Downtown Gold City, Inc.

Did you know gold comes in different colors? When gold is combined with other alloys, such as silver, copper and zinc, white, rose and red gold can be produced.

Do you have gold jewelry that your children have outgrown? Selling those non-sentimental bracelets and necklaces can make room in their jewelry box and put cash in your pocket.

While gold relics are common from ancient Egyptian times, historians say gold was used for decoration and not for currency. Instead, barley was used as trading currency in ancient Egypt.

Did you know that 100 percent pure gold is often too soft to use for jewelry-making purposes? That is why jewelers combine it with other metals such as silver, copper, nickel, or zinc to make it more durable.

Before selling your gold, you first have to know how much gold is in your jewelry. Look at the gold marking to determine karat weight-the piece should be marked with something like 10K or 18K. A GF marking means the jewelry is gold filled.

The problem with trying to sell your unwanted gold jewelry to other individuals is that they'll only make an offer based on appearance. No matter what your jewelry may look like, we may be interested in purchasing it depending on it's purity!

Did you know that often pure 24-karat gold is too soft to be able to be used for jewelry, in which case the gold is alloyed with other metals such as silver, copper, zinc, or silicon, producing the lower karats?

Before you bring your gold in for appraisal, look for the karat marking telling the gold's purity level. The higher purity your jewelry is, the more pure gold it contains. Comparing this purity with the weight and market price for gold will help you estimate the overall price you can expect to get for your items.

Ever wonder where the myth of the Golden Fleece comes from? Early miners would use water to propel gold-bearing sand over the hide of a sheep, which would trap the tiny flakes of gold. When this "golden fleece" had absorbed all it could hold, it was hung to dry and then beaten gently to recover the gold.

If you search for a mark on a piece of gold you own but cannot find it, chances are your item is gold-plated or gold-filled. Unfortunately, these items are typically not worth much to a gold buyer.

Although the weight of the gold you're selling will certainly determine part of the value, the karat also matters. In gold, the karat represents the purity level of the gold.

psst... pass it on!

Some people like to sell their old jewelry at pawn shops, but you won't always get the best prices there. Pawn brokers often buy gold pieces based on what they think they can resell, not on the actual gold value.