How the calculation works
Gold is priced the same way as silver, with one difference in the rate we pay.
(spot per troy ounce ÷ 31.1035) × carat purity × weight in grams = metal value
- Live spot price. Gold trades as XAU. We pull the live XAU/GBP rate, already in pounds, so there is no currency conversion to argue about.
- Per gram. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, not the 28.35g of an ordinary ounce. Getting this wrong overstates a gold value by about 10%.
- Carat purity. Expressed as a decimal: 9ct is 0.375, 14ct is 0.585, 18ct is 0.750, 22ct is 0.916, 24ct is 0.999.
- The payout rate. 80% of the first £100 of metal value, then 90% of everything above it.
Why the rate is tiered, and what it means for you
We pay a flat 80% on silver. Gold works differently: 80% applies to the first £100 of gold value in your parcel, and 90% to everything above that. It is the one place on this site where the rate is not flat, so it is worth explaining plainly rather than burying it.
The reason is that the fixed costs of handling a parcel, testing, postage, insurance, administration, do not scale with what is inside it. On a single 9ct chain those costs are a large share of the value. On a heavier lot they are trivial. Rather than pay a lower flat rate to cover the small jobs, we take the cost out of the first £100 and pay near the top of the market on the rest.
The practical effect is that your effective rate rises with the value you send:
| Gold metal value | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| £100 | £80 | 80.0% |
| £250 | £215 | 86.0% |
| £500 | £440 | 88.0% |
| £1,000 | £890 | 89.0% |
| £2,500 | £2,240 | 89.6% |
| £5,000 | £4,490 | 89.8% |
Send everything in one parcel rather than several. The £100 band applies per submission, so splitting a lot across parcels costs you money for no reason.
Gold and silver in the same parcel are valued separately and added together: silver at a flat 80%, gold on this tier. There is no advantage to sending them apart.
Carats explained
Carat is a purity measure out of 24 parts. 24ct is pure gold; 18ct is 18 parts gold to 6 parts other metal. Modern hallmarks express the same thing as a millesimal figure, so 18ct is stamped 750, meaning 750 parts per thousand.
| Carat | Millesimal | Gold content | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24ct | 999 | 99.9% | Bullion bars and investment coins. Too soft for most jewellery. |
| 22ct | 916 | 91.6% | Sovereigns, Asian and Middle Eastern jewellery, older wedding bands. |
| 18ct | 750 | 75.0% | Fine jewellery, engagement rings, quality watch cases. |
| 14ct | 585 | 58.5% | Common on American and European imports. |
| 9ct | 375 | 37.5% | By far the most common in British jewellery. Legal as gold in the UK, but not in many other countries. |
9ct is worth knowing about because it dominates British jewellery boxes and contains only 37.5% gold. A 9ct chain and an 18ct chain of identical weight differ in value by a factor of two, so carat matters far more than weight when you are estimating.
Finding the gold mark
UK gold carries a hallmark like silver does. Look for a millesimal number, 375, 585, 750, 916 or 999, usually in a shaped surround, alongside an assay office mark: a leopard's head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a Tudor rose for Sheffield, a castle for Edinburgh. A crown is the traditional UK standard mark for gold and is often struck beside the carat figure.
Where to look: inside a ring shank, on the clasp or a small tag near the clasp of a chain, on the back of a pendant or earring post, and inside a watch case back. Marks are 1 to 2mm on jewellery, so a loupe is close to essential.
Plenty of genuine gold carries no British hallmark, particularly imported jewellery and older pieces. That is not a problem: XRF testing measures the actual alloy rather than reading a stamp, so unmarked gold is tested and paid on its real content.
What isn't gold
Gold-coloured does not mean gold. These marks all indicate a coating over base metal, with no economically recoverable gold:
- GP or gold plated.
- GF or gold filled, and fractions such as 1/20 12k GF.
- RGP, rolled gold plate.
- HGE, heavy gold electroplate.
- Gilt, vermeil (gold over sterling: the silver underneath does have value).
If you are unsure, send it. We test everything free and return anything we cannot buy free, insured and tracked. Note that gold-plated sterling silver is worth sending, because we pay on the silver underneath.
Two things worth checking before anything is melted: gold coins such as sovereigns and krugerrands frequently carry a premium above their metal content, and antique or designer jewellery can be worth considerably more intact. We will flag either when we test them.
Selling gold to us
The process is identical to silver. Enter your carat and weight for a live quote, accept to lock the rate for 48 hours, and a free tracked Royal Mail QR label appears straight away. Everything is XRF tested and weighed at our Sheffield workshop, and payment is made by Faster Payments within 48 hours of receipt. Gold and silver can go in the same parcel on the same label.