Glossary
Fine metal weight
Fine weight is the amount of pure precious metal in an item; gross weight is everything on the scale.
Gross weight is what the scale shows with the complete item on it: precious metal, additional metals, stones, clasps, filling material and steel parts. Fine weight is only the pure precious metal portion, and that is what is paid for.
Fineness connects the two. Fine weight is gross weight multiplied by fineness after deducting everything that is not precious metal. For a simple chain the figures are close; for a ring with a large stone they may be far apart.
Typical deductions include gemstones and pearls, steel spring rings and clasps, watch movements and glass, knife blades and filler or resin in heavy cutlery handles. Filling often makes up more than half of a filled handle's weight.
Worked example: gross versus fine
A ring weighs 9 grams gross, including a 2 gram stone. This leaves 7 grams of 585 metal, or 4.095 grams of fine gold. At 120,00 € per gram of fine gold, that gives a material value of 491,40 €.
Using the gross 9 gram weight gives 631,80 €, leading to surprise at the difference later. We pay 90 to 95 % of the correctly calculated material value, giving 442,26 to 466,83 € here.
Weighing and deductions in Nordhorn
We use a certified scale in Nordhorn while you stand beside us. Every deduction is explained before it is made: the stone, the steel clasp, the handle filling. None disappears silently into a blanket allowance.
If you want to keep stones, we can remove and return them. This is often requested for inherited pieces and does not change the gold's material value, because the stone is not included in the gold payment anyway.
The same principle applies to watches. A solid gold case is weighed after removing the movement, glass and steel components, with the bracelet weighed separately. Only this separation turns gross weight into a useful figure.