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Plating Check: £25

Plating Check: is this item solid gold, or gold-plated? £25, report in 24 hours

Send a photo on WhatsAppAsk which pack fits
Read our reviews on TrustpilotIndependent written XRF reportA test result, not a UK hallmarkYour item returned tracked, postage includedNo obligation to sell

A targeted, fast test for one question: is this solid gold, or is it plated over a base metal? Multi-point scan, pass/fail summary, full elemental table, return postage included.

How is this different from a full XRF test?Same equipment, narrower report. The plating check is targeted at a binary question and is therefore cheaper. If you want the full elemental table and a hallmark cross-check, the single-item pack at £35 includes the plating screen as part of a fuller report.

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.

Your 14-day cancellation right

Your 14-day cancellation right. This is a service bought at a distance, so you can cancel within 14 days for a full refund. We only start testing sooner if you ask us in writing, which is what lets us report inside 24 hours, and once the report is finished you can no longer cancel it. Full terms: XRF-pack terms.

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. Any time the question is binary, solid or plated, and a full elemental analysis is not what you need, the plating check is the right tier.

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

  1. Pass / fail / consistent-with-solid headline on the front page.
  2. Multi-point scan trace: three readings minimum, each shown.
  3. 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".
  4. Full elemental table for the dominant reading.
  5. Indicative scrap-equivalent value at the spot rate on the test date, only if the item is consistent with solid precious metal.
  6. The not-a-hallmark disclaimer in plain English.

The process, step by step

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Send it in your own time. Use any padded envelope. The label stays valid until used. There is no time pressure on you.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Insurance 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 an independent 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 dedicated independence pledge page.

What this report is, and what it is not

This is an independent XRF (X-ray fluorescence) compositional analysis report. It identifies the elemental composition of the item submitted. It is not a UK hallmark and does not replace the legal requirements of the Hallmarking Act 1973. UK hallmarks may only be applied by an authorised UK Assay Office.

The report identifies the elemental composition of an item to the accuracy of the analyser. It does not replace a UK hallmark, an Assay Office fire assay, or a written valuation from a qualified valuer for insurance reinstatement purposes. 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 sellers choose GoldPaid

GoldPaid is a small, owner-run UK business built on one promise: show the working. Every item is XRF-assayed and weighed on calibrated scales. 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 an indicative scrap-equivalent value. 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.

Request a prepaid Royal Mail label for your XRF test

Two quick steps. Tell us which pack you want in the box below and we will confirm the price and how to pay before anything is charged. The label itself is prepaid and costs you nothing, and your items are returned to you free once the report is issued. Testing is a separate, paid service: if you are here to sell rather than to have items tested, the assay is free as part of selling and how it works is the page you want.

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.

Step 1: What are you sending, and how should the label arrive?

A rough description is plenty. This helps us confirm the right postal cover level before we issue the label. Skip if you would rather not say — the field is optional.

How would you like the label to arrive? Both are prepaid and both use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, so pick whichever is easier. The QR code is already selected because it needs no printer, and you can change your mind later — just message us before you post.

Choose how your prepaid label arrives

Step 2: Where do we send it?

Your label arrives by email whichever format you chose, so nothing is posted out to you. We need your address because it prints on the label itself, and because it is where anything you decline is returned. UK addresses only.

Needed so the label can be addressed to you.

We use these details only to issue your prepaid label and to talk to you about your items. We do not sell or share them. Data controller: Rocco Clayfield, founder of GoldPaid, on the ICO data protection register under registration ZC214216. See our privacy policy.

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

The honest version is short. Send us a photo on WhatsApp. We answer questions about the testing, the rates and the cover before anything moves. You only post when you say so, you only decide when the written offer is in front of you, and a decline costs nothing and triggers a free tracked return.

GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service with no shop: you request a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, your items are XRF-assayed in house, and you are paid by bank transfer only if you accept the written offer.

GoldPaid is a registered UK business, and your prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label is addressed to us at 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG, so you always know exactly where your parcel is going before you post it.

Send a photo on WhatsAppRequest a prepaid Royal Mail label

Order a pack and the prepaid label follows by email, usually within 30 minutes during working hours, 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week. No printer? We send a QR code you show at the Post Office counter instead.

A written report, not an offer to buy

Send a photo, get the right test

A photo and a question are the whole first step. Nothing is charged until you have confirmed which test you want, and the report is yours to use as you like.

Send a photo on WhatsAppCall 07944 014111

Prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label and tracked return included in the pack price. We confirm the price before anything is charged. The result is an independent written report, not an offer to buy, and you are never obliged to sell.