People walk in with a mixed pile of gold jewelry and ask the same practical question: is this 10K, 14K, or 18K, and what does that mean for the offer? Here is how we look at karat gold jewelry at Apex Gold Silver Coin, 605 Walnut St SW in Winston-Salem.
What the karat number means
Karat tells you how much of the metal is pure gold. Pure gold is 24K. So 18K is about 75% gold, 14K is about 58.3% gold, and 10K is about 41.7% gold. The rest is other metals that make the piece harder for everyday wear. That is why two rings that look similar on the counter can pay differently once we know the karat.
Stamps help: 10K, 14K, 18K, 417, 585, 750, and similar marks are common. Stamps are a starting point, not the whole story. Worn stamps, unmarked pieces, and mixed piles are normal. We test what you bring so the karat matches what is actually on the scale.
How scrap gold pricing works here
For scrap gold jewelry, we pay about 75% of melt value based on the gold content we confirm. Higher karat means more gold per gram, so 18K usually pays more per gram than 14K, and 14K more than 10K, all else equal. Spot moves day to day, so the cash number follows the market that day.
Scrap gold on this site means jewelry and broken gold we buy as melt—not costume jewelry, and not coined bullion priced as coins. If you also have gold coins mixed with scrap, we sort those on the counter. Coins often pay higher than jewelry scrap when they are real bullion or better collectibles.
What a walk-in looks like
No appointment. Bring chains, rings, bracelets, earrings, dental gold, broken pieces, and mixed karat piles. We separate by karat, weigh, explain the melt math in plain language, and give you a number. You decide. There is no pressure to sell every piece on the spot.
Bring a photo ID for larger cash payouts. Inherited jewelry boxes are common here—same process as other inherited gold and coins. Stones can stay in place; we will tell you how we handle them when we look at the piece.
What helps (and what does not)
- The jewelry itself—boxes and receipts help, but are not required
- A photo ID
- Keeping different metals roughly sorted if you already know which pieces are gold versus silver
You do not need to polish or clean the gold. Cleaning does not raise melt value. Leave pieces as they are. Online “grams times spot” printouts are optional; we still test and weigh in front of you.
Hours and how to find us
Monday–Friday 10am–4pm, Saturday 12–3pm, closed Sunday. Apex Gold Silver Coin, 605 Walnut St SW, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Phone (336) 505-9503.
We see people from Greensboro, Lexington, Mount Airy, and Reidsville. That is the service area. The shop is the one on Walnut Street. Tania runs the counter day to day. Jeff is the owner.
If you are selling a high-end watch, that is the shop next door at 607 Walnut (Apex Gold Silver Watches). Karat gold jewelry, gold coins, silver, and scrap gold come here to 605.
