Sell Scrap Gold
Scrap gold is simply gold that is being sold for its metal content rather than as a piece of jewellery. It does not mean the items are worthless or that there is anything wrong with them. A snapped chain, a single earring, a ring that no longer fits, a brooch nobody will ever wear again and a bag of odds and ends from the back of a drawer are all scrap gold, and all of it has a real, calculable value based on what it weighs and how pure it is.
We have been buying scrap gold for over 35 years as a family owned and managed business, and we buy it by post as well as across the counter in our seven high street stores. Request a free postal pack, send your items in, and our valuers will weigh and test everything and come back to you with a no obligation offer. Nothing is melted, altered or separated until you have accepted that offer, so if you change your mind your items come back exactly as you sent them.
Request Your Free PackWhat counts as scrap gold
If it is solid gold, we will buy it, whatever state it is in. Condition genuinely does not matter, because the value sits in the metal rather than the appearance.
- Broken and snapped chains, including ones missing clasps
- Odd earrings and broken pairs
- Rings that are bent, cracked, resized or worn thin
- Old wedding bands and engagement rings
- Damaged brooches, pendants, charms and lockets
- Gold watch cases, bracelets and broken watch parts
- Unmarked gold, offcuts, casting scrap and bench sweepings
- Anything gold you simply no longer want
We accept every carat, including 8ct, 9ct, 10ct, 14ct, 15ct, 18ct, 21ct, 22ct and 24ct, hallmarked or not. You do not need to sort your items or know what carat they are. Send everything together and we will identify and separate it for you.
What we cannot buy
Some items look like gold but contain almost none, and there is no value in them for us or for you. To save you the postage, please leave these out of your pack:
- Gold plated and gold filled items
- Rolled gold
- Costume and fashion jewellery
- Pearl necklaces and strung pearls
- Stainless steel, titanium and base metal jewellery
The quickest way to check is to look for a hallmark or a stamp. Numbers such as 375, 585, 750 and 916, or marks reading 9ct, 14ct, 18ct or 22ct, indicate solid gold. Letters such as GP, GF, RG, EPNS, or a mark like 1/20 12k, indicate plating, filling or silver plate rather than gold. If something is unmarked and you are not sure, put it in anyway. We will test it, tell you honestly what it is, and return anything we cannot buy at no cost to you.
How scrap gold is valued
Only two numbers matter: weight and purity. We weigh your items on calibrated scales in grams, and we confirm the purity of each piece using XRF testing, which reads the exact metal composition without cutting, scratching or damaging anything. Your offer is then worked out as a percentage of the live gold spot price applied to the pure gold content of each item.
Carat is the measure of purity. 9ct gold is 37.5% pure, so ten grams of 9ct contains 3.75 grams of actual gold. 18ct is 75% pure, so the same ten grams contains 7.5 grams of gold, which is why an 18ct item is worth roughly twice a 9ct item of identical weight. This is also why we separate items by carat rather than weighing everything together, and why sending a mixed bag costs you nothing in accuracy.
| Carat | Hallmark | Purity | Pure gold in 10 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9ct | 375 | 37.5% | 3.75 g |
| 14ct | 585 | 58.5% | 5.85 g |
| 18ct | 750 | 75.0% | 7.50 g |
| 22ct | 916 | 91.6% | 9.16 g |
| 24ct | 999 | 99.9% | 9.99 g |
A worked example
Suppose you send in a broken 9ct chain weighing 12 grams and an 18ct ring weighing 4 grams. We would weigh and test each piece separately, then apply the relevant rate to each. If the rate shown on our prices page were, for illustration, £30 per gram for 9ct and £60 per gram for 18ct, the chain would be worth £360 and the ring £240, giving a total offer of £600.
Those figures are an example only, because the gold price moves throughout the day and so do our rates. The current figures are always shown on our Today's Prices page, and the rate we quote you is the rate at the time we make the offer.
What is not included in the weight
A scrap valuation pays for gold, so anything that is not gold is not part of the weight. Diamonds, gemstones, pearls, enamel, steel clasps, spring bars, watch movements and glass are all excluded, and we deduct them before calculating your offer. This is standard practice for any precious metals buyer and it is why an item can weigh more on your kitchen scales than the figure we quote against.
It also means it is worth pausing before you sell certain things as scrap. If a piece is by a recognised maker, carries a significant diamond, or is an antique in good condition, it may be worth considerably more intact than melted. Our valuers look out for this, and if we think something in your pack is worth more than its gold content we will say so rather than quietly weighing it in. You will never lose out by asking us to look at it.
Weighing your gold at home
If you want a rough idea before you send anything, weigh your items in grams on a digital kitchen scale, grouping them by hallmark where you can, then multiply by the relevant rate on our prices page. It will not be exact, because household scales are not calibrated and because stones and fittings need deducting, but it gives you a sensible ballpark.
Ignore any figures you see quoted in pennyweight or troy ounces unless you are confident converting them. We price in grams throughout, which is the standard for UK jewellery, and it keeps the arithmetic simple.
Sending scrap gold safely
Every postal pack is sent using Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, which includes compensation cover of up to £750 per parcel. If you think your items are worth more than that, please request additional packs and split them so no single parcel holds more than £750 of gold, or buy additional cover at your Post Office at your own cost. Full details are on our Insurance Cover page.
If the total value of what you sell us exceeds £1,000, you may be asked to provide photo ID and a recent proof of address before we release payment, so that we can meet our legal obligations. You also need to be 18 or over and have the right to sell the items you send.
Get paid for your scrap gold
Request your free postal pack, send your items in, and we will contact you with a no obligation offer. Accept it and payment is sent by bank transfer, usually the same day and always by the end of the next working day. Decline it and everything comes back to you free of charge, fully tracked, exactly as you sent it. For more on the wider service, see our Sell Gold page.