Today the metric system presides: gold is always weighed in grams.
This is most inconvenient because the basic price of gold is still quoted in Troy ounces.
To make matters worse, the novice weighs gold on his kitchen scales and wonders why his local jeweller suddenly doesn't seem to understand "ordinary" pounds and ounces.
So, how to weigh gold? This is how gold is weighed today: 31.
1 grams = 1 ounce 32.
2 ounces = 1 kilogram An important number to remember is 31.
1 (to be more exact 31.
1035), it is the key to all grams/ounces and ounces/grams conversions.
Kitchen scales weigh in ounces Avoirdupois: 16oz = 1 pound If only kitchen scales are available deduct 10% from the weight to get an approximate answer in Troy ounces.
Spring-loaded scales are not very accurate, especially kitchen scales which are not designed for weighing very light objects.
The pan-and-weights scale (the beam balance) is more accurate though the smallest kitchen weight is likely to be ¼ oz.
Providing a kitchen beam balance is sensitive enough it is well worth buying a set of jewellers' gram weights down to ½ gram.
All gram weights are the same, whether used for weighing scrap gold per gram or food per gram.
Conversion: 1 Troy oz = 0.
911 Avoirdupois oz When selling scrap gold it is always worthwhile to determine accurately the weight of your jewellery prior to handing over the items to a prospective buyer.
If necessary request more than one quote to compare weights from prospective buyers.
Article by Nigel Martin - pounds4gold by scrap gold