By Rocco Clayfield, trading as GoldPaid; the business incorporated as GOLDPAID LTD (company 17382540) on 5 August 2026 · Published · updated
Found 585 on your piece? Send us a photo of it
Photograph the number stamped inside the ring or on the clasp, then the whole piece, and send both on WhatsApp. We will reply with what the mark means and a rough estimate of what we would pay. No obligation, and nothing needs posting.
No WhatsApp? Call 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm.
Not sure what the mark says? Use the hallmark lookup. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
The maths behind 585
585 parts per thousand of pure gold by weight equals 14 carats in the 24-carat system (14 divided by 24 is roughly 0.583, rounded up to 585 by the hallmarking standard). The other 415 parts are partner metals. In a typical 14ct yellow the rest is mostly copper and silver, with the balance adjusted for colour and hardness.
Older Russian and Soviet jewellery uses a 583 standard, very close but not identical to modern 585. What 417, 333, 583 and 875 mean on gold takes the Soviet standard and the other foreign marks apart in detail. XRF testing shows the actual percentages on arrival.
Where you see 14ct in the UK
You will see it on US-made bridal sets, on German and Dutch retail jewellery, on Russian 583 vintage pieces, and on some modern UK independent designers who prefer the colour and hardness balance of 14ct.
Hardness and colour
14ct sits between 9ct and 18ct on both axes. It is harder than 18ct, so resists denting better. The colour is warmer than 9ct because there is more gold in the alloy, but cooler than 18ct because there is less. Many wearers find 14ct yellow a comfortable middle ground.
14ct white follows the same logic, blended with palladium or nickel for the white tone, often rhodium plated for the final finish.
Scrap yield
Recovered gold per gram of 14ct is meaningfully higher than 9ct because there is more gold in the alloy, and the offer reflects the gold content we measure and the live fine-gold market.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Identifying 14ct
- Find the standard mark on the inside of the shank or the clasp.
- Look for 585 in a small punch with cut corners, or "14k", "14kt" or "14K" on imported pieces.
- Check whether an assay office mark sits beside the standard. UK assay marks confirm independent testing.
- Older Russian and Soviet pieces may show 583 with a Cyrillic sponsor or hammer-and-sickle assay mark.
- Worn or missing marks are the point where testing takes over from reading.
Sending mixed-carat parcels
You can send 9ct, 14ct and 18ct mixed together in one parcel. The XRF screens each piece and the report shows the yield per item by standard. The bank transfer covers the total. If you decline, the full parcel comes back to you by free tracked return. Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, tracked and signed for. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. If the lot may be worth more than £2,500, tell us first and we can split it across more than one prepaid label at no charge. See how to sell gold by post.
If your gold came from abroad
American and mainland European jewellery is commonly made at 14ct, so a 585 stamp points to where a piece was bought rather than to anything wrong with it. The UK postal-buyer route handles it the same way as any other carat. The 585 mark is not exotic, just less common in British high-street jewellery than 375 and 750. The XRF report puts it in writing, the bank transfer settles it, and that is the transaction. Selling mixed-carat scrap gold works the same way when 585 sits in a parcel with 375 and 750.