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 quick indicative figure 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. The flagship guide, selling gold by post in the UK, walks through how the whole thing works before you send a thing.
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 quick indicative figure 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 on calibrated scales, 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.
When your parcel reaches us it is signed for, opened on camera and photographed exactly as it arrives, before anything is weighed or tested. The contents are logged against the description you gave when you asked for the label, so what we record and what you sent are checked against each other on day one. Those arrival photographs exist for every parcel and you can ask for them at any point.
Where the figure comes from
There is no guesswork in the offer. We confirm purity by XRF assay, weigh on calibrated scales, and price against the live market rate on the day. 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.
One parcel gets one written figure, itemised piece by piece. The rates published on this site are a rough guide to what your weight comes to at the last published rates, with our margin already inside the figure. Your written offer follows an XRF assay of your specific items, and shows the confirmed purity, the payable weight and the rate used. Collectables, sovereigns, watches and signed pieces are valued individually by hand.
Cover in transit
The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking and a signature on delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used, with the cover level confirmed with you before the label is issued. Higher-value items are no problem, but please message us first, so that anything expected to exceed that cover level is split across more than one prepaid label before it travels. Postage and cover explains it fully.
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.
Two things worth knowing before you post. There is no countdown on the offer and no expiry date attached to it, so you can take the time you need and forward the written valuation to anyone else who has to see it. And you may accept part of a parcel and decline the rest: there is no minimum acceptance 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 pays by Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of acceptance, to your nominated account. You give those details only at the point you accept, never as a condition of getting an offer.
Why this is a calmer way to sell
Three things make GoldPaid a steadier route than 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.
Common questions
How do you value a stone with no paperwork?
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 decline the offer?
Your diamond is returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery. There is no fee for declining and no follow-up pressure.
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.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Two quick steps. The label arrives by email, usually within about 30 minutes during working hours. Requesting one commits you to nothing: you get a written offer after the XRF assay, and if you decline, your items come back to you free.
Two things worth knowing before you start, rather than after. Everyone sends a photo of a UK passport or driving licence, whatever the parcel is worth — it applies to every seller, so it is never a comment on you. And the parcel is handed in at a Post Office counter rather than dropped in a postbox: the receipt they give you is the proof of postage any compensation claim depends on.
Would you rather ask a question first, or send a photo? Message us on WhatsApp. It is the fastest way to get a sense of what something is worth before you post anything.
Related pages
- Sell diamond jewellery
- What happens to diamonds and gemstones
- Sell engagement rings
- Sell gold by post UK
- Sell platinum
- How we value gold
- What we buy
- Gold price today, UK rates
- Silver price today, UK rates
- UK gold hallmark guide
- Sell antique gold and jewellery
- Sell broken gold jewellery
- Sell European gold coins
- Towns and counties we serve by post