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.
Unset stones, certified or not, valued in-house against carat, cut, colour and clarity. Ask first: send a clear photo on WhatsApp, post with a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, and see a written offer before you decide. A laboratory certificate from GIA, IGI or HRD helps, but uncertified stones are assessed too.
Free Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutesPurity tested in-house by X-ray (XRF)
Do I need a certificate to sell a loose diamond?No. A certificate from a recognised laboratory such as GIA, IGI, HRD or EGL helps and usually firms up the figure, so send a photo of it if you have one. Without a certificate the stone is still assessed in-house on carat, cut, colour and clarity. Final offers depend on inspection of the actual stone.
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 loose diamonds 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.
What you can send, and why a photo comes first
We buy unset diamonds on their own, with or without paperwork. A loose stone is worth a photo before anything is posted, because the things that move its value, the cut and the proportions, the colour, the clarity and any certificate, can often be judged in part from a clear close-up. Send a photo of the stone and any certificate on WhatsApp first and we will give you an honest steer.
Single loose diamonds, brilliant, princess, emerald, pear and other cuts
Old-cut and antique stones, old European and old mine cuts
Certified diamonds with GIA, IGI, HRD or EGL paperwork
Uncertificated stones with no accompanying report
Small melee and accent stones held loose
Diamonds removed from a setting you have kept or sold separately
We stay honest about this. A large, high-colour, well-certificated stone can sometimes do better with a diamond specialist or at auction, and where that is the case we will tell you rather than buy it under its worth.
How a loose diamond is assessed
A diamond is assessed in-house against the four recognised factors: carat weight, cut, colour and clarity. A loose stone cannot be reduced to a single live "spot" price the way scrap gold can, so the offer is built from the stone itself. A certificate from a recognised laboratory makes that quicker and usually firms up the figure, but it is not required, an uncertificated stone is still assessed properly.
If you have a grading report, send a photo of it with the stone. If you do not, send the clearest close-up you can manage, ideally against a plain white background in daylight, and we will work from that for the initial steer.
The process, step by step
Get in touch and show us. A WhatsApp photo of your loose diamonds is all we need to give you a rough estimate before anything is posted.
Get your free label. We send a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, fully tracked. If you have no printer, a QR code for the counter does the same job.
Send it at your own pace. Wrap it in any padded envelope and hand it in at a Post Office whenever it suits you.
See the written offer. Everything is weighed, metal is XRF-assayed and any stones are assessed separately, usually on the working day your parcel arrives. You then get an itemised breakdown showing exactly how the figure was reached.
Decide. Say yes and the money is sent by Faster Payments. Say no and your items come straight back, free and tracked.
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.
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.
A loose diamond is assessed in-house on carat, cut, colour and clarity, with any laboratory certificate taken into account. There is no metal to weigh, so the written offer reflects the stone alone. Where a stone carries value beyond what we would offer, as a certificated or collectable diamond in its own right, that is flagged honestly rather than absorbed.
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.
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.
No obligation, ever
You are free to walk away at any point before you accept. Decline the offer and everything is repacked and returned to you free of charge, fully tracked and signed for. There is no assessment fee and no sales pressure afterwards. The detail 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.
Who this helps
This suits people who have had a stone removed from an old ring, anyone who has inherited unset diamonds, and holders of a stone bought loose as an investment that they now want to release. If the diamond is sentimental, keep it. This is for the stones you have genuinely decided to part with.
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.
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.
It is assessed in-house against the same four factors a laboratory uses: carat weight, cut, colour and clarity. Send the clearest close-up you can, against a plain background in daylight, and we will give you an honest initial steer before you post anything.
Do you buy small or old-cut diamonds?
Yes. We buy small melee and accent stones held loose, and old-cut stones including old European and old mine cuts. Send a photo and we will tell you honestly what we can offer and whether posting is worthwhile.
What if a specialist would pay more?
If a stone appears to carry value beyond what we would offer, a large or high-certificate diamond that may do better with a specialist or at auction, we will tell you. We would rather be honest than buy a stone under its worth.
What if I think the offer is too low?
Decline it and your diamond comes back free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery, with no fee and no follow-up pressure. Before you do, check the sum: the written offer sets out what we found on carat weight, cut, colour and clarity, so you can compare it with another buyer’s written figure.
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.
Send a photo of the stone and any certificate on WhatsApp and we will give you an honest steer and an indication of what we can offer. No obligation, free tracked return if you decline.
