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.
An engagement ring sells for the gold in its mount plus what its stones fetch at trade, which is not the retail replacement figure on an insurance valuation: that is the cost of buying a similar ring new. Signed pieces by Cartier, Tiffany, Boodles or Boucheron can do better at auction, and we say so. GoldPaid buys engagement rings by post across the UK, with a free prepaid label.
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)
What will I actually get for a gold engagement ring?An insurance valuation prices a similar new ring, so it is not what yours will sell for. A used ring sells for the gold in its mount, against the live precious-metal market, plus what its stones fetch at trade, on separate lines of the written offer. Signed pieces by Cartier, Tiffany, Boodles or Boucheron can fetch more at auction; we say so and return them free. The mount is paid like 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.
You stay in control
You do not have to post anything to get an answer. Ask your questions first and send photos of your engagement rings on WhatsApp for a free rough estimate. Request a label only when you are comfortable.
This is a UK-wide postal service with no branches anywhere. Wherever you live, it works the same way: a free prepaid Royal Mail label in, a written offer back, and a free return if you decline.
Typical weights for engagement rings
These are typical ranges only. Real engagement rings vary widely: band width, setting style, stone count and any resizing all move the weight. Every offer comes from weighing your own items when they arrive, not from a table.
Style
Typical weight
Notes
9ct solitaire mount, small stone
1.6–2.8 g
18ct solitaire mount, 0.25–0.50ct centre
2.8–4.5 g
18ct trilogy mount
3.5–6 g
18ct halo cluster mount
3.5–6.5 g
Halo and pavé settings carry heavy stone content; payable metal weight is lower than gross.
Platinum solitaire mount
4.5–7.5 g
Platinum is not gold: confirm the hallmark, and send a photo first for a platinum mount.
Signed piece (Cartier, Tiffany, Boodles, Boucheron)
3–8 g
Signed pieces can fetch more through a specialist auction than as scrap.
What your engagement ring could come to
There is no set price and no calculator here: every offer comes from weighing and XRF-testing your own engagement rings 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
The offer sheet splits the ring into two lines: the gold, valued on its tested carat and weight against the live precious-metal market, and the centre stone at its trade value, with any GIA or IGI paperwork taken into account.
Retail replacement value from an insurance schedule is not comparable. It prices a new equivalent at a retailer’s margin, which a buyer of a used ring does not pay.
If a maker mark, serial number or original box points to a named house, we flag it, hold the ring, and recommend the auction route before you decide.
Nothing is unset or melted until you accept in writing.
How selling works here
Start on WhatsApp. A couple of clear photos of your engagement rings are enough for us to give you a rough estimate at no charge.
Claim your free postage. We issue a prepaid, tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery label, or a QR code for the Post Office.
Post in your own time. Any padded envelope works, and there is no deadline to meet.
Get a written valuation. Each item is weighed and read by XRF spectrometry, and the itemised offer is sent to you in writing, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or walk away. Acceptance means payment by Faster Payments; declining means a free, fully 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 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.
Every offer is built from measured facts: confirmed purity, accurate weight, and the live precious-metal market on the day we test your items, with our margin already inside the figure. You see each figure in a written breakdown before you decide anything. See how we value gold and XRF testing explained for the full method.
Your offer follows the XRF test of your specific engagement rings, 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.
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.
Getting it here safely
We email you a Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm: tracked end to end 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. Print the label at home, or ask for a QR code and the Post Office counter prints it for you. If your items are worth more, message us before posting and we split them across more than one prepaid label. There is more on postage and cover. 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.
How payment reaches you
Accept the offer and we aim to send the money by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance, straight to the bank account you provide. There are no cheques and no strings.
What you see before you decide
GoldPaid makes no price-beating claims. You get the XRF reading, the weight and the figure for every piece in writing, and you decide at home.
Common questions
Do I need to know the exact weight of my engagement ring 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 engagement ring 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.
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.
Signed pieces can do better at auction than as scrap, and an insurance valuation is not a resale price. Photo first on WhatsApp, and we tell you which route suits it.
