18K Gold Price Per Gram Today — Live Calculator
18K gold is 75% pure gold by weight (18 parts gold to 6 parts alloy). It's the standard for European fine jewelry and the higher-end tier of US fine jewelry — Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef and most luxury houses sell almost exclusively in 18K. The higher gold content makes 18K richer in color (saturated yellow if yellow gold; deeper rose-pink for rose gold) and intrinsically more valuable per gram than 14K or 10K. The trade-off is softness — 18K bends and scratches more easily than 14K, which is why it's preferred for show pieces and avoided for high-wear items like men's wedding bands. At today's gold spot, a 10g 18K chain holds roughly $725 of gold. Also written 18kt or 18 karat.
Also written 18kt or 18 karat.
Live 18K gold price
Per gram
$108.76
Per troy oz
$3,382.88
Per pennyweight (dwt)
$169.14
18K gold value = (weight in grams ÷ 31.1034768) × 0.7500 × current gold spot price per troy ounce. At a $3,000/oz gold spot, 1 gram of 18K is worth roughly $72.34.
18K gold FAQ
What is 18K gold worth per gram today?
18K gold is 75% pure gold. Per-gram value = (1 ÷ 31.1034768) × 0.75 × current gold spot. At a $3,000/oz gold spot, 18K is worth roughly $72.34 per gram. The calculator above pulls live spot and computes any weight/quantity.
What is 18K gold per ounce?
A troy ounce of 18K gold contains 75% pure gold, or 0.75 troy oz of gold-equivalent content. Per-troy-ounce value = 0.75 × current gold spot. At a $3,000/oz spot, a troy ounce of 18K is worth roughly $2,250 of gold content.
What does 18K mean?
18K means 18 parts pure gold to 24 parts total — 75% gold by weight, with the other 25% being alloy (typically copper and silver for yellow gold, palladium for white gold, more copper for rose gold). The "K" is short for karat, the parts-per-24 measure of gold purity.
Why is 18K standard for European jewelry?
European fine-jewelry tradition favors 18K because the higher gold content gives a richer, more saturated color (especially in yellow and rose alloys) and feels more substantial in hand. Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and most European fine houses produce primarily in 18K. The trade-off is softness — 18K scratches and bends more easily than 14K — but for show pieces and luxury jewelry the color and content are valued over hardness.
Is 18K gold a good investment?
18K jewelry holds its gold content as melt value, but the markup for design, brand, and craftsmanship typically far exceeds the gold scrap value at point of sale. If your goal is gold investment, .9999 fine bullion coins and bars (American Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf) carry minimal premium over spot and are far more efficient. 18K jewelry is jewelry first; the gold content is a secondary store of value.
How much will a pawn shop pay for 18K gold?
Pawn shops typically pay 70-85% of the gold melt value. For a 10g 18K piece at $3,000/oz gold spot, melt value is roughly $723; the pawn-shop offer typically lands between $506 and $615. Refiners pay closer to 90-95% but usually require a bulk minimum.