In physical gold trading, quotes such as “gold price per mace: NT$XXX” are common. Being familiar with gold weight unit conversions and how gold shops calculate prices is the foundation of investing in and trading physical gold. This article compiles a gold unit conversion guide and pricing analysis to help investors clarify transaction details and ensure asset value.
Taiwan’s traditional gold shop market mainly uses the Taiwanese units of “tael, mace, candareen, and li”, and calculates them using the decimal system.
The conversion basis is: 1 tael equals 10 mace, 1 mace equals 10 candareen, and 1 candareen equals 10 li. For example, if a piece of gold jewelry weighs “1 tael, 2 mace, 3 candareen, and 4 li”, it represents a total weight of 12.34 mace. When observing changes in the gold price per tael, dividing that figure by 10 gives the benchmark gold price per mace.
Taiwan’s traditional gold weight unit conversion relationship
To match international market quotes with Taiwan gold shops, you need to understand the conversion relationship between Taiwanese traditional units and metric units: 1 mace equals 3.75 grams, and 1 tael equals 37.5 grams; 1 ounce (oz) is approximately 31.1035 grams, equivalent to about 8.294 mace. If investors are considering different gold asset allocations, they can refer to this article: Comparison of the Pros, Cons, and Costs of 5 Major Channels: Physical Gold, Passbooks, ETFs, and Futures to choose a suitable investment tool.
Gold prices quoted by Taiwan gold shops are usually divided into two types: the “selling price” is the price at which the gold shop sells gold to consumers; the “buying price” (recycling price) is the price at which the gold shop buys back gold.
Assume today’s gold shop selling price per mace is NT$9,500. For a gold ring weighing 3.5 mace, its “pure gold value” is NT$33,250 (NT$9,500 × 3.5 mace). This calculation only represents the value of the gold itself. If you need to check historical prices for reference, you can use the Bank of Taiwan Historical Gold Passbook Price Inquiry.
Physical gold transactions need to account for additional costs, mainly including gold jewelry workmanship fees and recycling wastage. These are factors that cannot be ignored when evaluating the cost of gold price per tael.
The final selling price of gold jewelry is “(gold jewelry weight × daily selling price) + workmanship fee”. Workmanship fees vary depending on the complexity of the jewelry design and level of craftsmanship. Plain designs have lower fees, while complex craftsmanship can cost several thousand NT dollars. This should be clearly confirmed with the merchant before purchase.
When gold shops recycle old gold jewelry, they usually deduct about 5% of the “wastage weight” due to wear from use and loss during remelting. The actual calculation formula is “(gold jewelry weight × 0.95) × daily buying price”. This mechanism for calculating gold workmanship fees and wastage directly affects the cash-out amount.
If asset value preservation is the main purpose, standard investment-grade “gold bars” or “gold bullion” offer advantages. They usually do not charge workmanship fees, and when recycled, most gold shops do not deduct weight or apply only a very low deduction rate, allowing asset value to be preserved to the greatest extent.
Comparison of Value Preservation and Hidden Costs Between Gold Jewelry and Gold Bars
A: 1 kilogram is 1,000 grams. Since 1 tael equals 37.5 grams, 1 kilogram is approximately equal to 26.666 taels after conversion (or about 266.66 mace). This is the standard specification for international physical gold delivery.
A: The core gold weight pricing is the same. The difference lies in the additional fees. Gold jewelry requires payment of design workmanship fees and will face weight deduction when recycled in the future; gold bars usually have no workmanship fees and are exempt from weight deduction, offering better value preservation.
A: When gold shops recycle gold jewelry, they need to cover the loss from remelting, and usually deduct about 5% of the weight. Therefore, the actual amount received will be lower than the result calculated purely based on the quoted price.
A: Gold passbooks offered by banking institutions usually use “grams” or “ounces” as the basic pricing unit, which differs from the Taiwanese units commonly used by physical gold shops (such as taels and mace).
By mastering the decimal conversion of Taiwan’s gold units and clarifying the rules for workmanship fees and weight deduction, you can accurately calculate the actual cost of gold transactions. Fully understanding the pricing structure before trading helps investors protect their asset rights in the physical gold market.
