Articles
Background to the market: why rates move, what regulation means and how to translate that to your own situation.
Selling a gold watch: gold value or watch value?
With a gold watch from a lesser-known brand the gold is often the price; with a sought-after brand it is the watch. How to tell which applies to yours, and how much of the weight is actually gold.
Real or fake Rolex? Serial number, year of manufacture and the tell-tale signs
Where to find the serial and reference numbers, what they tell you about the year and the version, and which signs you can check yourself. Plus why certainty only comes once the case is open.
Selling gold at home: how to recognise a genuine valuer
A buyer who rings your doorbell unannounced is not a valuer. Six signs of a trustworthy home visit, and what to do if something is not right.
Why you have to show ID when you sell gold
You cannot sell gold anonymously to an honest buyer. Which law is behind it, which documents to bring and what happens to your details.
Selling gold for cash: what is allowed and what is not
In the Netherlands a trader may not pay 3,000 euros or more in cash since 2026, and Belgium has its own limit. What that means for your sale and how XGOUD pays out.
Capital gains tax on gold in Belgium since 2026: what applies to you?
Since 1 January 2026 Belgium taxes gains on investment gold at 10 per cent. Gold jewellery is outside its scope. What the law says, as of October 2026.
Sell or keep your gold? How to decide without gambling
Nobody knows what the gold price will do next month, and neither do we. But some questions make the decision easier. Seven of them, in a row.
Real or fake diamond? Recognising cubic zirconia and moissanite
What you can check at home, why a diamond tester lets moissanite through and how gemmologists establish the difference with certainty.
Pearl necklace, amethyst, garnet: what are pearls and semi-precious stones worth?
With most pearl necklaces and jewellery set with coloured stones, the value lies in the gold or silver. When that is different, and what to look for.
What is a 0.5 or 1 carat diamond worth when you sell it?
Why the price per carat jumps, what the four Cs do to it and why the shop price you once paid is no guide to today’s offer.
How to check a GIA, HRD or IGI certificate
You can verify a report number yourself in a few minutes. Five steps: where the number is, where to enter it and what to compare afterwards.
Rose cut, single cut and old mine cut: what are old diamonds worth?
Antique jewellery often holds stones in a cut that is no longer made. How to recognise them, and how they are assessed.
Selling a lab-grown diamond: what is it still worth?
A lab-grown diamond is real diamond, but it can hardly be resold. Why that is, how to recognise one and what in your jewellery does have value.
Selling Pandora: what is Pandora silver really worth?
Pandora is usually 925 silver, sometimes 14 carat gold. We pay the material value, not the brand value. What that means for your bracelet and charms, and when reselling pays more.
How to spot fake gold bars and coins
Tungsten cores, counterfeit Krugerrands and gold-plated copper bars: what to check yourself, what weight and dimensions give away and which measurement truly exposes a fake.
Silver plated or solid silver? How to tell the difference
EPNS, 90, 100, nickel silver or 925: which marks point to plated ware, what plated cutlery is still worth and why the difference can be a factor of a hundred.
How do I tell real silver? Five tests you can do at home
Hallmark, magnet, ice cube, white cloth and sound: what each home test does and does not prove, which tests to leave alone and when only a measurement gives certainty.
Rolled gold, gold plated and gold filled: worth anything?
GP, GF, RGP, 18K GE, doublé and plaqué: how to recognise a gold layer, how much gold it really contains and why gold-plated silver does count as silver.
14 vs 18 carat gold: colour, strength and value
18 carat contains 28 per cent more gold than 14 carat. What that does to colour, hardness and value per gram – and why the Netherlands wears 14 carat and Belgium 18.
333 and 375 gold: is 8 and 9 carat real gold?
Yes, it is real gold, just less of it. 333 is one third gold, 375 three eighths. Where it comes from, why it gets no hallmark here and what it is worth.
What is 750 gold? Meaning and value of 18 carat
750 stands for 75 per cent pure gold: 18 carat. Why it is the standard in Belgium, how it compares with 585 and what the hallmark lets you calculate.
What is 585 gold? Meaning, carat and value
585 means 585 parts gold per 1,000: 58.5 per cent, or 14 carat. What the rest of the alloy is, why it is not 583 and how to work out the value.
Collector value or material value: when not to melt
Most gold and silver is worth its material, but not all of it. Which signs mark a piece that rises above melt value – and what not to do when it does.
Recognising and selling platinum and palladium
Platinum weighs a third more than white gold and carries a different mark. How to tell them apart, where palladium sits, and why weight says more than colour.
Selling dental gold: what it fetches
Crowns often hold 60 to 90 percent precious metal but carry no hallmark. What dental gold weighs, why colour tells you nothing, and why you can leave the porcelain on.
Why the buying price sits below the market price
The market price applies to large lots of pure metal, not to your chain. What sits in between, why a bar comes closer than an old coin, and how to check the gap yourself.
Troy ounce, gram and carat: the units side by side
The world market reckons in troy ounces, your scales in grams and your jewellery in carats. With these three conversions you can check any offer yourself.
Krugerrand, Maple Leaf or Philharmonic: which one sells fastest?
All three contain exactly one troy ounce of fine gold. What you get for them still differs – that lies in how well known they are, the fineness and how easily they scratch.
How does a buyer check whether gold is real?
Magnet, acid test, specific gravity and X-ray. What each method does and does not prove – and why a stamp alone is never enough.
Selling a diamond without a certificate: what does it cost you?
Without a GIA or HRD report a buyer has to judge for himself, and uncertainty translates into a lower offer. How much that differs, and when applying for a certificate pays off.
Precious metal in an estate: how to go about it
Several heirs, a civil-law notary and an inventory of the estate. What is needed, and in which order.
Spot price, premium and spread – the three figures you should know
Why the price you see is never the price you get, and how large that difference ought to be.
Do you pay tax when you sell gold?
For private individuals, selling your own jewellery is usually untaxed. When that is different, you read here.
Why the gold price moves differently in euros than in dollars
Gold is quoted worldwide in dollars. The exchange rate helps decide what you receive in euros – sometimes more than the gold price itself.
Silver price corrects 4% within 24 hours – what does that mean?
A sharp fall says little about the longer line. What happened, and what it means if you were about to sell.
Questions about our articles
How often do new articles appear?
Weekly to fortnightly, and always straight away when something out of the ordinary happens in the market. A sharp movement in the gold or silver rate is usually covered within a day, because that is when the question comes up.
Do you give investment advice?
No. We explain how the market works and how prices come about, but we do not advise on buying or selling as an investment. For that you need someone who knows your financial situation, and that is not us.
Can I suggest a subject?
Please do. Send your suggestion through the contact form and our specialists will pick up the questions they can use. Many of the pieces here started as a question someone asked at the counter.
Is your question not listed? Ask it below, call 085 060 3009 or go to contact.
A question about articles?
Ask it here. You will receive a personal reply by email, usually within one working day – no automated message and no phone call you did not ask for.
- An answer from a valuer, not from a template
- We keep your question so that you need not repeat anything
- No sales pitch afterwards
Sources
Where you can verify what you have just read.
- LBMAThe London gold and silver price our daily rate is built on
- WaarborgHollandThe Dutch assay office that verifies fineness and strikes hallmarks
Rather talk it over first?
Our specialists look at it with you free of charge, at the table or by telephone.