Short answer
Victorian gold jewellery, made between 1837 and 1901, often carries value beyond its metal. We date each piece where the hallmark allows, assay it at the carat the XRF reading confirms (9ct, 15ct and 18ct are the common ones), and flag anything where the designed-piece market is likely to beat scrap. We send a free prepaid Royal Mail label, so nothing needs a shop visit, and payment goes out by bank transfer once you accept the written offer.
What makes a piece Victorian, technically
The Victorian era covers Queen Victoria's reign, 1837 to January 1901. A piece is Victorian if its hallmark date letter falls within those years. The UK assay offices in operation during the Victorian era were London (leopard's head), Birmingham (anchor), Sheffield (crown for silver, the gold/platinum work being limited), Edinburgh (castle), Chester (three wheatsheaves and sword) and Glasgow (a fish, used for silver primarily).
The standard gold carats struck during the Victorian era were 9ct (introduced 1854), 12ct and 15ct (introduced 1854, withdrawn 1932), 18ct, and 22ct. 15ct gold is particularly common on Victorian jewellery and is materially more valuable per gram than 9ct because its fine-gold content (62.5%) is much higher.
Mourning jewellery and the antique premium
The Victorian era produced a distinctive category of mourning jewellery, typically gold or pinchbeck mounts with jet, hair-work, mourning enamel and locket compartments behind glass. The most fully-developed pieces date from after Prince Albert's death in 1861, when Victoria's extended mourning made the style fashionable.
Mourning brooches, hair-work lockets, jet-and-gold rings and similar pieces sit in a specialist antique-market category where the designed-piece value frequently exceeds the scrap-gold value by a wide margin. A clean Victorian mourning brooch with maker's marks can be worth ten or twenty times its gold weight at scrap. We flag any piece we believe is in that category on the written offer and explain how to sell it through a specialist route if it is.
Common Victorian pieces and their typical metal
Lockets (oval, heart, rectangular), bar brooches, mourning brooches, watch chains and Albert chains, pendant crosses, signet rings, plain wedding bands, posy rings (often 9ct or 15ct), and early Victorian chatelaines and seals.
Most Victorian wedding bands and plain pieces are 18ct or 22ct gold; this was the standard for everyday rings until 9ct became more common in the later Victorian decades. Decorative pieces (lockets, brooches, chains) range across all four standards (9ct, 12ct, 15ct, 18ct), and the XRF reading is the deciding test on each piece individually.
Dating a Victorian piece from the hallmark
The four parts of a full Victorian UK hallmark are: the maker's mark (usually two or three letter initials in a shaped surround), the standard mark (a fineness number or symbol, 9, 12, 15, 18, or 22), the assay-office town mark, and the date letter (a single letter inside a shield, the shield shape changing each cycle and the letter changing each year). Together they tell you who made the piece, what carat it is, where it was tested, and in which year.
A clear close-up photograph of the hallmark on WhatsApp lets us identify a piece's exact date before it travels. The hallmark is normally on the inside of a band, the back of a brooch pin, the edge of a locket, or the bow of a pendant.
What happens, from first message to payment
- A photo and a question. Send photos of your victorian jewellery on WhatsApp. We reply with a quick indicative figure and answer whatever you want to know.
- A prepaid label, on request. Ask for the label when you are ready. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for, or a QR code for the Post Office counter.
- You post it. Any padded envelope is fine, posted whenever you choose.
- We assess and write it up. Calibrated weighing plus an XRF assay produce a written, itemised offer for you to read at home, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
- Your decision. Accept for payment by Faster Payments, or decline for a free, tracked, signed-for return.
Cover in transit
Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. The prepaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: full tracking, a signature on delivery, arranged with that cover per parcel. Higher-value items are no problem, but please message us first so the cover and the packing approach match the value. Postage and cover explains it fully.
Declining, made simple
A quick message is all it takes to decline, and you do not need to give a reason. Your items are then returned free of charge on a tracked, signed-for service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
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
Is 15ct gold worth more than 14ct?
Yes, slightly. 15ct is 62.5% fine gold; 14ct is 58.5%. The per-gram rate reflects the higher fine-gold content.
Do Victorian pieces always carry hallmarks?
Most do, but some small or imported pieces from the era are unmarked. Unmarked Victorian gold values cleanly anyway because the XRF reading measures the metal regardless of stamp.
Are Victorian mourning brooches worth selling at scrap?
Usually no. Mourning jewellery with clear maker marks is typically worth more on the antique market than as scrap. We flag any such piece separately on the written offer.
What if my Victorian piece has stones I cannot identify?
Common Victorian decorative stones include seed pearls, turquoise, garnet, peridot, jet and hair-work. Each is noted on the offer; most have low independent market value but some pieces are antique-significant overall.
How are fragile Victorian pieces packaged for return?
Tissue-wrapped, in a small rigid box, sent by tracked, signed-for Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. Glass elements in lockets and brooches are returned intact.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Tell us where to send it. 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.
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.