Last Updated on October 28, 2025 by James Jackson
The woman stood in my small office off Central Park Avenue, nervously twisting a heavy, oldfashioned gold bracelet around her wrist. It was one of those raw, damp Yonkers afternoons where the chill from the Hudson seems to seep right through the walls, and she’d come straight from a meeting with her bank that hadn’t gone well. She needed cash, not a loan, and the inherited jewelry she’d been storing in a safety deposit box in Getty Square was her only real option. I’ve had that same conversation hundreds of times since I started this business over a decade ago. Honestly, it never gets easier, but it has taught me everything about why people in our city turn gold into cash.
Yonkers is a city of heirlooms. We’re not talking about sprawling estates in Lawrence Park West, though we serve clients from there, too. I mean the workingclass families in the Ludlow neighborhood or up in Greystone, where a grandmother’s wedding band or a father’s class ring represents a small, tangible piece of security. The economic tides that roll through Westchester County hit Yonkers in a unique way—we’re a proud city, but when a property tax bill arrives or an unexpected car repair pops up, that little velvet box in the dresser drawer suddenly looks a lot more like a financial lifeline than a sentimental keepsake. You know what’s funny? I can almost predict the seasons by what comes through my door. Late summer, before school starts, is always busy. And right after the holidays, when the credit card statements hit, it picks up again.
What You’re Really Selling (And What We’re Actually Buying)
Most folks who walk in think they’re selling “jewelry.” And they are, on the surface. But what I’m evaluating, and what determines whether you walk out with $200 or $2,000, is the raw precious metal content and, sometimes, the gems. The gold itself is what holds the value. The karat stamp—that little “14k” or “10k” inside the ring—tells me the purity. 24k is pure gold, so 14k is 14 parts gold out of 24, or about 58.3% pure. I have to explain that almost every single day.
But here’s an insider secret a lot of the bigger, flashier buyers don’t want you to know: weight alone isn’t king. The alloy metals mixed with the gold, the craftsmanship of the piece, and the current “spot price” of gold on the global market create a complex formula. A bulky, heavy piece that’s only 10karat might be worth less than a delicate, hollowlooking piece that’s 18karat. I had a client from the north Yonkers area come in with what he thought was a worthless, light necklace. Turned out it was 22k Italian gold, and he was shocked at the offer. On the flip side, a man once brought in a massive, “solid gold” class ring that was mostly brass plating. That conversation is always a tough one, and I hate delivering that news.
The Yonkers GoldBuying Landscape: Pawnshops, Jewelers, and Specialty Buyers
You’ve got options in the city, and they’re not all the same. Honestly, it’s a mixed bag. You’ll find storefronts in the Cross County Shopping Center area, smaller jewelers downtown near the Yonkers Courthouse, and a few of us who specialize solely in buying. The big difference often comes down to overhead. A jeweler’s primary business is selling new pieces, so their offer for your old gold has to leave them enough margin to eventually resell it. A pawnshop is offering a loan against the value, so their pricing model is different.
We operate as a dedicated buyer, which means our costs are lower and we can often pay closer to the market value because we’re melting the metal down and selling it directly to a refiner. I’m not going to sit here and claim we’re always the highest offer—anyone who says that is probably lying. But we’re transparent. I’ll pull up the live gold spot price on my computer, show you the calculation, and explain exactly how we get to our number. I’ve made the mistake myself early on of not being clear enough, and a customer walked out feeling confused and cheated. That one still stings. Transparency is everything in this business.
Based on actual local presence, here are some established providers in Yonkers:
Westchester Gold & Silver Buyers — Serving the Central Avenue corridor.
Yonkers Pawn Shop — A longstanding option in the downtown area.
Midas Gold Buyers — Located near the Cross County Center.
R. Ambrose Jewelers — A family jeweler in the Getty Square neighborhood.
What to Expect When You Walk In: The Process Demystified
So, you’ve decided to sell. You gather your old chains, broken earrings, and that single cufflink, and you head to a buyer. What happens next? First, we’ll sit you down. No highpressure standing at a counter. Then, we examine the items. I’m looking for those karat stamps, testing with a rare earth magnet (gold isn’t magnetic), and often using an Xray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. This gunlike device tells me the exact elemental composition without damaging your piece. It’s the industry standard for a reason.
After testing, I’ll give you a verbal offer. This is where you should feel zero pressure. Take the offer, write it down, and go get another one. I tell everyone that. To be completely honest, a reputable buyer will never rush you or make you feel guilty for shopping around. If they do, that’s a red flag. Walk out.
The final step, if you accept, is paperwork. We are regulated by New York State and the City of Yonkers. I need a governmentissued ID, I take a thumbprint, and I record the transaction. This isn’t me being nosy; it’s the law. It helps prevent the sale of stolen goods and protects everyone. You can verify licensing requirements through the New York Department of State.
The Real Numbers: Pricing and Payouts in Westchester
This is the big question. I can’t give you a number for your specific item without seeing it, but I can give you a realistic framework. As I write this, the spot price of gold is around $2,300 per troy ounce. Remember, a troy ounce is about 31.1 grams, which is different from the regular ounce you use in the kitchen.
So, let’s say you have a man’s 14k gold ring that weighs 10 grams on my scale.
- First, I find the pure gold content: 10 grams x 0.583 (the purity of 14k) = 5.83 grams of pure gold.
- Then, I find the melt value: (5.83 grams / 31.1 grams per troy ounce) x $2,300/oz = approximately $431.
Now, no buyer can pay you the full melt value. We have refining costs, business overhead, and the market for raw gold isn’t 100%. A fair offer in the Yonkers area for that ring would typically be in the ballpark of 70% to 85% of that melt value. So, for that $431 melt value, a fair cash offer would be between $300 and $365. Most sellers I see in my office walk out with between $150 and $800 for their accumulated items, though bigger payouts for highkarat or heavy pieces are not uncommon.
Navigating the Rules and Protecting Yourself
Look, this industry has its share of bad actors. Your best defense is knowledge. In New York, there’s no “coolingoff” period or right to cancel for cashforgold transactions. Once you sign and take the money, the sale is final. That’s why shopping around is so critical.
Also, be wary of buyers who aren’t transparent about their fees. Some might quote you a high percentage of spot price but then deduct heavy “processing” or “refining” fees, leaving you with much less. The offer you get should be the cash you walk out with. And always, always get a receipt. It should detail the items you sold, the weight, the karat, and the price paid. For more consumer protection info, you can always check the New York Attorney General’s website.
What’s the difference between karat and carat?
Karat (with a K) refers to gold purity. Carat (with a C) is a unit of weight for gemstones. A 14karat gold ring can have a 1carat diamond in it. It’s the number one thing people understandably mix up.
Should I clean my jewelry before I sell it?
Please don’t. Honestly, it doesn’t help the value and you might accidentally damage it. We’re going to test it regardless. A little bit of dirt or tarnish doesn’t affect the gold content, which is all we’re measuring.
What about goldplated or filled items?
This is the tough part. Goldplated items have a microscopic layer of gold over a base metal, like brass or copper. They have very little to no melt value. Goldfilled items have a thicker layer, but it’s still just a coating. We can’t make an offer on these because the cost to extract the tiny amount of gold is more than the gold is worth. It’s the biggest misconception I deal with.
Do you buy broken jewelry?
Absolutely. In fact, a lot of what we buy is broken. A cracked clasp, a single earring, a snapped chain—it doesn’t matter. We’re buying the metal, not the function. So dig out those mismatched and damaged pieces; they’re often worth more than you think.
Long story short, selling gold in Yonkers is about finding a balance between trust and value. It’s about walking into a place where they remember the old Untermyer Park, understand the rhythm of life along the Hudson, and treat your heirlooms with respect, even as they’re being reduced to a simple financial transaction. If you’re in Yonkers and you’re thinking about it, just start by gathering what you have, do a little research on the current spot price, and then visit a couple of places. There’s no obligation. And you might just find that piece of security you’ve been keeping in a box can solve a very real problem today.