The short answer
Why the jewellery is the part of the file that stalls
Most estates contain a modest quantity of gold and silver, and it is almost always the line on the chattels schedule nobody can price. A local valuer quotes per item and wants an appointment. The family lives two hundred miles from the deceased's house. The pieces are broken, unhallmarked, or marked in a way nobody in the office can read. Meanwhile the rest of the residue is ready to distribute and the file sits.
GoldPaid removes that bottleneck. The service is postal and UK-wide, so where the estate sits makes no difference. There is no shop, no branch and no appointment. Items are sent, assayed, documented and returned, and the firm ends up with a written record showing purity, weight, rate and date that a fee earner can defend to a beneficiary or attach to a return.
Who carries out the valuation, and on what equipment
Valuations are carried out in house by GoldPaid's own precious metals valuers. Nothing is subcontracted and nothing leaves the premises during assessment. Each item is weighed individually on calibrated scales to 0.01 of a gram, examined for hallmarks, assay office marks and maker's marks, and assayed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which measures the actual elemental composition of the alloy without scratching, filing or acid-testing the piece.
XRF matters on a probate file for a specific reason. A hallmark is a declaration of intended purity, not a measurement of what is in front of you. Solder at clasp joints, later repairs, replacement shanks and mixed alloys all move the true metal content away from the mark, sometimes down and occasionally up. Unhallmarked and foreign-marked pieces, which are common in older estates and in anything bought abroad, are assayed to exactly the same standard as marked ones rather than being guessed at.
What the firm actually receives
- An itemised written valuation, one line per item, with a photograph, the assayed fineness, the weight in grams and the figure attributed to that piece.
- The rate and the date used, stated on the face of the document, so any third party can reproduce the arithmetic without asking us for the working.
- A date-of-death basis where you ask for one. Open market value for inheritance tax is measured at the date of death, so where the estate needs that basis we run the figures against the historic metal rate for the stated date rather than today's.
- A flag against any single item that may cross the £1,500 line on schedule IHT407, with a plain written recommendation to instruct a SoFA or RICS registered valuer for those specific pieces.
- A separate no-obligation offer to purchase, kept visually distinct from the valuation itself so the two figures are never confused on the file.
Straightforward lots are normally assayed and documented on the working day the parcel is opened. Larger or mixed lots, and anything needing hallmark research, take up to two working days. If the estate is working to a deadline, say so at the outset and you will get a straight answer on whether it can be met rather than an optimistic one.
What this valuation is, and what it is not
This is a precious-metal and market-value assessment. It is not a gemmological certificate, not a fine art or antiques valuation, and not a formal probate valuation signed off by a registered valuer. GoldPaid does not hold SoFA or RICS registration and does not claim to. Saying so plainly is more useful to a fee earner than a broader claim that falls apart when HMRC asks a question.
Stones are noted and described where they are present and material, and we will tell you plainly when a stone needs a gemmologist. What we will not do is put a number on a stone we have not been able to assess properly, or allow a metal figure to be read as though it covered the gems set into the piece.
How the conflict of interest is handled
The obvious objection is that a buyer valuing an estate has an interest in the number being low. It is a fair objection from a professional and it deserves a direct answer rather than a reassurance.
- The valuation and the offer are two separate figures on the same document. The valuation states the assayed metal content and the market rate on the day. The offer states what GoldPaid would pay. The difference between them is our margin, shown rather than buried.
- The valuation is free whether or not anything is sold. There is no fee that gets waived on acceptance, so there is no commercial lever built into the arrangement.
- Declined items are returned free of charge by tracked post, with no follow-up contact to the executor or the family.
- Where another route would clearly serve the estate better, including a specialist dealer or an auction house rather than us, we say so in writing.
- The document is built to be checked. Fineness, weight, rate and date are all on it, so a firm that wants a second opinion can obtain one and compare like for like.
The postal process, start to finish
- Ask first. Send photographs on WhatsApp to 07763 741067, or call the same number. You get an honest steer on what is worth posting and what is not before anything leaves the office or the family home.
- Free prepaid label. A Royal Mail Special Delivery label is issued, usually within 30 minutes during working hours. Cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. If the lot warrants more, tell us before posting and a higher cover level is agreed in writing first.
- Whoever is nearest posts it. The parcel can go from the firm, from the executor, or from a family member clearing the property. Tell us who is posting and who the valuation should be addressed to and copied to.
- Assay and document. Items are weighed, XRF-assayed and photographed, and the written itemised valuation is issued to the named recipient.
- Decide, with no pressure either way. If an offer is accepted, payment is made by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance. If it is declined, everything comes back free of charge by tracked post.
Identity, authority and provenance
GoldPaid Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company number 17382540, and trades from Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. Before any payment is made we verify the identity of the person receiving it and satisfy ourselves of their authority to deal with the items. For an estate that normally means the grant of probate or letters of administration, or written confirmation from the instructing firm. Where a firm confirms it is instructed, that is usually enough on its own and the family is not asked for the same paperwork twice.
We also ask about provenance, and we ask plainly rather than by implication. GoldPaid cannot buy items where ownership is not clear. That includes church and ecclesiastical silver, gallantry medals, and memorial or mourning jewellery, which are handled carefully and unhurriedly, and which are also the categories where a family's assumption about what the deceased owned most often turns out to be wrong.
Referring a client
There is nothing to sign, no minimum volume and no referral fee in either direction. Send the client to us, or send us the client's name and let us make contact, whichever suits the file. Firms that use the service more than once usually settle into a standing arrangement where valuations are addressed to the executor and copied to the fee earner, and where the label goes straight to whoever is clearing the property. The same free, no-contract basis runs behind GoldPaid's charity shop programme, which is described on the charity partners hub.
What backs the offer up
- XRF spectrometry on every item, not a counter estimate
- A written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything
- Free insured postage in, free tracked return out
- No countdowns, no pressure, no fabricated reviews
- An owner-run business with a named founder who answers honestly
Common questions
What does it cost, and where is the catch?
The valuation is free, the prepaid label is free, and the return of anything declined is free. GoldPaid earns its margin on the items it buys and on the onward sale of that metal, not on valuation fees. If the estate sells nothing, it has paid nothing and owes nothing.
Who actually does the testing, and are they qualified to value for probate?
GoldPaid's own valuers, in house, using XRF and calibrated scales. They are precious metals specialists rather than registered probate valuers, and we would rather say that than blur it. For metal content, weight and market value they are the right people. For a formal probate valuation on a high-value or gem-set piece, a SoFA or RICS registered valuer is.
How long is this going to hold up the file?
A straightforward parcel is assayed on the working day it is opened and the written valuation follows the same day. Larger or mixed lots take up to two working days. Add Royal Mail Special Delivery time each way. Most probate lots are back with the family inside a week of posting, and the firm has the document before the items are returned.
Can payment go to our client account rather than to the executor personally?
Yes. Payment is made by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance and can go to the executor's account, a dedicated estate account, or the firm's client account, whichever the firm instructs in writing. Payment details are never changed on the strength of a phone call or an email alone.
The family want a figure before they commit to posting anything. Can you do that?
Yes, and we prefer it. Photographs sent on WhatsApp to 07763 741067 get an honest indicative range and a straight answer on whether the parcel is worth the postage at all. It is a range rather than a firm number, because a photograph cannot replace an assay and the metal rate moves during the trading day. Any figure only becomes firm after inspection.
What happens to items the estate decides not to sell?
They are returned free of charge by tracked, insured Royal Mail post, together with payment for anything the estate did accept from the same parcel. There is no fee for declining, no restocking charge and no follow-up contact to the family.
Related pages
- Probate and inherited jewellery
- Valuing jewellery for IHT400 and IHT407
- Probate jewellery valuation guide for executors
- XRF probate pack
- How we value gold
- XRF testing explained
- How we handle your parcel
- Charity partners (hub)
- What happens if I decline the offer
- Gold price today, UK rates
- Silver price today, UK rates
- UK gold hallmark guide