Price Guide · Gold rings

What is a gold ring worth?

The value of a gold ring always consists of two layers. The lower layer is the material value: the weight in pure gold, at the day rate, less the cost of melting. You can calculate that yourself and it is by definition the minimum. The upper layer is everything that makes the piece more than metal — design, period, maker, stones, condition and rarity. On a plain wedding band from 1985 that second layer is close to zero and you simply get the gold price. On a nineteenth-century ring with hand engraving or a signed design, the second layer can be a multiple of the first. The biggest mistake people make is selling a ring of the second type at the price of the first. This guide shows how to tell the difference.

Hoe waarde bij vintage sieraden in het algemeen werkt, lees je in de overkoepelende waardegids.

By the editors · Reviewed by our specialists · Last updated juli 2026

De waardefactoren

Een taxateur weegt bij deze categorie een vast aantal criteria. Hieronder leggen we ze uit, in de volgorde waarin ze doorgaans worden bekeken.

Fineness: what the mark tells you

In the Netherlands the common finenesses are 14 carat (585 parts per thousand) and 18 carat (750). British work adds 9 carat (375), 15 carat (625, only between 1854 and 1932) and 22 carat (916); French work is usually 18 carat with an eagle's head. Fineness directly determines how much fine gold the ring contains: a 6 gram ring in 18 carat holds 4.5 grams of pure gold, the same ring in 9 carat only 2.25 grams.

A 15 carat mark is also a free dating clue: that standard existed only in that British window, placing the piece firmly in the second half of the nineteenth century. Country-specific marks are set out in the hallmarks hub.

Weight and hollow construction

Two rings that look identical can differ threefold in weight. From the 1960s many rings were made hollow or with a thin wall to save material. That is not deception, but it halves the material value. You recognise it by the light feel in the hand, a seam on the inside, or a slightly dentable top.

Always weigh the ring yourself before accepting an offer. A kitchen scale with one decimal is accurate enough for an indication; the buyer weighs to hundredths.

Day rate and what a buyer actually pays

The gold price is quoted per troy ounce (31.1 grams) and moves daily. Convert the rate to euros per gram of fine gold and multiply by the fineness. A buyer does not pay one hundred per cent of that: eighty to ninety-five per cent is usual, depending on quantity, fineness and whether the piece is directly resaleable or must be melted.

Always ask for both the percentage and the weight used. A slightly low weight combined with a slightly low percentage can cost twenty per cent without being noticed.

When collectors' value exceeds the gold price

There are four signals. Handwork — visible engraving, guilloché, hand-set stones, small irregularities in symmetry. Period features — millegrain edges, rose or old brilliant cuts, closed settings with foil beneath. A signature or maker's mark beside the fineness mark. And a pronounced form attributable to a decade.

If you see two or more of these, do not sell the ring by the gram. More in the article jewellery worth more than the gold price.

Coloured gold and alloys

Rose and red gold owe their colour to a higher copper content, green gold to silver. In the 1930s and 1940s rose was dominant; in the 1980s three-colour work appeared. Colour is irrelevant to material value — fineness is fixed — but it does drive saleability. Rose from the retro period is currently sought after, 1990s white considerably less so.

Condition, size and wearability

A thinned shank, a crooked head or a badly soldered seam cost money, because the buyer deducts the repair. On a ring with mainly material value, condition matters little — it goes into the crucible anyway. On a collectable it matters entirely: there an unrestored, honest condition is worth more than a heavily polished example.

Indicatieve bandbreedtes

Prijsranges als richtlijn

Plain 14ct wedding band, 2 – 4 grams
Effectively pure material value; design adds nothing.
€ 90 – € 220
Plain 18ct wedding band, 4 – 7 grams
Higher fineness means proportionally more fine gold per gram.
€ 200 – € 480
Gold ring with small semi-precious stone, 20th century
The stone rarely adds much; weight and fineness lead.
€ 150 – € 700
Solid 18ct cocktail ring, 1950s–1970s
Weight of 8 to 20 grams; design and volume count.
€ 700 – € 2,500
Nineteenth-century gold ring with hand engraving
Period work in 15ct or 18ct; engraving and completeness carry the price.
€ 400 – € 2,800
Gold signet ring with carved stone or crest
Quality of the carving and the type of stone make the difference.
€ 500 – € 4,000
Signed gold ring by a known house
Signature, number and documentation must be verifiable.
€ 1,500 – € 25,000+

Indicatief; werkelijke waarde vereist beoordeling van het stuk zelf. Marktprijzen fluctueren en zeldzame varianten liggen boven de bovengrens.

Wat een sieraad boven zijn metaalwaarde tilt — signatuur, periode, stenen, compleetheid en zeldzaamheid — lees je in wanneer een sieraad meer waard is dan zijn goudgewicht.

Worked example: from grams to euros

Say a plain ring marked 585 weighs 5.2 grams. Fine gold is then 5.2 × 0.585 = 3.04 grams. At a gold price of, for example, 70 euros per gram of fine gold, the material value is about 213 euros. A buyer paying 88 per cent would offer around 187 euros. That is a fair offer for a ring without collectors' value.

If there is a stone, subtract its weight before calculating — a 0.25 ct brilliant weighs 0.05 gram, a large cabochon can be half a gram. When in doubt, ask the buyer to show the calculation and check the steps. Any serious party does so without complaint.

Reading marks without loupe experience

Look inside the shank, usually next to the seam. A Dutch ring ideally carries four marks: fineness (a lion with a numeral for gold), maker's mark, date letter and sometimes an office mark. British rings carry a separate set: fineness, assay office (leopard's head for London, anchor for Birmingham), date letter and maker's initials.

No mark at all does not mean the ring is not gold. Much old work is unmarked or the mark has worn away. An acid test or, better, an X-ray fluorescence measurement settles it — the latter is non-destructive and offered by most buying points. See also recognising real gold at home.

Wedding bands, heirlooms and emotion

Wedding bands are the clearest example of a piece where emotional and financial value have almost nothing to do with each other. A plain band is material value, full stop. That does not make selling the only route: reworking it into a pendant, melting several bands into one new piece for the next generation, or simply keeping it are equally legitimate. Those who do sell should offer several rings at once — percentages improve with quantity.

With inherited lots it always pays to have the whole group assessed rather than ring by ring. Among ten plain bands there is sometimes one piece with period value, and that is precisely the one you do not want to sell by weight.

Where to sell a gold ring

For pure material value a gold buying point with a transparent day rate is the fastest and usually the best route. For a ring with collectors' value it is the worst channel, because the buyer thinks in grams by definition. Then you want a specialist dealer in vintage jewellery, an auction with a jewellery department, or a private sale.

In all cases obtain two independent estimates. The gap between the highest and lowest offer on the same piece regularly reaches fifty per cent. The address guide lists businesses by province and town.

Veelgestelde vragen

Antwoorden op vier vragen

What is 14 carat gold worth per gram?+

14 carat is 58.5 per cent pure gold. Multiply the day rate per gram of fine gold by 0.585 for the material value per gram. A buyer typically pays eighty to ninety-five per cent of that.

Is an unmarked ring not gold?+

Not necessarily. Much nineteenth-century and foreign work is unmarked, and marks wear away. A non-destructive measurement settles it; the acid test is cheaper but slightly damages the surface.

Why does one buyer offer much more than another?+

Two variables: the percentage of the day rate applied, and whether the ring can be resold rather than melted. Ask about both explicitly and compare at least two parties.

Is it worth polishing the ring first?+

On a ring with only material value it makes no difference. On a collectable, polishing is inadvisable: patina and engraving detail are part of the evidence that the piece is old.

What does the gold price do to vintage jewellery?+

It sets the floor, not the ceiling. When gold rises, the bottom of the market rises with it; the top is set by rarity and demand and moves far more slowly.

Can a gold ring be made heavier or larger?+

Technically almost always. On modern work that is fine; on a period ring it can compromise the original construction. Have it done by someone with restoration experience and keep the removed material.

Curious what you have in your hands?

Prijsranges zijn een startpunt; wat je precies in handen hebt bepaalt de bandbreedte. Stuur foto's en een korte beschrijving, dan bekijkt een specialist wat het is en adviseert binnen twee werkdagen over een logische vervolgroute.

Request free advice

Independent advice about what you have and your options — not a purchase offer, not a formal appraisal.

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