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.
Photographs, hair and paper mementos are removed and returned to you with the offer. Nothing is discarded. Hollow lockets often weigh less than they look. Victorian and Edwardian pieces flagged for specialist route. GoldPaid buys lockets by post across the UK on a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, with a free tracked return if you decline.
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 is a gold locket worth, and what happens to the photographs inside?Before any weighing, we remove photographs, hair or paper mementos from inside the locket and return them with the offer. Nothing is discarded. Hollow lockets often weigh 2–6g despite looking substantial. Victorian and Edwardian pieces with intact enamel or maker’s marks can sell above scrap through a specialist, so ask before posting if in doubt. The locket and its chain are 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.
A question costs nothing
Before you decide anything, send a few clear photos of your gold lockets 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 gold lockets
These are typical ranges only. Real gold lockets vary widely: hollow versus solid casting, wall thickness and whether the chain is included all move the weight. Every offer comes from weighing your own items when they arrive, not from a table.
Style
Typical weight
Notes
Small hollow oval locket
2–6 g
Thin-walled hollow construction, lighter than it appears.
Standard oval or round locket
6–12 g
Most modern lockets sit in this band.
Solid Victorian / Edwardian locket
10–25 g
Heavier casting; check for collector value before scrapping.
Locket chain (if included)
2–10 g
Weighed and paid separately from the locket.
What your gold locket could come to
There is no set price and no calculator here: every offer comes from weighing and XRF-testing your own gold lockets 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
Photographs, hair and paper mementos are removed and returned to you with the offer, never thrown away, never kept.
Hollow lockets can weigh a third of what a solid piece of the same size would; the size does not predict the metal figure.
Victorian and Edwardian lockets with enamel work, seed pearls or a legible maker’s mark may sell for more than scrap through a jewellery specialist. We flag this before melt.
The chain is weighed separately from the locket so the two carats are paid correctly.
Where the figure comes from
We measure purity with XRF, weigh every item, and value it against the live precious-metal market on the day we test, with our margin already inside the figure. Every one of those numbers appears in the written breakdown you receive before deciding. The full method is on how we value gold.
Your offer follows the XRF test of your specific gold lockets, 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 you decide not to sell
There is never any obligation to accept. If the offer is not for you, simply decline, and we return everything free of charge by tracked, signed-for post, with no fee and no follow-up pressure. The full return process is on 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.
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.
Do I need to know the exact weight of my gold locket 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 gold locket 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.
There is a photograph inside the locket. What happens to it?
The photograph is removed carefully and returned to you with the written offer. Nothing is discarded without your written permission, and the glass panel is kept in place so the photograph is not damaged in transit.
What if I want the locket back but want to sell the chain?
Tell us on WhatsApp. The written offer can be split into two lines: chain accepted and paid, locket returned at our cost on the same tracked return. One parcel, two outcomes, nothing is forced on you.
Is a hollow locket worth less than a solid one?
Per locket, yes, because the shell weighs less than a solid piece of the same outside size. Per gram of actual tested gold, the price is the same, so a hollow 9ct locket and a solid 9ct locket of equal weight pay the same figure.
My locket is Victorian. Is it worth keeping intact?
Possibly. Hand-engraved pieces, hallmarked named-maker lockets (Chester, Birmingham), and lockets with hair-work panels sometimes pay more intact through a jewellery route than through scrap. We flag this before testing so you can choose.
Are the hinge pins paid as gold?
The hinge itself is usually the same metal as the shell. Steel hinge pins and spring-steel catches are detached and deducted from the payable weight; the gold hinge barrel pays as gold.
Can I send a locket with a lock of hair inside?
Yes. The hair work is removed carefully and returned with the offer. Nothing sentimental is discarded; the gold shell is weighed and XRF-assayed empty so the written figure is clean.
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.
The full process, start to finish
Ask, then send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with a few clear photos of your gold lockets. Lay items flat, in daylight if you can, and include any hallmarks or carat stamps in shot. We reply with a rough estimate and answer anything you want to ask. There is no charge and no obligation.
Request the prepaid label. When you are ready, we email a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, tracked and signed for. No printer is needed: ask for a QR code and the Post Office counter prints it for you.
Pack and post, tracked. Wrap items in any padded envelope or a small box and attach the label. Hand the parcel in over the Post Office counter so you get a receipt with the tracking number. Keep that receipt. There is no deadline.
We weigh, test and value. On arrival each item is weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry to confirm purity. You receive a written, itemised offer showing the weight, the purity and the figure for each item, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. The choice is entirely yours, and you do not need to give a reason.
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.
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.
