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.
GoldPaid buys Edwardian gold jewellery, made between 1901 and 1910, by post from anywhere in the UK. Each piece is dated from its hallmark and XRF-tested for its carat, typically 9ct, 15ct or 18ct. The written offer shows the value of the gold and flags any piece the antique market is likely to pay more for. Post it with a free prepaid Royal Mail label and decide after reading the offer.
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)
How can I tell if my brooch is Edwardian rather than Victorian?The hallmark date letter is the definitive test. Style cues alone can be misleading because Edwardian and late-Victorian work overlapped heavily. Send a photo of the hallmark on WhatsApp and we can identify the year.
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.
Short answer
Edwardian gold jewellery, made in the short 1901 to 1910 window, has a distinct style and is worth dating properly. We read the hallmark to date each piece, assay it at its measured carat (9ct, 15ct and 18ct are typical), and flag any item where the designed-piece market is likely to pay above scrap. Post under a free prepaid Royal Mail label, read the written offer, and take bank payment on acceptance.
What separates an Edwardian piece from a late-Victorian one
The Edwardian era is the brief reign of Edward VII, January 1901 to May 1910. Stylistically it overlaps heavily with the late Victorian period (similar materials, similar maker marks) and the design distinction is mostly about lightness. Edwardian pieces tend to be more delicate than the heavier Victorian style, with more fine pierced work, milgrain edges and platinum-and-gold combinations.
The hallmark date letter is the definitive test. A piece dated 1901-1910 is Edwardian regardless of style; a piece dated 1898 is Victorian even if the style looks similar.
Platinum-and-gold combinations on Edwardian pieces
Edwardian jewellery is the first widespread UK use of platinum, which began entering British fine jewellery in the late 1890s and was widespread by 1905. A characteristic Edwardian piece is a platinum or platinum-and-gold setting holding diamonds (often old European or old mine cut), with the gold parts typically 15ct or 18ct.
The XRF reading distinguishes platinum from gold directly. On Edwardian mixed-metal pieces, the reading separates the platinum from the gold, and the written offer lists each metal on its own line. Older platinum (pre-1975) is often unmarked because UK platinum hallmarking became compulsory only in 1975; the XRF reading confirms the metal regardless.
Common Edwardian pieces and the typical carat distribution
The Edwardian pieces that arrive most often are bar brooches (very common, typically 9ct or 15ct), pendant necklaces with seed pearls, lavalier-style drop pendants, lily-of-the-valley brooches, Negligée necklaces (two pendants on chains of different lengths), wedding bands, fine watch chains and small lockets.
The decorative pieces are most often 9ct or 15ct gold; the platinum-and-diamond pieces have gold backing or chain in 15ct or 18ct. The 15ct standard is particularly common on Edwardian work because it had been introduced in 1854 and was at the peak of its popularity in the Edwardian decade before being withdrawn in 1932. Edwardian work is common in inherited jewellery boxes; the postal notes for Eastbourne and the East Sussex coast cover that kind of pre-war parcel in more detail.
The condition question on Edwardian pieces
Edwardian jewellery is now over 115 years old. Pieces that have been worn regularly through that span often show wear at clasp joints, at the tips of pierced settings, and on the inside of bands. Wear does not change the metal value (XRF and weight handle worn metal identically), but on antique-market pieces wear can reduce the designed-piece premium materially.
We flag any Edwardian piece where the antique market is likely to pay above scrap on the written offer, and the metal-only valuation is shown alongside. The decision between scrap and antique route is yours.
How it works
Ask first and send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with photos of your Edwardian jewellery for a rough estimate. Ask anything; there is no charge and no obligation.
Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
Post it when you are ready. Use any padded envelope. There is no deadline and no pressure.
Receive a no-obligation valuation. Every item is weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry at our Bristol office. You get a written, itemised offer, usually on the working day your parcel arrives, showing purity, weight and the figure.
Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: tracked end to end and signed for 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. If your items may be worth more, message us first and we can split them across more than one prepaid label, each with its own tracking number, at no charge. Full detail is on postage and cover, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely. 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.
Changing your mind is free
Declining costs you nothing. If the written offer does not suit you, say so, and your items come straight back by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery at our expense. No fee, no questions, no chasing. See what happens if I decline the offer for the step by step.
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.
The payment step
Acceptance starts payment: we aim to send a Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
Who stands behind the offer
Owner-run, with founder Rocco Clayfield personally accountable for the service
Every item XRF-assayed, the result shown to you in writing
Free tracked postage both ways, so a valuation carries no obligation
Honest about its limits, including when a specialist would suit you better
No fabricated reviews and no invented numbers, anywhere on the site
Common questions
Are Edwardian platinum pieces worth more than the gold ones?
Often yes, particularly if they carry diamonds: platinum was the setting metal for the finest Edwardian diamond work. GoldPaid does not publish a platinum rate, so send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value a platinum piece before you post anything.
Do Edwardian pieces always have hallmarks?
Most British-made ones do. Imported Edwardian pieces may have foreign marks instead. Either way, the XRF reading measures the metal directly so unmarked pieces still value cleanly.
Is 15ct gold scarce in modern jewellery?
Yes, 15ct was withdrawn in 1932 and has not been struck since. Any 15ct piece you have is at least 92 years old. The metal is still 62.5% fine gold and is valued accordingly.
What is a Negligée necklace and is it worth more than scrap?
A two-pendant necklace where the two pendants hang at different lengths from a common chain. Edwardian Negligée necklaces with seed pearls or small diamonds can carry antique-market value above scrap; we flag those on the offer.
How fragile are Edwardian fine-work pieces?
Very fine pierced work is delicate. We pack any fragile Edwardian piece in a small rigid box with tissue support and never apply pressure to thin settings during assay.
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.
Message us with a clear photo of your items on WhatsApp, or call. There is no obligation at any stage and the only commitment is your decision to accept a written offer once you have seen it.
