Guides
Understand gold prices and daily prices
How the gold price is formed, what spot price and buying rate mean, and how to calculate a fair daily value for your precious metals.
The gold price can seem opaque, but a fair buying value can be clearly calculated. This guide explains how spot price, troy ounces and buying rate work together and how to calculate today's value yourself.
How is the gold price formed?
Gold prices are established on international markets and quoted continuously per troy ounce (31.1035 grams), predominantly in US dollars. Supply, demand, interest rates, exchange rates and economic conditions move them daily. Dividing the ounce price gives the price per gram; applying fineness gives your item's material value.
Because German transactions use euros, the dollar exchange rate also matters. A rising gold price can be partly offset by a weaker dollar, and vice versa. It is therefore worth watching the euro price per gram rather than headlines about dollar prices.
From spot price to the amount paid
Spot price is the basis. A buying rate is paid out from it, in our case up to 97 % of spot. Your item's value comes from spot price per gram multiplied by fineness and fine weight, after which the buying rate is applied.
A worked example: at 120,00 € per gram of fine gold, a 40 gram lot of 585 contains 23.4 grams of fine gold, with a material value of 2.808,00 €. At 90 to 95 %, this gives 2.527,20 to 2.667,60 €. Our calculator shows the same process using the actual daily price.
Why offers vary so much
Two offers for the same lot can be far apart without either being calculated incorrectly. The reasons are usually the same: a different underlying price, assumed fineness, deductions for stones and other components, or simply a different buying rate.
Offers become comparable only when all four details are disclosed. Always ask for market price, fineness, fine weight and buying rate. If a buyer does not name these four figures, comparison is impossible, and that is rarely accidental.