Ask first, post later
Start with a question, not a parcel. Send a photo on WhatsApp or call, and you will get a straight answer on what testing tier suits your item and what the report will cover. None of it commits you to posting anything.
This is a UK-wide postal testing service. There is no shop to visit and no counter. Wherever you live, the process is the same: ask first, then decide.
What the plating-check tells you that a full pack would not add
The plating-check answers a single, binary question: is the surface metal the same as the body metal, or is it a layer bonded over a different base. It is the right test when a volunteer in a charity shop, a probate executor or a family member is uncertain whether a "925" or "GP"-stamped item is worth sending for a full assay. A single surface + body reading gives a clear yes/no answer; the full packs step in once the piece is known to be solid.
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When this is the right pack
A heavy-feeling chain bought abroad. A signet ring inherited without paperwork. A bracelet from a market stall sale. A pocket watch whose case is rubbing through. If your main question is whether there is evidence of plating and you do not need a full elemental table, the plating check is the relevant tier. A concealed core or thick plating may remain inconclusive without a different testing method.
For full composition reporting on the same item, the single-item pack at £35 covers it (and includes the plating screen as part of the standard report).
How a plating check works
Plating shows up on XRF because the plated layer is typically a few microns thick. A scan at the centre of a face may read mostly the gold layer; a scan at a worn corner or edge reads through to the base metal underneath. The signature is unmistakable when scans across the same item disagree.
The SOP on a plating check requires at least three scan points per item: centre, edge, and a scan near any worn or rubbed area. The report shows each reading and the variation between them.
What is in the plating-check report
- Pass / fail / consistent-with-solid headline on the front page.
- Multi-point scan trace: three readings minimum, each shown.
- Plain-English summary: e.g. "consistent with solid 9ct gold (375 ppt)" or "plated gold over a base-metal core: face reads 750 ppt, edge reads 4 ppt".
- Full elemental table for the dominant reading.
- Fine-metal content, given only if the item is consistent with solid precious metal, with no price attached.
- The not-a-hallmark disclaimer in plain English.
The process, step by step
- Start with a photo. A clear WhatsApp photo of the item is enough for us to tell you which pack fits, what the report will show, and what the price will be.
- Pay and get your label. Once you order, a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label and a QR code for the counter are emailed straight back.
- Send it in your own time. Use any padded envelope. The label stays valid until used. There is no time pressure on you.
- Tested by handheld XRF. Each item is scanned at multiple points with a Thermo Scientific Niton XL2 precious-metal analyser. The full elemental table goes into the report.
- Report inside 24 hours. A written PDF report arrives by email, and your item is dispatched back on the same day by tracked Royal Mail Special Delivery, with cover that may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used.
Cover and tracking
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, and if a parcel may be worth more than that we split it across more than one prepaid label at no charge, each with its own tracking number and cover.
The label is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm next working day, with full tracking and signature on receipt. The tracking link is emailed to you the moment the label is issued.
If something cannot be tested
Now and then an item will not give a reliable reading. When that happens you get the whole testing fee back, plus a short note setting out what defeated the analyser and what an alternative test would involve. The item goes home the same day.
That is the exception rather than the rule. Ordinarily your item leaves here by Royal Mail Special Delivery on the day the report is signed off, with postage and its cover already included in the fee you paid at the start.
Testing is testing
Plenty of gold buyers will offer a "free test" if you send your item in. That is a sales tool, not a testing service. This page is the other way round: you pay for the test and the report stands on its own. Whether you sell anything afterwards is a separate decision, and one we do not get involved in unless you ask.
The full reasoning is on the testing pledge page.
What this report is, and what it is not
The report identifies the elemental composition of an item to the accuracy of the analyser. The composition report does not replace a UK hallmark, an Assay Office fire assay, or an insurance reinstatement valuation. Any separately ordered replacement-value assessment is a different document: check your insurer’s valuer and report requirements before ordering. We say so in plain English on the front page of every report.
If a report leaves any doubt, we will tell you what the next step would be, typically a UK Assay Office fire assay (destructive but definitive) for high-value disputes, or a written insurance valuation from a qualified independent valuer for reinstatement cover.
Why sell to GoldPaid
GoldPaid is a small, owner-run UK business built on one promise: show the working. Every item is weighed and XRF-assayed, and every offer is itemised in writing. Postage is free and tracked both ways, and there is never a countdown or a hard sell. If something is worth more to a specialist than to us, we say so.
Common questions
What if the item turns out to be plated?
The report says so clearly, shows the multi-point evidence, and includes the elemental table for the underlying alloy. Some plated items have small resale value in their own right; the report tells you straight, no spin.
What if it turns out to be solid?
You get a "consistent with solid" headline, the elemental table, and the fine-metal content. From that point, the decision on what to do with the item is yours.
Can a plating check tell the difference between gold-filled and gold-plated?
Gold-filled (rolled gold) layers are thicker than plate but still finite. XRF can usually flag them, the report says "consistent with gold-filled, base metal detected at edge scan" rather than a clean pass.
Will it work on antique items?
Usually. Antique gold often pre-dates modern hallmarking, and the 12ct and 15ct standards legal in Britain between 1854 and 1932 read accurately on XRF because it measures the metal rather than the mark. One caution: gilded and surface-enriched antique work can read richer at the surface than the body of the metal, so we scan worn areas and say plainly when a reading cannot be relied on.
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.