How much is 18K gold necklace worth?

18K gold is a very common and wide-spread gold alloy in America. A great majority of jewelry is made of 18 karat gold, especially high-value and high-grade jewelry, often from famous jewelers and goldsmiths. This includes engagement rings, wedding bands, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, watches, bangles, and a lot more. 18K gold is very often used by famous designers such as Tiffany, Graff, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier as well as unknown manufacturers, producing machine-made jewelry. People love this exclusive gold alloy, and they also want to find out how much 18K gold is worth. Usually, there are just two reasons why someone wants to know how much 18 karat gold is worth. Either you plan to

• BUY items made of 18K gold,
  or you plan to
• SELL items made of 18K gold.

We fully understand your concern. On the one hand, you don’t want to spend too much money if you plan to buy 18K gold, and on the other hand, you don’t want to get paid less money if you plan to sell 18K gold. In any case, it’s good to know how much you should spend or how much you should expect. It’s important for you to know that 18K gold has three different prices: the commodity price, the selling price and the buying price.

Please use our gold calculator to pre-calculate your payout amount.

Kelly wants to know, how much is an 18K gold necklace worth?

Kelly: Hi Maria! How are you?

Maria: Hello Kelly! I’m fine, thank you. How are you? I just received your email with the nice photos of your 18 karat gold necklace. It looks really beautiful and solid. I also noticed the diamonds, so it’s really a diamond and gold necklace.

Kelly: Yes, you’re right. I’m happy that you like the necklace.

Maria: I do like it! Could you tell me a bit more about the necklace? Do you know where it was bought, how old it is, or any other details that might be useful? If you have a jewelry certificate handy, please let me know what it says.

Kelly: Unfortunately I have no certificate or appraisal available. My ex-boyfriend gave me this gold necklace as a gift. He worked in finance in New York, so he might have bought the necklace there, but I’m not sure. I think he gave me the necklace in 2009, so six years ago. I’m a ballet dancer and at the moment I don’t have many performances which is why I would like to sell this necklace. Furthermore, I doesn’t really bother me to get rid of these old and painful memories. The relationship was very challenging for me, and I don’t need to keep jewelry to remind me of it.

Maria: Oh, I’m sorry for you, Kelly. Based on your information, I assume that your 18K gold and diamond necklace was bought approximately six years ago in New York, right?

Kelly: Yes, that should be the case.

Maria: OK, thank you. Can you find any hallmarks or engravings on your necklace? In most cases, you should be able to find markings or stamps, often on the closure of the necklace.

Kelly: Yes, I can see an 18. That’s why I’m pretty sure the necklace is made of 18 karat gold. I also see a name, but I’m not sure what it means.

Maria: If you have a magnifier handy, try to inspect your necklace with that. A 10 power magnifier should help you to read the hallmarks and engravings.

Kelly: That’s a fantastic idea. Thank you! The name I see is Webb. Do you have an idea who this could be?

Maria: Yes, I do. Your 18K gold necklace was made by the famous New York jeweler David Webb. David Webb is a big name in the jewelry industry: it stands for luxury and high-end jewelry. Famous clients of David Webb have included Liz Taylor, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, and Beyoncé, just to name a few. David Webb passed away in 1975, but during his lifetime he was very famous for his animal motifs, Maltese cross brooches, and dragon bracelets. Webb was a self-taught jeweler, but as we can see, a very talented one.

Kelly: Oh! That’s amazing. I wasn’t aware that this necklace was manufactured by such a famous jeweler.

Maria: Yes, Kelly, good news for you. Let’s go ahead with the evaluation of your 18K gold necklace and answer the question of how much is your 18K gold necklace is worth. I think in this special case, it’s much more than you expected.

Kelly: Oh yes, I think the value will surprise me. I hope so, at least – it seems promising!

Maria: I’m very optimistic, Kelly. When we talk about scrap gold, which includes old gold, broken or damaged jewelry, and gold that isn’t used anymore, we calculate a piece of jewelry’s value by its weight. In your case, weight does not play the primary role. The condition of your diamond and gold necklace seems to be very good, and more importantly, it’s a designer piece from a famous jeweler. Since both of these are factors that affect the necklace’s value. We don’t calculate the value solely by weight. Nevertheless, the weight is useful for determining the material value. Could you please weigh your David Webb necklace?

Kelly: Yes, I can. I only have a basic kitchen scale, so I hope it’s acceptable for weighing my necklace. It shows a weight of 43.08 grams.

Maria: A kitchen scale is fine. Thank you! 43.08 grams of 18 karat gold reflect a current (melt) value of $2092.42. This is only the material value of the 18 karat gold, not the final value of the necklace itself. I was also able to find out that your necklace contains platinum. The 18 karat gold link chain also has a chevron-shaped-circular-cut diamond plaque with 40 diamonds. This plaque is mounted in platinum. The platinum content is very low, but it raises the total value of your David Webb diamond and gold necklace. Also, the diamonds have a certain value. When you sell jewelry, never sell it below the material value, no matter what stories potential buyers may tell you.

Kelly: Thank you,  Maria. I will follow this useful advice! What do you think? How much is my 18K gold necklace worth?

Maria: In your case, I would estimate a fair market value of circa $8,000. But your example is not a standard example. The majority of pre-owned jewelry is calculated like scrap gold, meaning only the material value is calculated for an evaluation. But you own a special designer piece from a famous jeweler, that contains 40 diamonds, which changes the situation significantly. That’s why your gold necklace is worth much more than just the scrap value.

Kelly: So if my necklace were from a no-name goldsmith and did not have these nice diamonds, the value would be significantly lower?

Maria: Yes, exactly! If that were the case, the current value would be $2092.42.

Kelly: Wow, that’s an amazing difference! Thank you for the accurate appraisal. I’m very happy with it.

Maria: Thank you, Kelly! Now you know what your 18K gold necklace is worth, but please be aware when you sell it that a potential buyer can’t pay that price: there is always a profit that needs to be calculated too. We say a fair buyer’s profit should never exceed 10- 25%. The lower the profit, the higher your payout amount.

Kelly: I will compare options in my area, and if there is nobody who will pay me a decent amount of money, I will definitely come back to make a deal with you.

Maria: Thank you. That sounds like a great plan. I’m happy that I could help you!