What 22K gold is worth and how dealers price it
22K is 91.67% gold, the classic 'crown gold' standard also used in sovereigns and Krugerrands. It is soft enough to be worked by hand into intricate designs, but still durable enough for daily-wear bangles.
Look for the hallmark 916 or 22K. 22K is typical of Indian and Gulf wedding jewellery and older British sovereigns. Indian 22K sets are frequently soldered with lower-karat solder and may contain lac or wax fillings in hollow parts, which a buyer will deduct after testing.
Dealers weigh the piece, deduct stones and non-gold parts, and multiply the net weight by 0.9167 to get the fine gold content. They then multiply by the USD spot price per gram and apply their payout percentage — usually 60–75% of melt at shops and pawnbrokers, 80–90% at specialist buyers.
Worked example: a 40 g 22K wedding bangle pair holds 36.67 g of fine gold. Enter 40 g and 22K in the calculator above to see its live melt value in USD. Bring any purchase receipts showing 916 BIS or Gulf assay marks — they save testing time and strengthen your negotiating position.
In the US, cash-for-gold shops are regulated at state level and many require ID and a short holding period. Dollar spot prices are the global benchmark, so USD quotes react first when the market moves.
Developers can pull the same figure programmatically: 22K gold price per gram API.