What a gram of 10K, 14K, 18K and 22K gold is worth
Jewelry and most coins aren't pure gold. Karat tells you how much gold is in the alloy: 24 parts out of 24 is pure, so 14K is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metals. To value a piece, multiply its weight by its gold content and by the spot price.
| Karat | Gold | Per gram | Per dwt | Found in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | $129.42 | $201.27 | Bullion, some coins |
| 22K | 91.7% | $118.75 | $184.68 | Gold Eagles, Krugerrands |
| 18K | 75.0% | $97.16 | $151.10 | Fine jewelry |
| 14K | 58.5% | $75.78 | $117.86 | Most US jewelry |
| 10K | 41.7% | $54.02 | $84.01 | Class rings |
These are melt values for the gold alone, before any buyer's margin. The gold price per gram page converts common weights.
Gold's average price, year by year
Gold averaged $1,160 an ounce in 2015. By 2025 the yearly average was $3,432, nearly three times as much and up 43.8% on 2024 alone. The World Gold Council counted 53 new all-time highs in the LBMA price during 2025.
The gold price history page lists every year since 1970 and explains the big moves.
Where the spot price comes from
No single exchange sets the gold price. The number on a price page is built from the busiest gold futures contract on COMEX in New York and from over-the-counter trading in London, where banks deal in 400-ounce bars.
London also runs a benchmark auction twice each business day, at 10:30 and 15:00 UK time. Central banks, refiners and many contracts use that LBMA Gold Price as their reference. More on bid, ask and dealer premiums in how the spot price works.
Gold mining stocks and the gold price
Mining shares often move more than gold does. A miner's costs stay fairly fixed while its selling price moves with spot, so a 10% rise in gold can mean a much bigger jump in profit per ounce. The same math works in reverse when gold falls. The gold mining stocks guide covers producers, explorers, royalty companies and the cost figure analysts watch.
Common questions
- Is the spot price what I'll get if I sell gold?
- Usually not. Spot is the wholesale price for large bars traded between banks and dealers. A buyer paying you for coins, bars or jewelry pays spot minus a margin, and a dealer selling to you charges spot plus a premium. Use spot to check whether a quote is fair.
- How often does this page update?
- Every minute while the page is open. Gold trades almost around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon (US Eastern time), so the number moves through the night too. On weekends the price holds at the Friday close.
- Why is gold priced in troy ounces?
- Precious metals have been weighed in troy units for centuries, and the market never switched. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, about 10% heavier than the 28.35-gram ounce on a kitchen scale. The troy ounce page has the conversions.
- What does the percent change mean?
- It compares the current price with the previous trading day's close. Green means gold costs more than at yesterday's close; red means it costs less.