What is the difference between an ounce and a Troy ounce- and what is DWT?
This can be a bit confusing, but that’s because so many in our industry want it to be confusing to you, so we will try to clear things up: Precious Metals are measured in Troy Ounces, while almost all other items in the U.S. are measured in “Avoirdupois,” or regular, ounces. A Troy Ounce (T oz or ozt) is made up of 31.1 grams, whereas an Avoirdupois ounce (oz) is 28 grams. DWT is the abbreviation for ‘Deadweight’ and is commonly referred to as ‘pennyweights.’ There are 20dwt to a Troy ounce, and also 20dwt to an Avoirdupois ounce; however these are different because of the difference in the weights of a Troy ounce and an Avoirdupois ounce (31.1g / 20 vs. 28g / 20). The use of a larger unit also works in favor of the gold buyer because it is a given that most buyers will take the advantage in rounding down on weights. A gram is a more accurate unit of measure, and a gram is always a gram; that’s why we use it as the basis for our unit of measure. Most anyone who will offer you their pri
