Old jewelry is recycled by professional refiners that sort and weigh the material, test its precious-metal content, separate and purify the gold, then send the recovered metal into uses such as bullion, coins, or new jewelry. The exact steps depend on what the scrap contains; an assay estimates the tested lot’s composition, but it does not guarantee a particular payout or recovery amount from an individual item.
How old gold jewelry is recycled
Refining is a chain of steps, not simply melting a ring and turning it into another ring. Refiners need to establish what is in a shipment, prepare it for testing, and separate gold from alloy metals and other material. Their methods vary by feedstock and facility.
- Intake and identification. A refiner receives a lot of scrap and records it. For example, Hoover & Strong says it weighs and photographs incoming lots and assigns each a unique tracking number. Those are that company’s stated procedures, not a universal industry checklist. Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
- Sorting and preparation. The material’s form and composition determine how it is handled. Hoover & Strong describes clean karat-gold scrap being melted with flux. Lower-grade jewelry sweeps require a different preparation route that can include burning off combustible material, milling, sifting, blending, and representative sampling. These are distinct feedstocks and should not be treated as the same process. Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
- Melting and sampling. For clean scrap, flux helps the melt flow and become more homogeneous. The refiner takes a sample for testing; as the metal cools, slag can carry away some non-metallic impurities. Sampling matters because the refiner uses the test result to estimate the composition of the shipment. Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
- Assaying the sample. The refiner analyzes a representative sample to determine precious-metal content. Hoover & Strong describes duplicate fire assays and says it remelts and resamples a bar if assay results disagree. It also mentions X-ray fluorescence (XRF), but testing methods serve different purposes and should not be assumed interchangeable in accuracy. Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
- Separating and purifying the gold. The chosen method depends on the material and refinery. The Royal Canadian Mint describes chemically purifying gold to 99.5% purity, then casting anodes for electrolysis and assay testing. That figure is a purity level at a stage in the Mint’s described process—not the share of an item’s starting weight that becomes recovered gold. Royal Canadian Mint: Precious Metals Refining
- Sending the refined metal for reuse. The Mint says its refined gold goes into investment products and collectible coins. Hoover & Strong says it uses refined recycled metal in jewelry products. These illustrate possible destinations; they do not mean every lot becomes a particular kind of product. Royal Canadian Mint: Precious Metals Refining · Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
What counts as recycled gold
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) distinguishes old scrap from process scrap and from the reformatting of bullion. Old scrap is material from a previously fabricated product that returns to the market as bullion; it can include jewelry and other products. A statistic focused on old scrap therefore does not necessarily represent every kind of material a refinery handles. LBMA, Chapter 2: Profile of Recycling
The LBMA describes high-grade scrap as typically containing at least 40% precious metal, with most material in that category having higher fine-metal content. It says this scrap is sourced almost entirely from old jewelry. Low-grade scrap can include ash from electronic scrap, jewelry sweeps, and cleaning materials. These descriptions categorize material; they are not acceptance rules for every refinery. LBMA, Chapter 2: Profile of Recycling
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Gold-plated items are different
Gold-plated costume jewelry is not equivalent to solid gold jewelry for recycling. The LBMA says the thin, dispersed gold coating on costume jewelry or sunglasses is not practically recovered because doing so is uneconomic or impractical. LBMA, Chapter 2: Profile of Recycling
What an assay tells you—and what it does not
An assay measures the precious-metal content of the sample tested. Because a refiner uses that result to estimate the composition of a lot, the lot’s mixture and the representativeness of its sample matter. Jewelry may contain different alloys, stones, clasps, solder, or other non-gold components, so its description or appearance alone does not establish how much fine gold it contains. Hoover & Strong’s refining-process brochure
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An assay is not itself a quote or payout calculation. The available sources do not establish a universal recovery yield for a ring, chain, or mixed lot, nor do they verify the terms of particular consumer offers. If comparing services, ask how they handle stones and non-gold parts, which assay method they use and whether they share results, what fees or deductions apply, and how and when they settle. Also confirm accepted scrap types, minimum lot size, shipping and insurance arrangements, and whether payment is cash, bullion, or account credit.
How much gold is recycled—and why volumes change
Market-wide recycling figures describe supply, not the amount recoverable from a household item. The World Gold Council’s 2018 primer estimated that recycled gold accounted for around 30% of total gold supply over the preceding 20 years and that roughly 90% of recycled gold came from jewelry. Those are historical estimates reported in that primer, not a current annual share or a promise about any piece of jewelry. World Gold Council, Gold Recycling Primer (7 May 2018)
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For the first quarter of 2026, the World Gold Council reported 366 tonnes of recycled gold, up 5% year on year. The report covers data through 31 March 2026 and notes that supply figures may later be revised. It attributed the increase in part to high prices encouraging sales of old jewelry, while also describing regional effects from exchange behavior, logistics, refinery capacity, and financing constraints. These global volumes cannot be used to calculate the recovery or value of an individual item. World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends: Q1 2026 — Supply (29 April 2026)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to expect if you sell old jewelry
Selling unwanted jewelry sends it into a valuation and refining chain; the eventual price depends on the assessed metal content and the buyer’s terms, not on a universal recovery percentage. A buyer’s offer and the refinery’s assay are related but not identical: an assay measures composition, while an offer also depends on the transaction’s settlement terms. Before agreeing, get the fee, testing, shipping, insurance, and payment details in writing, and ask what happens if you decline the offer after testing.
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- Dissolves Oxides and Impurities: When used in the melting process of metals such as gold and silver, borax effectively dissolves oxides and other impurities. This action results in the formation of a fluid borate slag which floats on top of the molten metal, allowing for easier separation and ensuring the purity of the final product
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