Gold · Buying and appraisal
Gold buying in Recoleta
Gold jewellery, scrap gold, dental gold, coins and bars. We weigh and test your piece in front of you, explain exactly how we reach the figure, and pay on the spot. Daniel Varela, gemmologist and appraiser of fine jewellery, works at Av. Alvear 1712 and has been in the trade since 1984.
What the house buys
Gold in every form — and silver and platinum too
The piece does not need to be intact, or come with papers, or carry a famous name. Gold is paid by weight and purity: what matters is how much fine metal is inside.
Gold jewellery
Rings, wedding bands, chains, bracelets, earrings, pendants, medals and watches with gold cases. With or without stones: gems are valued separately from the metal.
Scrap gold
Broken, melted, odd or unwearable gold: loose links, empty settings, workshop remains. We buy it just the same, by weight and purity.
Dental gold
Crowns, bridges and caps. They are usually gold alloyed with palladium or platinum: we separate the porcelain and base metal to weigh the gold that is actually there.
Coins
Circulation and bullion gold coins: sovereigns, Argentine gold pesos, Krugerrands, Eagles. If a coin carries numismatic value above its metal content, that is taken into account.
Bars and ingots
Fine gold bars and ingots, with or without a refinery certificate. We verify weight, hallmark and density before making an offer.
Silver
Fine silver 999, sterling 925, 900 silverware and 800 European silver: cutlery, mate cups, trays, frames and jewellery.
Platinum and palladium
Pieces marked Pt, 950 or PLAT, and palladium pieces. They are appraised against their own international quote, not against gold.
If you are not sure what you have, bring it anyway. Identifying the piece is part of the appraisal and costs nothing.
Purity and karats
What 18k, 750 or 585 actually mean
A karat measures how many parts of fine gold there are out of 24 parts of alloy. Millesimal fineness says the same thing out of 1,000. Two ways of stating one fact: how much real gold the piece contains.
| Karats | Fineness | Fine gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 999 | 99.9 % | Bars, grain and bullion coins. Far too soft for a piece of everyday jewellery. |
| 22k | 916 | 91.6 % | Historic coins such as the British sovereign, and jewellery from South Asia and the Middle East. |
| 18k | 750 | 75 % | The standard of European fine jewellery and of Argentine jewellery. Hallmarked “750” or “18K”. |
| 14k | 585 | 58.5 % | Very common in American pieces and in commercial jewellery. Hallmarked “585” or “14K”. |
| 9k | 375 | 37.5 % | An economical alloy, common in contemporary British jewellery. Hallmarked “375” or “9K”. |
24k · 999
Bars, grain and bullion coins. Far too soft for a piece of everyday jewellery.
22k · 916
Historic coins such as the British sovereign, and jewellery from South Asia and the Middle East.
18k · 750
The standard of European fine jewellery and of Argentine jewellery. Hallmarked “750” or “18K”.
14k · 585
Very common in American pieces and in commercial jewellery. Hallmarked “585” or “14K”.
9k · 375
An economical alloy, common in contemporary British jewellery. Hallmarked “375” or “9K”.
In Argentina the vast majority of jewellery is 18 karat: 750 fineness, 75 % fine gold. The remaining 25 % is copper, silver or palladium, which give the piece hardness and colour (yellow, rose or white). White gold is the same purity with a different alloy — and sometimes a rhodium plating on top: it is paid exactly like yellow gold of the same purity.
How the payout is calculated
From the international price to your piece
The price quoted on the international board (COMEX/NYMEX) is for fine gold, 24 karat, in dollars per troy ounce. The first step is converting it to dollars per gram: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. That is the starting point, and it is the same the world over.
A commercial factor is then applied according to the purity of the piece. The factor already accounts for the metal's fineness and for the cost of turning used jewellery back into fine gold. These are the factors the house uses — the same for everyone, no haggling:
Formula
Payout = grams × price per gram of fine gold × purity factor
Gold
| Purity | Factor | |
|---|---|---|
| 24k · 999 | 90 % | Fine gold: bars, grain and bullion coins. |
| 22k · 916 | 81 % | Coins and jewellery of 916 fineness. |
| 18k · 750 | 63 % | The most common purity in Argentine jewellery. |
| 14k · 585 | 45 % | Commercial pieces, largely of American origin. |
| 9k · 375 | 22.5 % | Low purity: the alloy weighs far more than the gold it carries. |
Silver
| Purity | Factor | |
|---|---|---|
| 999 | 70 % | Fine silver: bars and grain. |
| 900 | 45 % | Cutlery, trays, mate cups and table silverware. |
| 800 | 30 % | Argentine criollo silver and European pieces of 800 fineness. |
A concrete example
Say a gram of fine gold is quoted at 100 dollars — a round number, purely for the example — and you bring in an 18-karat chain weighing 20 grams. The arithmetic is 20 g × USD 100 × 0.63 = USD 1,260. In a real appraisal we replace those 100 dollars with the day's quote, which you can see live on this very site, and the 20 grams with the weight verified on the scale in front of you.
Why isn't 100 % of the international price paid?
Refining
A used piece of jewellery is not fine gold. It has to be melted, separated from the alloy and refined again. A refinery does that work and charges for it.
Loss in process
Metal is lost in the melt. On top of that, solder joints, clasps, springs and pins are often of a different purity or a different metal altogether, and are not paid as gold.
Risk and time
Weeks pass between the house buying a piece and the refined metal returning to market, and the international price moves every day. That risk and that tied-up capital are built into the factor.
The values published on this site are technical reference figures and do not constitute an offer to buy. The final figure comes out of the in-person appraisal, with weight and purity verified.
Identification
How we prove that gold is gold
Hallmark
Under a ten-power loupe we look for the purity mark — 750, 585, 375, 18K — and the maker's punch, almost always inside the band, on the clasp or on the tongue of the catch. It is the first clue, not proof: a genuine antique piece may carry no hallmark at all, and a hallmark can also be forged.
Touchstone test
The piece is rubbed on a touchstone and acids of varying concentration are applied to the streak. How the streak reacts — or fails to react — confirms the purity. It is fast, essentially non-invasive, and compared against needles of known purity.
Density
Fine gold weighs 19.3 grams per cubic centimetre: far more than almost any metal used to imitate it. Weighing the piece in air and then submerged in water gives its true density and reveals fillings, hollows and cores of another metal.
False friends
What looks like gold and isn't
It is the most uncomfortable conversation in an appraisal, and it is better to be clear about it beforehand.
Gold plating
A micrometre-thin layer of gold deposited over bronze, brass or silver. It shines just the same, but the amount of gold is negligible: as metal it has no purchase value. It usually gives itself away at worn edges, where the base metal shows through.
Gold-filled and rolled gold
A sheet of gold mechanically bonded to a base metal, far thicker than plating — typically 1/20 of the weight of the piece. There is real gold in it, but very little. It is assessed case by case and its value is marginal next to a solid piece.
Costume jewellery
Alloys with no precious metal, with or without a surface coating. Their value is in the design or the brand, not the metal, and they are not bought by weight.
Marks that are NOT purity marks
If a piece reads GP (gold plated), GF (gold filled), RGP (rolled gold plate), HGE (heavy gold electroplate), “18K GP” or “laminated”, it is telling you about a coating or a sheet, not about the purity of the metal. A legitimate purity mark is a bare number: 999, 916, 750, 585, 375.
The process
Four steps, a single visit
You never have to leave the piece behind or come back another day.
Private appointment
We agree a day and time by WhatsApp or phone. You are received in a private room at Av. Alvear 1712 — no shop window, no onlookers.
Weighed and tested in front of you
Scale, loupe, touchstone and density check, right there on the counter. Every step is explained out loud as it happens.
Offer on the spot
You see the whole calculation: grams, purity, the day's quote and the factor. The figure comes from the arithmetic, not from a negotiation.
Immediate payment
If you accept, you are paid at once, in cash or by transfer, with a receipt. If you decline, you take your piece back intact and nothing is charged.
Frequently asked
What people ask us about gold
How much do you pay for a gram of 18k gold?
63 % of that day's international value of a gram of fine gold. If fine gold is quoted at USD 100 per gram, a gram of 18-karat gold is paid at USD 63. Since the quote moves daily, you can see the exact figure in the live prices section, and it is confirmed against the real weight of your piece during the appraisal.
Do I need the purchase invoice for the jewellery?
No. No invoice, box or certificate is needed to sell gold by weight and purity. We will ask for your identity document so the transaction is on record, and you are given a receipt.
Do you buy broken, incomplete or odd pieces?
Yes. That is what is called scrap gold: loose links, a single earring, an empty setting, a cut chain, workshop remains. Gold is paid by weight and purity, not by the condition of the jewellery.
Do you pay on the spot?
Yes. As soon as you accept the offer you are paid immediately, in cash or by transfer, with a receipt. There is no consignment and no deferred payment unless you prefer it that way.
Do you buy dental gold?
Yes: crowns, bridges and caps. They are almost never pure gold, but alloys with palladium, platinum or silver. We separate the porcelain and the base metal, establish the purity of the precious metal and pay on the gold the piece actually contains.
What documentation do I need to bring?
Your identity document. The piece itself needs no paperwork. If you are selling on behalf of an estate or another person, tell us when you book so we can look at the case with time.
How long does an appraisal take?
Between 20 and 40 minutes for a single piece or a small lot. For collections, estates or complete canteens of cutlery it is worth booking ahead, because we set aside more time.
Do you also buy silver and platinum?
Yes. Fine silver 999, 900 silverware, 800 criollo and European silver, plus platinum and palladium. The silver factors the house uses are 70 % for 999, 45 % for 900 and 30 % for 800. Other purities, such as sterling 925, are quoted during the appraisal.
Is the price shown on the site the final price?
No. It is a technical reference calculated from the international board, so that you arrive with a formed idea. The definitive number comes out of the in-person appraisal, with the weight verified on the scale and the purity tested.
Bring your gold to Av. Alvear 1712
Free appraisal, no obligation, by private appointment, Monday to Friday from 10 to 18 h. Your piece is weighed and tested in front of you; if the figure doesn't work for you, you simply take it home.
Av. Alvear 1712 · entre Rodríguez Peña y Av. Callao · Lunes a viernes de 10 a 18 h · atención por entrevista privada