Why the jewellery is the part of the file that stalls
Many estates contain a modest quantity of gold and silver, and it is often 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 at GoldPaid’s office at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. Nothing is subcontracted and nothing leaves the office during assessment. Each item is weighed individually 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 UK hallmark shows that an assay office found the piece to be at least the marked standard when it was marked, and a bare stamp is only the maker’s claim; neither is a measurement of what is in front of you now. 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 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 flag against any single item that may be valued at £1,500 or more, the figure at which schedule IHT407 asks for individual items of jewellery to be listed, with a plain written recommendation where a registered valuer should value those 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.
We aim to assay and document a straightforward lot on the working day the parcel is opened. Larger or mixed lots, and anything needing hallmark research, can 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 metal market on the day. The offer states what GoldPaid would pay for that content, with its margin already inside it. The difference between the two figures is that 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, figure 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 07944 014111, 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. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. If the lot may be worth more than that, tell us before posting and we will split it across more than one label, with the parcel plan 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 and XRF-assayed, and the written itemised valuation is issued to the named recipient.
- Decide, with no pressure either way. If an offer is accepted, we aim to pay 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, and trades from Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG (the registered office recorded at Companies House is 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 can turn 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. A firm that uses the service more than once can set up 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.
Other guides for estates and inherited jewellery
Each of these answers a different part of the same job. Pick the one that matches where you are.
- Sell inherited and probate jewellery by post: the overview, for a family or an executor ready to sell some or all of it.
- Sell inherited jewellery in your own time: for a beneficiary who already holds the pieces.
- A free metal figure for estate jewellery: what a buyer’s free written figure covers, what a paid report adds, and when to use a registered valuer.
- An executor’s guide to valuing and selling jewellery: authority, telling the beneficiaries, and the records to keep.
- Clearing a parent’s house: what to keep, what to check, and agreeing it as a family.
- House clearance jewellery buyer: mixed lots from a clearance, sent exactly as found.
- Do you need probate or a death certificate to sell inherited jewellery?: the paperwork question, answered.
- Can you sell inherited gold before probate is granted?: the answer for executors, administrators and beneficiaries in England and Wales.
- How to value jewellery for probate: the two figures an executor needs, and when to use a qualified valuer.
- How to sell inherited gold jewellery safely: a step-by-step guide for families.
When you are ready, there is one step to take: request a free prepaid Royal Mail label, or send photos on WhatsApp first if you would rather ask before posting. Every piece is XRF-tested and you receive a written, itemised valuation. Nothing is sold unless you accept it, and anything declined comes back free by Royal Mail Special Delivery. For everyday gold that is not part of an estate, the general route is selling gold by post.
What backs the offer up
- XRF spectrometry on every item, not a counter estimate
- A written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything
- Free tracked postage in, free tracked return out
- No countdowns, no pressure, no fabricated reviews
- An owner-run business whose founder, Rocco Clayfield, answers questions himself
Sources
- GOV.UK: estimate the estate’s value, checked 11 September 2026
- HMRC: Inheritance Tax household and personal goods (IHT407), checked 11 September 2026
- HMRC: guide to completing your Inheritance Tax account (IHT400 notes), checked 11 September 2026
- HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM06033: professional valuations, checked 11 September 2026
- HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM09703: open market value (IHTA 1984 s.160), checked 11 September 2026
Common questions
Is this valuation acceptable to HMRC for the IHT407 schedule?
It is a written record of the metal in each piece: the assayed purity, the weight, the rate used and the date the figures were struck. It is not independent, because GoldPaid buys gold and silver, and it is not an open market valuation from a registered valuer. IHT407 asks for individual items of jewellery valued at £1,500 or more to be listed at their open market value at the date of death, and for a copy of any professional valuation you hold to be enclosed. HMRC’s manual says it does not insist on a professional valuation, although personal representatives ought to consider one where early estimates put the estate close to the excepted estate limit (IHTM06033). Our document flags items that may be valued at £1,500 or more, so you can decide which to have valued by a registered valuer at open market value at the date of death (IHTA 1984 s.160). In Scotland the process is Confirmation using form C1 (see gov.scot Confirmation guidance and HMRC guidance for Scotland at gov.uk). Forms and thresholds change, so check the current position at gov.uk. Our practitioner note on valuing jewellery for inheritance tax sets out what section 160 requires, why chattels carry no equivalent of the section 191 loss relief, and what HMRC has and has not published.
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, in house at its Bristol office, using XRF and scales that read to 0.01g. That is precious metals testing, not registered probate valuation, and we would rather say that than blur it. For metal content, weight and the metal price on the day it is the right test. For an open market valuation of a high-value or gem-set piece at the date of death, the right person is a registered valuer, such as one found through the NAJ Institute of Registered Valuers or RICS Find a Surveyor.
How long is this going to hold up the file?
We aim to assay a straightforward parcel on the working day it is opened, with the written valuation following the same day. Larger or mixed lots can take up to two working days. Add Royal Mail Special Delivery time each way. The firm has the document before any declined items are returned.
Can payment go to our client account rather than to the executor personally?
Yes. We aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, and payment 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 07944 014111 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, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery, 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.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Get a free Royal Mail label by email
Free, and it commits you to nothing. We test your items when they arrive and send a written offer; anything you decline comes back free.
Rather ask a question or send a photo first? Message us on WhatsApp.
GOLDPAID LTD · 07944 014111