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Gold knowledge

How gold is weighed: grams, troy ounces and pennyweights

Three units, one piece of metal. Knowing which is which avoids a common cause of confusion when comparing offers, and tells you what the buyer is actually doing.

By Rocco Clayfield, trading as GoldPaid; the business incorporated as GOLDPAID LTD (company 17382540) on 5 August 2026 · Published · updated

How is gold weighed?In the trade gold is weighed in either grams or troy ounces. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams (not the same as a regular avoirdupois ounce). Pennyweights, an older unit equal to 1.555 grams, still appear in some pawnbroker and antique-jewellery contexts. The gram is the cleanest unit to compare offers on.

Grams: the default

A gram is a gram, the same in every context, and is the unit used by virtually all UK and European bullion and scrap pricing. GoldPaid prices and reports in grams, weighed to 0.01g precision. Once you have a weight in grams, send a photo of the item on WhatsApp for a rough estimate, and a written offer follows assessment.

Not sure how any of this applies to your own items? Send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you, call 07944 014111 (8am to 9pm, 7 days a week). We can arrange postage after we have spoken. Nothing is posted until you decide, your parcel is tracked and signed for, the written offer follows the XRF assay, the return is free if you decline, and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance.

Troy ounces: the bullion unit

Investment bullion (bars, sovereigns, krugerrands) is often quoted per troy ounce. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams. It is not the same as the regular "avoirdupois" ounce used for groceries (28.3495 g), and confusing the two can cause meaningful errors. When converting a troy-ounce quote to a per-gram figure, divide by 31.1035.

Pennyweights: the old unit

A pennyweight (abbreviated "dwt") is one-twentieth of a troy ounce, or 1.555 grams. It is still used by some American pawnbrokers and in older jewellery-trade contexts. If you are comparing offers and one quotes "per dwt," translate to per-gram before comparing, a "high" per-dwt rate is much smaller in per-gram terms.

Quick conversions

FromTo gramsNotes
1 troy ounce31.1035gStandard bullion unit
1 avoirdupois ounce28.3495gNot used in bullion, do not confuse with troy
1 pennyweight (dwt)1.555g1/20 of a troy ounce
1 grain0.0648gOld jewellery unit; 24 grains = 1 dwt
1 tola11.6638gSouth Asian unit; exactly 3/8 of a troy ounce
1 baht (Thai)15.244gBar weight; ornaments are made to about 15.16g

What to do next

If you want to know what your own pieces are worth, start with a photo rather than a parcel. Send one on WhatsApp and we will tell you plainly what can and cannot be judged from an image. If you go ahead, the items are XRF-tested on arrival and you receive a written offer setting out the purity found, the weight and the rate used. Decline it and the tracked return costs you nothing. Accept it and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance.

Send a photo on WhatsApp

Common questions

Is a troy ounce heavier than a normal ounce?

Yes. 31.1035g versus 28.3495g, roughly 10% heavier. Always check which "ounce" is being quoted in any precious-metal context; bullion always uses troy.

Should I worry about pennyweight quotes?

Mainly when comparing offers across buyers. A per-pennyweight figure looks higher than the equivalent per-gram figure simply because a pennyweight is larger than a gram. Translate to per-gram before comparing.

How precisely does GoldPaid weigh my items?

To 0.01 of a gram, with mixed lots separated by carat before weighing.

Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.

Related guides

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Reference pages

Take it at your pace. Start with a WhatsApp photo and a question, ask anything about the X-ray (XRF) test, the per-gram rate, the postal cover, or the return-if-you-decline route. Nothing is posted until you choose to post it, and the written offer is the first moment any decision actually counts.

GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal buyer of gold, silver, platinum and palladium with no shop: you request a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, your items are XRF-assayed in house, and you are paid by bank transfer only if you accept the written offer.

Your prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label is addressed to GOLDPAID LTD, Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. That is our Bristol office: your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened there, and each item is weighed and XRF-tested, so you know exactly where it is going before you post it.

Send us photos on WhatsAppCall us

Ask for the label in that chat and we usually send it within 30 minutes during working hours, 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week. No printer? We send a QR code you show at the Post Office counter instead.

Ask first, post only when you are ready

Ask what your items are worth first

A photo and a question are the whole first step. We reply with an idea of what it is worth, you decide whether to post, and you decide again, only after the written offer, whether to accept.

Send us photos for a rough estimateCall 07944 014111

We give rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection. We arrange postage with you after our conversation.

No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.