How to Get the Most Cash From Your Gold Jewelry

Gold is always considered a solid investment. Most households in the United States don't have gold bullion laying around but rather various pieces of solid gold jewelry. 

But, there are a number of different types of gold laying around your home just ready to bring a small fortune in return. Here we outline how to get cash for gold and sell unwanted gold, the different types of gold there is to sell, and how we determine the worth of your gold in the shop.

Forget your searches of "sell gold near me" and "cash for gold near me" you've found the place that wants to buy all your unwanted gold right here at Unique Gold and Diamonds.

We Buy Gold: Sell Unwanted Gold at Unique Gold and Diamonds

That means just what it sounds like it means. We buy your unwanted gold and give you cash for it. It's simple and a great way to bring in some extra cash with something you already have gathering dust.

But, you might be surprised to know that there is a lot of gold you may not realize you have around your home. Here we will break down all the different types of gold you can bring to us and get cash for.

We will discuss the quality of gold and the differences that will make the price per ounce of your piece vary.

But, where does gold come from? Let's figure that out first before we jump into the valuation process.

Where Does Gold Come From?

You may be wondering, where does gold come from? We have all seen films of gold miners and their pans in sandy water searching for sparkle but, where did it come from originally?

Believe it or not, gold comes from outer space. The dust of gold is formed when humongous stars explode to form supernovas. Scientists believe that the stardust we have come to know as gold settled on to the earth's surface when it was a young planet. This happened many times and formed the deposits we find of this dust today.

Scientists theorize that asteroids brought more of this sparkly space dust onto Earth's surface after the initial formation of the Earth's core. This is because we find most of it in the outer layers of Earth and not in the center of the Earth, where it would be if it were here during the initial formation of the planet.

Suddenly, the beautiful necklace or ring you have take on a whole new light when you realize you're wearing literal stardust.

Because of its unique beginnings, gold comes in a variety of different density and hardness values. These values determine how high the karat count of the gold is.

There Are Qualities of Gold That Affect Its Value Similar to the Different Qualities of Diamonds

Just like the three C's of diamonds, cut, color, and clarity, every piece of gold has its own unique makeup. A piece of solid gold's quality is determined by a few different factors. 

The value of the gold itself is determined by karat, weight, and the piece's melted value. This means how much is sellable once the gold is melted back down into the simple metal. You'll get a different price for 24 karat gold than something with a lower karat value, for instance.

Our gold buyers will examine your pieces, test the metal by hand to determine the quality, and we also use a tool that sets us apart from other gold buyers.

We use a $20,000 tool to test gold for purity and accuracy that most other smaller gold buyers will not have access to. This tool, "The Niton XL2 XRF Precious Metal Analyzer", quickly detects gold plating and counterfeit gold and gives you the exact elemental composition of jewelry and coins.

This way you can be absolutely certain of the value of the precious metals you buy and sell. This helps our buyers give you better offers because they are certain of the value.

Next, we will go over some of the different types of gold items we buy. But first, let's help you determine if you have more gold than you thought. Did you know gold comes in a variety of different colors? 

While native gold is always yellow, it combines with other metals to make the rainbow. Let's look at the makeup of different colors of gold and what makes them special and unique.

What Does Real Gold Look Like?

Gold comes in a variety of different colors depending on the different metals that have mixed in with it.

No matter the color, real gold is still gold. Here are some of the different gold colors and the type of metals that make that color.

White Gold

Gold in its native state is yellow so, in order to look white, it has to have some other elements mixed in. White gold would need white metals like nickel, manganese, or palladium mixed with the original gold to make the color.

Most white gold is around 14 karats and the rest is other metals that influence the color of the final product.

Rose Gold

That beautiful pinkish hue that is the signature of rose gold comes from the mixture of copper into the gold. The more copper is present in the mixture the deeper red the gold becomes.

The most common rose gold is a mixture of around 18 karat gold, or 75% gold, mixed with 25% copper to make the whole. There are darker shades that result from more of a 50/50 mix that is referred to as red gold.

Green Gold

The rarer greenish tint is the result of an alloy that links itself to the silver and gold casting a green color on the metal. The green color is more pronounced or fainter depending on the exact percentage mixture of the metals and the alloy.

The Lesser-Known: Blue Gold, Purple Gold, and Black Gold

There are a number of combinations that aren't seen very often but are beautiful none-the-less. 

Blue gold comes from the combination of the yellow gold with indium. Purple is a combo of gold and aluminum. Black gold is the result of gold mixing with cobalt.

The combinations are endless depending on which property mixes into the gold. Whatever the color these are still gold because their mixture is primarily pure gold with only a small amount of the other properties mixed in.

We Buy Gold Jewelry

Many people looking to sell gold come in with a bundle of old jewelry they haven't worn in a long time. Maybe the jewelry was inherited and is not to the liking of the person who received it.

Either way, turning that jewelry into cash is a great way to clear your home of clutter while adding to your bank account. 

We buy all types of gold jewelry. Rings, earrings, bracelets, watches, necklaces, and more. If it's made of gold we will buy it from you. Maybe you have some pieces of jewelry that are antique or vintage. Maybe you have some heirloom pieces that you no longer want to keep.

Some pieces may be worth the most as a jewelry piece and others we will value based on melting it down. A gold ring with other valuable stones would be priced as a whole jewelry piece whereas your old gold chains and plain bracelets will be given their melted down value.

Whatever types of pieces you have we will evaluate them each individually. We will give you a fair price for your gold pieces and you can accept it or reject it. If you decide not to sell we also offer written appraisals to take with you.

We Buy Gold Coins

We buy a variety of different gold coins. We have been rated the best coin dealer in all of New Jersey, in fact. We understand the nuance of coin appraisal and have experts on staff to price your coins.

Coins, unlike jewelry, are rarely bought for their meltdown weight. Coins are very collectible and rare ones sell for quite the pretty penny. Each coin, based on the individual examination, might be worth double or triple it's face value or much more. 

We hand-inspect every coin and do research to determine it's collectibility. Some of the coins we have bought in the past are:

  • 1849-1854 Liberty Gold Dollar Type 1
  • 1854-1856 Liberty Gold Dollar Type 2
  • 1856-1889 Liberty Gold Dollar Type 3
  • 1840-1907 Liberty Quarter Eagle
  • 1908-1929 Indian Quarter Eagle
  • 1839-1908 Liberty Half Eagle
  • 1908-1929 Indian Half Eagle
  • 1838-1907 Liberty Eagle
  • 1907-1933 Indian Eagle
  • 1849-1907 Liberty Double Eagle
  • 1907-1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle

There are a lot more but these are some common examples. Coin collecting is a serious business with millions of collectors all over the country. It's like a real-life pirate treasure hunt and many people have huge prized collections they pass down for generations.

Read more about our coin buying here.

We Buy Gold Teeth/Dental Scrap

In the past, crowns and other dental fixtures were made of gold because the metal was soft and easily pliable around the grooves of molars. Sometimes new dental implants would be made out of gold so you would have a whole gold tooth in your mouth.

Most dentists use other methods now but, a lot of people still have gold fixtures in their mouths. What if you get those replaced? What if they fall out on there own? Don't just toss them!

Root canals are expensive. Get some of your investment back by selling your gold teeth, crowns, and other gold dental scrap pieces for cash. We will examine the gold and give you a fair price.

Nothing is too strange. We have seen it all. If it's made of gold, we want to buy it.

Where Should You Sell Unwanted Gold? Here at Unique Gold and Diamonds

We hope this guide gives you a breakdown of how to sell unwanted gold you have hanging around your house. It doesn't matter what kind of gold you have, you can sell it for cash.

This is a time of minimalism and why would you let that pile of gold jewelry and other pieces continue to collect dust in the closet. Bring it out into the light and see what you can get for it. At the end of the day, if you can't part with Aunt Mildred's ring you'll at least know what it's worth and more about your piece.

One of the things that set us apart from the other places is that we care about your gold. We never do an acid or scratch test that damages your piece. We are licensed, bonded, and insured and have over 50 years of experience in this trade.

Our process is quick and easy and we offer private appointments to give you peace of mind that everyone in the shop isn't seeing your collection. We are happy to meet you alone when no one else is in the shop. We will weigh and test all items right in front of you. No taking your items into some back room for analysis. 

We tell you what your items are worth and give you cash. It's that simple. We do not charge any commissions or any fees for evaluating your items. You get 100% of the value of your gold cash in hand.

Ready to check us out for yourself?

Contact us now to tell us a little bit about your collection and make an appointment or come into the shop and let us test your gold.