The Price Of Gold Varies But The Weight Should Not

DENVER (CBS4) -  Buying and selling gold is big business with the price fluctuating every day. It's a sellers' market, but like with everything, it's important to do your homework.

Weighing gold is a precision process. Scales at gold buying businesses need to be inspected and calibrated every 12 months and should carry the state seal of approval.

"You can be a little over and you can be a little under, that's what the tolerance is, either over weighing or under weighing, and that would cause the scale ego be blue-tagged or a work order," said Nicholas Brechun, an inspector with the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Brechun tested the scales at Gnat Original Design in Cherry Creek North. He calibrated the scale with weights to make sure it was as accurate as possible.

"This scale complies with state law," Brechun told CBS4.

CBS4 borrowed a 14 caret gold charm bracelet from Gnat Original Design to see what kinds of weights and prices we would be offered for it. The certified scale shows the bracelets weighs 39 grams. Using a hidden camera, we took it to various gold buying businesses through out the Denver metro area. Each retailer checked it carefully to determine the quality of the gold, determining it was 14 caret. All the retailers gave us the weight as 39 grams, but the prices we were offered varied nearly $300.00. Here's what were found:

-- Fast Cash Pawn & Gold Center, Aurora: $897.00

-- Len Larson Jewelry, Denver: $960.00

-- Rocky Mountain Coin Inc., Greenwood Village: $860.00

-- A World of Coins, Littleton: $780.00

-- Timothy's Fine Jewelry, Centennial: $675.00

-- Gold Rush, Denver: $885.00

-- Rocky Mountain Coin Inc., Denver: $897.00

"More so than the fluctuation of gold, I think it's more that jewelers are willing to pay you a little more and make a smaller margin on the back end, and some jewelers are going to pay you a little less," said Raz Gnat, owner of Gnat Original Design.

Experts agree the beat advice is to shop around. Go to at least three different stores, and remember everything is negotiable. You may even want to consider trading your gold in on something new from the store.

"We will offer them considerable more in value towards something in the store as opposed to writing them a check," Gnat added.

-- Written for the Web by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith