How to Sort Scrap Gold From Junk

Locate the karat content. Look for an imprinted number using a magnifying glass. The karat content imprint should be stamped on the underside of a gold item. You may find the gold content number --- 10k, 14k, 18k or 24k --- imprinted on the backside of a necklace's or bracelet's clasp or the inside of a ring. Some foreign countries imprint decimals or percentages of 24k on a piece to indicate gold content.

Pile your scrap gold by gold content. The lower the content number, the paler yellow the gold will appear.

Put aside any scrap pieces which do not have a number imprinted on them. Compare each piece from the unnumbered pile to the piles with gold content markings to see if the coloring matches exactly. Place the unmarked pieces into separate bags. Mark each bag with the karat content that you think they might have, and take them to a jeweler for appraisal.