Gold Price Per Gram Explained: How the Number Is Calculated
Published June 19, 2026 · updated June 19, 2026
The “gold price per gram” is the single most useful number for anyone buying or selling jewelry, yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood. The confusion usually comes from mixing up two different things: the per-gram price of pure gold, and the per-gram price of a specific karat like 14k or 18k. Here’s how it works.
Start with the spot price
Gold trades globally by the troy ounce, quoted in US dollars. This is the spot price you see on financial sites and news tickers. It moves continuously during market hours in response to supply, demand, currency values, interest rates, and geopolitical events.
Converting ounces to grams
One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams — not the 28.35 grams of a regular (avoirdupois) ounce used for groceries. To get the per-gram price of pure 24k gold, divide the spot price by 31.1034768. A $2,400 spot price works out to about $77.15 per gram of pure gold.
This is the source of many pricing mistakes. If a dealer quotes in regular ounces instead of troy ounces, you’re being shortchanged by about 10%.
Pure gold versus karat gold
The per-gram figure above is for pure 24k gold (99.9% pure). Jewelry is rarely pure gold because pure gold is too soft. Karat gold is alloyed with other metals, so each karat’s per-gram value is the pure-gold price multiplied by the purity:
- 24k = 0.999 × pure price
- 22k = 0.9167 × pure price
- 18k = 0.75 × pure price
- 14k = 0.585 × pure price
- 10k = 0.4167 × pure price
At $77.15 per gram of pure gold, 14k is worth about $45.13 per gram and 18k about $57.86 per gram. The gold calculator computes all of these for you.
Pennyweights add another wrinkle
Many US dealers quote in pennyweights (dwt), where 1 dwt = 1.55517 grams (1/20 of a troy ounce). A dwt quote looks bigger than a gram quote, which is why some buyers prefer it. Always confirm the unit, and convert if needed: grams ÷ 1.55517 = dwt.
Bid and ask: what you buy versus what you sell
Dealers quote two prices. The bid is what they pay you when buying; the ask is what they charge when selling. The spread between them — often 2–5% on bullion, more on jewelry — is how dealers profit. For scrap jewelry, expect to receive 70–90% of melt value, not the full spot price.
Why the price changes
Gold has no intrinsic yield, so its price reflects investor demand, inflation expectations, currency strength (especially the dollar), real interest rates, and central-bank activity. Short-term moves can be volatile, but per-gram pricing follows the spot price proportionally — when spot rises 5%, every karat’s gram price rises about 5% too.
For a live per-gram figure by karat, the 14K gold price per gram page is updated with the current spot price.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the gold price per gram the same everywhere? The spot price is global, but local dealer quotes vary by spread, taxes, and demand. Differences are usually small in competitive markets.
- Why does my jeweler quote a lower per-gram price than I calculated? They’re paying a bid below spot, plus they may be quoting a karat other than pure 24k. Confirm the karat and unit first.
- Are grams or pennyweights better for me? Neither is inherently better — they’re just units. What matters is the total dollar offer. Always compare final payouts, not unit prices.