Broken gold chains

Sell broken gold chains by post: tangle and all

Rated Excellent, 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot, checked 4 October 2026.

Rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection.
No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.

Snapped links, missing clasps, tangled lots. All paid on the same weight-and-carat basis as intact chains. No untangling, no cleaning required. GoldPaid buys them by post across the UK on a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, with a written XRF-confirmed offer before you decide.

Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible, or arrange to post your items for assessment. We confirm our purchase offer after inspection, and you decide whether to accept. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.

Free Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutesPurity tested in-house by X-ray (XRF)
Do you buy broken gold chains, and does the tangle matter?Yes. Broken chains, snapped links, missing clasps and tangled lots all pay the same as intact chains of the same weight and carat. We do not repair, resell or grade for wear: the gold is weighed and the offer follows that weight, the tested purity and the live precious-metal market. Send the whole tangle in one bag. We separate carats on arrival, test by XRF and pay on the gold only, as with the rest of selling gold jewellery by post.

Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you.

Send photos of your items and any hallmarks. We give a rough estimate where possible; your final offer follows inspection. You do not need to arrange postage to ask us a question.

We arrange postage with you after our conversation.

Before you post

The questions people ask before they send anything, answered here rather than at the end of the page.

Can I ask first?
Yes. WhatsApp a photo to 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm, every day, and we reply with an idea of what it is worth. Nothing is posted until you decide.
Is it safe to post?
Your parcel travels by Royal Mail Special Delivery, 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.
How is it tested?
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and tested with an XRF analyser, an X-ray test that reads the metal without marking it. Your written offer lists each piece with its weight, purity and figure.
What if I say no?
We return everything by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. Saying no costs you nothing.
When am I paid?
Only if you accept the written offer. We aim for the money to reach your bank within 24 hours of posting. We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, test your items promptly on receipt, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guarantee: it depends on posting before the local cut-off, the applicable working-day delivery service, prompt acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
How long does an offer last?
Each written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses, we re-run it at that day’s rate.
Who am I dealing with?
GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales, run by founder Rocco Clayfield. Our office is at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. We are postal only, so there is no counter to visit. Before we pay, we ask every seller for a photo of their passport or driving licence.

Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.

Tangled gold chains and thin gold rings on a slate slab

A question costs nothing

Before you decide anything, send a few clear photos of your broken gold chains on WhatsApp, or call. You will get a rough estimate and a straight answer about hallmarks, the postal cover, the XRF assay or the free return if you decline. None of it commits you to posting.

GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service with no branches. Our main page on selling gold by post in the UK sets out the label, the XRF test, the written offer and the payment in one place.

Typical weights for broken gold chains

These are typical ranges only. Real broken gold chains vary widely: hollow versus solid, thin versus heavy, chain style, length and any repairs all move the weight. Every offer comes from weighing your own items when they arrive, not from a table.

StyleTypical weightNotes
Single snapped fine chain2–6 g
Broken belcher or curb chain5–18 g
Tangled mixed lot (several chains)10–50 gTypical of a drawer or house clearance.
Chain with missing clasp only3–20 gPaid identically to a complete chain of the same weight.

What your broken gold chain could come to

There is no set price and no calculator here: every offer comes from weighing and XRF-testing your own broken gold chains when they arrive. Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where we can give one, or read how we assess your gold. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.

What can move the figure up or down

  • A broken clasp, kinked link or knotted tangle changes nothing in the price. We pay on the weighed metal.
  • Do not spend an hour untangling; send it as it is.
  • If chains of different carats are tangled together, we separate them on arrival before weighing, so a 9ct chain caught in an 18ct one is paid on its own purity, not blended down.
  • Plated or gold-filled chains that snap and look identical are declined, not blended in.

Four moving parts, all visible

  1. You ask, we steer. WhatsApp us photos of your broken gold chains; you get a rough estimate and no pressure to go further.
  2. We send the label. A free Royal Mail Special Delivery label arrives, tracked and signed for, with a QR-code option if you cannot print.
  3. You post when ready. No countdown. Use whatever padded packaging you already have.
  4. We test, you decide. We weigh and XRF-assay every item, then send you the written offer, usually on the working day your parcel arrives. Accept it for a Faster Payments transfer, or decline it for a free tracked return.

Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested before the written offer is prepared.

What the offer is built on

Every offer is measured: confirmed purity from an XRF assay, accurate weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day we test, with our margin already inside the figure. You read each figure in a written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything. For how the market moves and what it means for selling by post, see the gold price and selling by post and the silver price and selling by post.

Your offer follows the XRF test of your specific broken gold chains, the weight we measure and the live precious-metal market, and every figure appears in a written breakdown before you decide anything. See how we value gold, or read about the gold price and selling by post.

Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. Your written offer applies the weight and purity we measure to the live precious-metal market, with our margin already inside the figure. For scrap and broken items, scrap gold value explains how the figure is reached.

One parcel gets one written figure, itemised piece by piece. Your offer reflects the weight and purity we measure and the live precious-metal market on the day, with our margin already inside the figure, so nothing further is taken off. For coins, watches and signed or collectable pieces, send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything.

Cover in transit

The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature on delivery. 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. For higher-value items, please message us first so the parcel can be split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully. If a parcel is lost on its way to us, the compensation claim goes to Royal Mail from you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt, and we give you our tracking records and help you make it. Lost parcels, step by step.

If the offer is not for you

Then nothing happens except a free return. We send your items back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost, with no fee for declining and no follow-up. A valuation is only worth having if you can turn it down freely, so you can. See what happens if I decline the offer.

The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses before you decide, we re-run it against the live precious-metal market on the day, at no charge. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty for splitting it.

Payment, once you accept

When you say yes to the written offer, GoldPaid aims to pay by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to your nominated account. You give those details only at the point you accept, never as a condition of getting an offer.

Why sell by post with GoldPaid

Three differences from a counter sale. You see a measured valuation in writing, not a verbal estimate. You decide at home, with nobody waiting. And if you decline, the return is free, tracked and signed for, so obtaining the valuation costs you nothing.

What decides your offer

Every parcel is opened at our Bristol office and each piece is handled on its own. Nothing is averaged across the parcel.

  1. Weight. Each item is weighed on scales. Stones, steel springs, non-gold clasps and cores are not paid as gold. The written breakdown explains the payable metal weight for each item, rather than treating everything on the scales as precious metal.
  2. Purity. Each item is tested with an XRF analyser, which reads the metals at the points tested without marking the item. A surface reading alone cannot establish the composition of a plated or filled piece. Hallmarks, construction and different components all need to be considered alongside the test.
  3. The market on the day. Gold and silver are priced against the live precious-metal market at the time your parcel is assessed, not at the time you posted.
  4. Condition and intact value. Broken is fine and does not reduce a metal offer. Where a piece is worth more intact (a named maker, a collectable coin, a locket with provenance) we tell you before testing, so you can choose.
  5. Anything that is not gold or silver. Plated, rolled-gold and base-metal items are listed on the offer at nothing and returned to you free. We never quietly keep them.

Why we do not publish a per-gram price list. A single printed rate hides the things that change the figure: hollow versus solid, stones, mixed carats in one bag, a mark that does not match the metal. We would rather show you the weight, the tested purity and the figure for each item, in writing, and let you decide. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.

What you see before you decide. A written, itemised offer by WhatsApp or email: every item, its weight, its tested purity, and its figure. Accept and we aim to pay by bank transfer within one working hour. Decline and the whole parcel comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. No fee, no deduction, no questions.

See a worked example on the how-we-value-gold page →

Common questions

Do I need to know the exact weight of my broken chain before posting?

No. A rough kitchen-scale weight is useful for the rough estimate but not required. The offer is set from our own weighing when the parcel arrives, and every figure appears on the written breakdown before you decide.

What if my broken chain has stones or non-gold parts?

Stones and non-gold components are separated from the payable weight and itemised on the offer. Valuable stones are quoted under our written diamond and gemstone policy; nothing is removed from a setting without your written instruction.

How is the offer calculated?

From confirmed purity from XRF, weight to 0.01g, and the live precious-metal market on the day of testing. Every figure appears on the written breakdown, so you can see exactly how the offer was reached before you decide anything.

What if I decline?

Everything is returned free of charge on tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery. There is no assessment fee, no return-postage charge and no follow-up.

Where can I sell a broken gold chain?

Any buyer of scrap gold will take a broken chain, because it is valued on its gold, not its condition: postal buyers, jewellers and pawnbrokers all buy them. A snapped 9ct chain holds the same gold as an intact one of the same weight, so there is no need to repair it first. GoldPaid buys broken chains by post on a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label and returns declined items free.

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.

Speak to us before you post

Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you. We give a rough estimate where possible and arrange postage with you after our conversation. Your final offer follows inspection.

UK-wide by post, no shop visit needed

Send a photo of the tangle, get a rough estimate

No need to untangle. Photo first on WhatsApp, post with a free tracked Royal Mail Special Delivery label, decide only after seeing the written offer.

We give rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection. We arrange postage with you after our conversation.

No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.