Sell gold bracelets by post — bangles, charm and tennis

A solid gold bangle is the single highest weight-per-piece item in most UK private jewellery collections. A 22ct bangle in the Asian-gold tradition can run from twelve to over forty grams; an 18ct hinged Victorian bangle can be similar. Link bracelets vary widely — a delicate 9ct charm bracelet might be three grams, a chunky figaro-link 18ct around fifteen.

Hollow bangles are common in 9ct retail jewellery from the 1970s and 1980s. They weigh a fraction of what an equivalent-diameter solid bangle weighs. The XRF reading sees the same purity, but the scale reads what is actually there; hollow construction does not change the per-gram rate, only the total weight, so the maths is consistent.

Charm bracelets accumulated over decades are one of the more rewarding categories to post because the per-charm XRF reading separates lower-carat charms from higher-carat ones. A typical inherited charm bracelet might have nine 9ct charms, four 18ct charms, two 14ct charms and a 22ct charm someone brought back from India in 1978. Without per-charm assay all of those would be valued at the lowest carat by default; with per-charm assay each is paid at its own rate.

Charms attached to a bracelet are usually held on by their own jump rings, which are weighed in. Where a charm is enamelled, the enamel does not contribute weight but does not subtract from it; the gold underneath is still gold and is paid for.

Tennis bracelets carry continuous lines of small stones (usually diamonds, occasionally sapphires or emeralds). The combined diamond weight on even a modest tennis bracelet can be one to two carats; the setting metal is typically 14ct or 18ct gold, occasionally platinum, occasionally silver.

The valuation has to separate the metal from the stones cleanly because each is worth materially different amounts to different markets. The written offer shows the metal value (XRF-confirmed purity, weighed grams, rate per gram), the diamond assessment (total weight estimated, average quality estimated where the stones are not certificated, market price guide), and the total. If the diamond value is high enough to justify selling the stones separately through a specialist route, we say so.

Inherited bracelets often arrive with documentation: an original purchase receipt, an old valuation certificate, occasionally a probate inventory. Where documentation exists, it is helpful for two reasons: it confirms provenance for any unusual hallmark, and it sometimes contains evidence that a piece is worth more on the antique or designed-piece market than at scrap.

Older British bracelets with documented twentieth-century maker marks (Mappin & Webb, Asprey, Garrard) are flagged separately on the written offer. The metal valuation is shown, and a note is added where the designed-piece resale market would likely pay above scrap.