’t aware of the market value of it, then you could be at risk of being taken advantage of. In some cases, unaware members of the public have been offered as little as 20% of the real value of their gold. Read on, and find out how much 14ct gold is per gram.

In this detailed article, I’m going to explain how you can calculate the value of your 14ct gold and how to compare quotes from different companies. This information is vital for you to get the best deal possible. I can tell you now that by not doing this, you could possibly end up being paid between 50% – 60% less for your items.

What is 14ct Gold?

You might already know that the carat (ct) is the traditional unit used to denote the purity of gold alloys. The higher the number, the more ‘pure’ the gold, i.e. the alloy has more gold content and fewer other metals. In the United States, it’s spelt ‘karat’ (k / kt).

The formula used by the gold industry measures carat purity as 24 x the purity by mass. So 14ct gold is 14 parts gold, 10 parts other metal. In percentage terms, that’s 58.33% fine gold. You’ll see on the hallmark for 14ct gold in the UK is generally expressed in millesimal fineness these days. A convention exists in continental Europe to round up the figure to 58.5%, hence the hallmark figure of ‘585’.

The colours 14 carat gold is available in are yellow, rose and white. An alloy of copper will give a more red colour (rose gold), whilst metals such as silver, zinc and palladium will provide a more white colour. An even mix of copper and silver will produce a yellow colour.

How Much Is 14ct Gold Today?

Now you know what your 14ct gold is composed of. The burning question following that is, what’s it worth?

Right now, Gold-Traders is paying £ for 14ct gold. This is the live price, which moves with the market rate, so our quotes are always up-to-date.

If you’d like a comprehensive view of all our scrap gold rates, then have a look at our Scrap Gold Prices page. We encourage you to shop around and find other quotes to compare against. We’re confident that we have some of the best rates in the market for 14ct gold, so if you do come across another firm offering a better rate, then let us know!

‘Free’ Envelope Rip-Off

Now that you have a fair and honest offer for your 14ct gold, the next question is: how are you going to get your precious metal to the buyer? There’s a few options.

  1. Fill in our claim form and post your gold to us. We recommend Royal Mail Special Delivery as it’s insured and tracked. Remember to retain your proof of postage slip.
  2. Visit us at our trade counter in person and sell your gold face-to-face. We welcome walk-ins, with our operating hours between 10:00am and 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. Our address is 143, High Street (Station Road entrance), Royal Wootton Bassett, SN4 7AB, and our telephone number is 01793 230 331.

Contrast this with certain ‘cash-for-gold’ firms, who send you a ‘free’ postage bag or envelope. This is just marketing bluster. Scratch the surface a bit on these companies and you’ll find they don’t advertise their rates (most likely because they’re not as good as ours), their pre-paid mailers don’t provide any additional protection for your items and despite their claims of paying ‘top prices’, the worst players pay over 60% less than us!

How Do You Identify 14-carat Gold?

From the customer’s end, the easiest way to identify 14 carat gold is to check the hallmark. It’ll be labelled as ‘585’, with some older items carrying the label ’14ct’ or just ’14’.

We can accurately test gold in our premises using an XRF (x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy) machine, which leaves no mark on the items.

14ct gold is a popular purity in countries such as Greece and Italy. Customers should be aware there is no official guarantee or hallmarking standard in these countries. In our experience, items marked as 14 carat (14k) from Greece are often slightly less pure due to ‘under carating’ – around the 55% purity mark.

Hardness of 14 Carat Gold

14 carat gold is considered a compromise between 9ct gold, which some view as affordable but undurable, and 18ct gold, which is durable but more expensive. A common myth is that the higher the carat, the softer the gold is – this isn’t true!

There’s actually a measurement for metal hardness called the Vickers scale, and 14ct cast gold is in the 100 – 165 HV scale, depending on the other metals used. This is harder than both 9ct gold and 18ct gold in cast form, but note that the maximum annealed hardness of 14ct gold is lower than 18ct gold.

14ct Gold Jewellery

14ct gold is sometimes used for men’s rings, as the higher carats such as 22ct and 24ct, while more valuable, are considered too soft and less able to withstand prolonged wear. It’s a popular purity in countries such as Greece and Italy. Customers should be aware that there is no official guarantee or hallmarking standard in these countries. In our experience, items marked as 14ct from Greece are often of slightly lesser purity – around the 55% purity mark.

Selling with Gold-Traders UK

If you weigh your scrap 14ct gold you can then use our online calculator to get an accurate quote. Look at our page about how to weigh your scrap gold, but don’t worry if your own scales aren’t that accurate – we will use our calibrated and Trading Standards-approved scales to determine the exact weight and make sure you get an exceptional offer for it.

Further reading

January 30th, 2023 No Comments » Gold, Selling Tips |

How much is rose gold worth per gram?

A common misconception is that rose gold is more valuable than yellow or white gold. However, its colour is altered by the other metals the gold is alloyed with. The amount of gold contained in a piece of rose gold is exactly the same for a comparative piece of yellow or white gold of the same purity.

Pyramid illustrating how the colour of gold is changed

The colour of gold is altered according to the ratio of copper, zinc and silver added.

This pyramid illustrates how the colour of gold is altered. Gold jewellery is typically made from an alloy (mix) of the following metals:

  • Gold
  • Copper
  • Zinc
  • Silver

As already stated, the amount of gold used is fixed according to the purity (or carat) of the gold. Therefore, it’s the mix of the other metals that changes the colour. With rose gold, more copper is added & less zinc and/or silver is used. With white gold, less copper is used and more zinc and/or silver is added.

It’s worth noting that white gold isn’t truly white, it’s still a very pale yellow. The perfect silver/white appearance of white gold is achieved by giving the item a plating of rhodium. So, bear in mind that over time that rhodium plating will wear away and reveal the true colour underneath, at which point you’ll need to get it re-plated to restore it to its original colour. If this is likely to be an issue, it’s probably better to consider having the item made of platinum or palladium instead.

The value of 9ct rose gold per gram

Like 9ct yellow gold, 9ct rose gold contains 37.5% gold. A typical piece of 9ct rose gold will be made from the following alloy of metals:

  • 37.5% gold
  • 55% copper
  • 5% silver
  • 2.5% zinc

Gold-Traders is currently paying £ for all 9ct gold.

The value of 14ct rose gold per gram

14ct rose gold is 58.5% gold.

Gold-Traders is currently paying £ for all 14ct gold.

Please be aware that 14ct gold is very popular in countries such as Greece. However, whereas jewellery purchased in the UK is subject to very strict hallmarking legislation that guarantees the purity of the item, such rules do not exist in Greece. Through our own experience, it appears to be common practice for a piece of Greek jewellery that’s stamped as 14ct gold only to contain between 50 – 55% gold.

The value of 18ct rose gold per gram

Just as 18ct yellow and white gold contains 75% gold, so does 18ct rose gold. The remaining 25% of the alloy is mostly copper with a very small amount of silver and/or zinc.

Gold-Traders is currently paying £ for all 18ct gold, for both hallmarked and non-hallmarked items.

Further reading:

August 21st, 2015 No Comments » Gold, Selling Tips |

Royal Mint release first UK kilo gold and silver coins

UK 1 kilo gold and silver coinsIn commemoration of the London 2012 Olympics, the Royal Mint have unveiled the UK’s first ever 1-kilo gold and silver coins.

At an eye-watering £100,000.00, the kilo gold coin is priced at around 3 times its intrinsic gold value. The silver version is priced at £3,000.00, nearly 4 times its silver value.

Designed by Sir Anthony Caro, the gold coin has an ultra low issue limit of just 60. The silver version is limited to 2,012 pieces and has been designed by Tom Phillips.

One could argue that the uniqueness and collectability of these coins justify the high price tag, however anyone purchasing for investment purposes should take note that the world’s largest gold coin, a 1 Million Dollar Canadian Maple Leaf sold for just it’s scrap value back in June 2010.

Interestingly, The Royal Mint produced a 1 kilo gold coin in 2011 to commemorate the Royal Wedding. Minted for the island of Alderney, this coins had a bargain-basement price of just £40,000.00!

January 25th, 2012 No Comments » Gold, Industry News, Miscellaneous |

How much is 18ct gold worth per gram?

Some cash-for-gold companies take advantage of customers who don’t know what their gold is worth. They keep their calculations secret and some even deduct fees for postage or processing. If you don’t know how much 18ct gold is worth per gram, you’re at risk of getting ripped off.

I strongly advise you to read this guide carefully. I’m going to explain how you can work out the value of your 18ct gold and how you can compare quotes. It’s not complicated, but it will help you make an informed decision.

How much is 18ct gold worth per gram today?

Right now, Gold-Traders UK will pay you £ for 18-carat gold. That’s our live rate: the figure updates automatically when we adjust our prices. Whether you post your gold to us or visit our secure counter in Royal Wootton Bassett, we’ll pay you the same per gram. There are no deductions to worry about and no hidden fees: the price you see is the price you get.

Our rates are based on the real-time, global gold bullion market which can fluctuate up and down. You can see the live ‘spot’ price for gold and other precious metals at the top right corner of our homepage.

We’ve seen quotes from other companies for as little as 20% of the market value of our customer’s 18ct gold. If they had sold their gold to us they could have made hundreds or even thousands of pounds more.

Got a quote from another buyer? Insist on a breakdown of the quote and calculate the real value of your gold using our fact-checking tool. Enter the weight of your gold and the price you’ve been offered to see how the numbers stack up. If you’re being offered less than 90% then it pays to go elsewhere.

What is 18 carat gold?

Carats (or karats) are a way of talking about the purity of gold. 100% pure gold is referred to as 24-carat. Lower carats contain a percentage of gold, alloyed with other metals. This can make it stronger when compared with pure gold which is quite soft (not great for making jewellery). As well as being more durable, gold alloys are also less expensive than pure gold, while retaining the rich glowing lustre.

18-carat gold is made from 75% pure gold and 25% other metals. Jewellers and goldsmiths use copper for a rose gold colour and silver or zinc to achieve a lighter colour.

Wedding rings and engagement rings are often made out of 18ct gold because it’s more durable, making it perfect for daily wear. As well as being beautiful fine jewellery items, 18ct rings are literally worth their weight in gold and you could be in for a nice payout if you choose to sell.

How much is an 18-carat gold ring worth?

The value of 18ct gold jewellery is based on two factors:

  • The gold ‘spot’ price at the time you sell
  • The weight of the item in grams, minus any stones or non-gold parts

Our current price for 18ct gold is £. All you need to do is multiply this figure by the weight of your ring to get the price we’ll pay for it today.

This simple equation applies to jewellery, some gold watches (minus their movement) and even dental gold. It doesn’t matter if the item is broken or damaged: if it’s made from 18ct gold, it’s still valuable.

Certain jewellery items, watches or other collectables like coins might be worth more than their gold value. We pay a premium for prestige watches and gold coins so check out our rates or contact us for a quote.

How to identify 18ct gold

How do you know if your gold is really 18 carat?

Modern jewellery made in the UK will display a hallmark, which can tell you exactly what your gold jewellery is made of. Hallmarks are the tiny stamps you see on the inside of rings or the backs of earrings. They’re a type of consumer protection, designed to assure buyers they’re getting what they pay for.

Hallmarked British 18ct gold should display a tiny ‘750’ or ‘18’. You can confirm the purity of your gold and work out the precise year it was made by using our online hallmark identification wizard. Different numbers and symbols might be used if you bought your gold abroad or it might show no hallmarks at all. You can still sell this gold but checking its carat at home can be a challenge.

In the Gold-Traders office, we used a high-tech tabletop XRF analysis to test the chemical composition of our customers’ items. This means we can easily authenticate your unmarked gold and we’ll let you know if it’s more or less pure than you thought, ensuring an honest and accurate appraisal.

Don’t get ripped off with free envelopes

So, you’ve worked out the real value of your 18ct gold and you’ve got a good quote. How are you going to get your precious metal to the buyer?

Some cash-for-gold companies will send you a ‘free’ postage bag or envelope. These are a marketing gimmick. We don’t offer them.

These pre-paid mailers don’t provide any additional protection for your items when they’re in transit and the price will be deducted from your payout. Most of these postage packs aren’t used and the big gold-buying companies recoup the associated costs by offering low prices for their customer’s gold.

You can save money by using your own padded ‘jiffy’ envelope (we’re happy to receive recycled and repurposed packing materials, so long as you use a Special Delivery outer bag). Choose Royal Mail Special Delivery at the Post Office and retain your proof of postage slip. This service provides insurance and you’ll be able to track your gold every step of the way.

Selling your 18ct gold with Gold-Traders UK

We founded Gold-Traders in 2008 to make selling gold straightforward. We want to demystify the process and lift the lid on unscrupulous practices but most importantly we want our customers to get a fair price. That’s why we share our live gold prices, letting you know exactly what we’ll pay for 18ct gold and other gold items.

In 2022 our hard work was rewarded when we became the UK’s first precious metal dealer to gain Trading Standards approval through their trusted Buy With Confidence Scheme. There are lots of independent reviews for Gold-Traders on their website and even more on our Trustpilot page from customers like you who have sold us their scrap gold.

Ready to cash in your 18-carat? Fill out a claim form online today. All you need to do is post your gold to us and you could get a payout the next working day. No hidden fees and no uncertainty.

Looking for more information? Contact our friendly team now: they’re waiting to help you with your sale

Further reading

November 30th, 2011 6 Comments » Gold, Selling Tips |