Gold price, South Africa · LBMA-benchmarked
What is your gold actually worth per gram?
The honest answer is arithmetic, not a mystery. The world sets one gold price per gram; your piece is worth that number times its purity times its weight. Below is the purity of every karat, a calculator you can run on the day’s spot, and the reason a refiner pays closer to that number than a pawnshop ever will.
The short version
Gold trades per troy ounce (31.1035 g) in US dollars. Convert to rand at the day’s rate, divide by 31.1035, and you have the value of one gram of fine, 24 ct gold. Everything else is a percentage of that:
your payout = fine-gold price per gram × purity of your karat × weight in grams
The purity numbers below never change. Only the fine-gold price moves, and it moves every day, which is why we quote against the live LBMA spot rather than a fixed in-house figure.
Purity by karat
Every karat, and what fraction of the gold price it earns.
| Karat | Purity (fineness) | Value per gram* | Typically found in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 ct | 99.9% | R1 948 / g | Pure / fine gold. Bullion, granules, most Krugerrand-era coin gold. |
| 22 ct | 91.6% | R1 788 / g | High-purity jewellery and coin gold. |
| 18 ct | 75.0% | R1 463 / g | The fine-jewellery standard. Most quality rings and bracelets. |
| 14 ct | 58.3% | R1 137 / g | Common in imported and older jewellery. |
| 9 ct | 37.5% | R731 / g | The most common karat in South African jewellery. |
*A round, illustrative figure only, at a fine-gold price of R1 950/g, chosen to make the maths tangible. This is not today’s price. The market sets the fine-gold figure on the day; enter the current number in the calculator below, or ask us for today’s exact rate.
Gold value calculator
Run the numbers yourself.
Enter the weight, choose the karat, and set the day’s fine-gold price. The maths is exact; the fine-gold figure is the only thing you need to check on the day. No email, no catch, it never leaves your browser.
Indicative metal value of your gold
R14 625
10 g of 18 ct at R1 950/g fine
This is the honest ballpark for the metal only, before the refining margin every buyer applies. If your piece also holds natural diamonds, those are valued separately against the Rapaport sheet and paid on top. The firm offer is set on the day, against the live LBMA spot, with the karat confirmed on our scale.
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Twenty-five years in the trade
Director Darren Etkind on the desk since 1995. Co-director Molefi Letsiki, president of the South African diamond bourse (DGJASA), on the manufacturing entity since 2019.
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Same-address GIA verify
GIA South Africa office is in our building. On-the-spot re-grading on request before settlement.
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Insured delivery, SA & worldwide
Overnight across South Africa via Brink’s, G4S or our nominated jewellery courier. Insured worldwide dispatch via Ferrari Group and FedEx Custom Critical.
Why the number is better here
A cutting house and refiner, not a middle-man.
We refine in-house
Prodiam refines gold through an accredited refinery, so we do not pay a third party to process what we buy. That saved cost is what lets us settle closer to the live spot than a shop that has to send your gold away.
The working is shown
You see the LBMA spot we used, the karat we confirmed, the weight on our scale, and the margin. No single blind number. If the maths does not convince you, you keep your gold and owe us nothing.
Diamonds valued separately
A gold ring with a natural diamond is two assets. We price the metal against spot and the stone against Rapaport, and pay on each. A scrap-gold buyer who ignores the stone is quietly keeping it.
FICA-compliant, cleared fast
Verified bank transfer with full FICA paperwork, typically cleared within 72 hours for South African sellers. No envelope cash, no later trouble with your bank or SARS.
Gold pricing, plainly
Frequently asked questions.
How is the gold price per gram worked out in South Africa?
The international gold price is quoted per troy ounce (31.1035 grams) in US dollars. To get a rand price per gram you convert to ZAR at the day’s exchange rate and divide by 31.1035. That gives you the value of one gram of pure, 24 ct gold. Your piece is then valued at that figure multiplied by its purity (75% for 18 ct, 37.5% for 9 ct, and so on) and by its weight. It is arithmetic, not opinion, which is exactly why a transparent buyer will show you the working.
What is 9 ct and 18 ct gold worth per gram?
Because 9 ct gold is 37.5% pure and 18 ct is 75% pure, a gram of 9 ct is worth 37.5% of the fine-gold price and a gram of 18 ct is worth exactly twice that, 75%. So 18 ct is always worth double 9 ct, gram for gram. Plug the day’s fine-gold price into the calculator on this page and it will show you both. The rand figure moves with the market every day; the ratio between the karats never moves.
Why does a gold buyer pay less than the spot price?
Refined gold has to be assayed and refined back to fine before it can be re-used, and that carries a real cost. An honest buyer prices your gold against the live LBMA spot and deducts a transparent refining margin, so you can see exactly what was taken off and why. A pawnshop or mall gold-buyer instead quotes one blind number well below spot and hopes you do not know the maths. Prodiam refines in-house through an accredited refinery, which is why we can settle closer to the real spot than a middle-man who has to send it away.
What is scrap gold actually worth?
Scrap gold, broken chains, single earrings, bent rings, is worth its metal content, full stop: fine-gold price times purity times weight. There is no “scrap discount” on the gold itself once it is weighed and its karat confirmed. What changes is only whether a buyer prices it honestly against spot or lowballs it. If a piece also holds natural diamonds, those are valued separately against the Rapaport sheet and paid on top, not ignored.
How do I get today’s exact figure for my gold?
Send us a photo and the weight, or bring the piece to the Bedfordview viewing room, and we will price it against the LBMA gold-spot rate on the day, in rand, with the karat confirmed on our own scale and the refining margin shown to you. The calculator here gives you an honest ballpark before you lift a finger; the firm number is set on the day you sell, because the market sets it, not us.
Ready to turn the number into rand?
The calculator gives you the honest ballpark. When you want the firm figure, the desk prices your gold against the LBMA spot on the day and settles in about 72 hours.
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