Need some extra money? Look in your jewelry box. Do you have some old gold accessories that are broken, unmatched or simply old and out of fashion? Think of it as a form of money that retains value. Unless it has a sentimental meaning for you, like a pendant you received for your sweet 16 (or your late granny’s teeth), you can cash it in!

Now is not a bad time for this, while gold prices are on the rise. The market value has rocketed almost 300% in the last five years.

When you sell gold, please keep in mind, you will be only paid for the precious metal itself, the craftsmanship of the jewelry piece will not be considered. So if you have antique or beautifully crafted jewelry, you should try to sell it as an artifact, not as gold.

Of course you would like to have a rough estimate of what you can get for your gold pieces. The payment will be based on gold content, weight, and the daily price of the gold. Clearly, the higher the proportion of gold used in the final metal, the more expensive it will be. The gold content is measured in Karat. (Please, don’t confuse it with Carat that is used to measure the weight of diamonds and gemstones). The gold Karat measures the proportion of pure gold to other metal alloy mixed to make up the final metal. The most popular types are:

9kt gold - contains 37.5% pure gold.

14kt - contains 58.5%

18kt - contains 75%

Other gold karats are used in different parts of the world including 10kt, 22kt and 24kt.

24kt is the closest to pure gold (100%).

10kt gold (41.7%) is very similar to 9kt gold and the markup is used in some countries for historical reasons, while it should not affect the price.

Jewelry is normally stamped to show the type of gold. If your item has a stamp, it will read:

either the number 375, or 9kt, or 9K - for 9 karat gold

585, 14kt, 14K - for 14 karat gold

750, 18kt, 18K - for 18 karat gold.

The stamp on your jewelry may be correct, but it is quite common for jewelry to be fraudulently stamped.

So the buyer will test your items to verify their purity, using acid/scratch test, electronic test, or X-ray fluorescence scan.

Another characteristic to consider, besides the karat grade of your gold, is the color. Gold is available in several different colors. The most popular is yellow gold, followed by white gold and rose gold; there are also some rare colors, such as bronze, red and lime. The difference in color is determined by the metals used in the alloy mix.

Yellow gold is made by mixing pure gold with copper and zinc, rose - with copper, white - with silver and palladium.

Traditionally nickel was used in white gold, but it was proved to cause allergic reaction and discontinued. White gold can also include Rhodium that is a metal very similar to platinum.

When comparing the price of the gold colors in the same karat, white gold is normally more expensive than yellow and rose. Yellow gold and rose gold are approximately the same price. Now, the weight of your jewelry. Gold transactions are conducted in pennyweights, with 20 pennyweights, or DWT, equal to 1 troy ounce of gold.

You can use any regular scale and convert ounces or grams to pennyweights. 1.5 grams = 1 pennyweight and 1 kitchen ounce = 18.23 pennyweights. Don’t forget, this will be the total weight of the alloy. To calculate the weight of pure gold, you need to consider the karat grade, e.g. for 18kt gold multiply by 0.75, for 14kt - by 0.58, etc.

Having your ballpark estimate in hand, you can start looking for a reliable gold-buying company.

An online gold buyer is your best option, as they offer high quotes and a fast turnaround time. They will provide you with a free mailing kit and a prepaid envelope for you to send your jewelry in. Choose a buyer that has a satisfaction guarantee. But please, be aware of Cash for Gold scams. Check the company’s BBB accreditation, visit its website, review its buying, selling and insurance policies, check that it has a real address, not just POB, and talk to them on the phone.

If you consider cashing your gold, you can visit http://cash4gold.pissedconsumer.com/ to research your options.