Gold Filled Jewellery FAQs

Gold filled jewellery has a layer of karat gold mechanically bonded (using heat and pressure) to a base metal core, usually brass. The gold layer is much thicker than ordinary gold plating, which is why gold filled items can contain recoverable gold. They are usually marked with “GF” and often a fraction and karat, such as 1/20 12K GF.

The fraction describes how much of the item’s metal weight is marked as the gold layer. 1/20 means the gold layer is stated to be 1/20 (5%) of the metal weight. The karat next to it — for example 12K — describes the purity of that gold layer. So 1/20 12K GF indicates a 12 karat gold layer making up 1/20 of the metal weight. Marks are a starting point: the actual content is confirmed when the item is assessed.

Rolled gold is made by bonding a thin sheet of gold to a base metal, similar to gold filled. It is common on Australian and British jewellery and is usually marked RG, R.G. or “Rolled Gold”. The gold layer is often thinner than gold filled and is not always stated, so each piece is assessed individually.

HGP stands for Heavy Gold Plate (HGE is Heavy Gold Electroplate). It indicates a plated gold layer thicker than standard plating. There is no single universal standard for HGP thickness, so these items are evaluated individually and some may not contain enough recoverable gold for an offer.

We evaluate gold filled, rolled gold, rolled gold plate and heavy gold plate jewellery, including chains, bracelets, rings, brooches, lockets, watch cases and mixed lots. Broken, tangled and worn items are welcome. Standard thin gold plating (for example marked GP or GEP) usually contains very little recoverable gold and may not be eligible.

That is fine. Marks can be tiny, worn or hidden on a clasp. Upload clear, close-up photos with your enquiry and we will help identify what you have. Our Hallmark Guide also shows where marks are usually found.

Yes. You do not need to sort everything first. Send photos of the whole lot plus close-ups of any marks you can find, and we will let you know which items are likely to be eligible before you post or attend.

Yes — we encourage it. Photos help us advise whether an appointment or postal evaluation is worthwhile. You can upload JPG, PNG or WEBP images on the booking, postal and contact pages.

If you have approximately 50 grams or more of eligible jewellery, you can request an on-site evaluation. Visits depend on your location and our availability, and are confirmed after we review your request. The 50g amount is our own service threshold, not an industry rule.

You are welcome to book an appointment to attend, or use our postal evaluation service. You can also call us first if you are unsure which option suits you.

Submit your item details and photos through the Post Your Items page. We review your submission and then send you posting instructions and the correct delivery address. Please do not send anything until you have received these instructions. Once your items arrive, we assess them and send you an offer.

Submitting the booking form sends us a request only. We will contact you by your preferred method to confirm a date and time. Your appointment is not confirmed until you hear from us.

We consider the item’s construction (gold filled, rolled gold, plated), its hallmark, its weight and the estimated recoverable gold content, together with gold market pricing at the time of assessment and the cost of refining. Non-metal parts such as stones, glass, springs and base-metal components contain no gold, which is why two items of the same weight can be valued differently. The more you have, the better the rate we can usually offer.

No. An offer is made after assessment and you are free to accept or decline it. For postal evaluations, arrangements for returning declined items are explained in your posting instructions.

Once you accept an offer, payment is usually made by bank transfer. Other options can be discussed with us. When you sell, we will ask for photo ID (such as a driver licence or passport) and a signed statement that the items are yours, as second-hand dealer laws require.

Every item is recorded and held securely for 14 days, as NSW second-hand dealer laws require. After that, gold filled and rolled gold jewellery goes through a long process before any gold is recovered: stones, springs and fittings are removed, the metal is melted and assayed, and the thin gold layer is chemically separated from the base metal and refined.

The spot price is for pure gold bullion. Gold filled, rolled gold and HGP jewellery is not bullion — it is mostly base metal with a thin layer of karat gold. Before that gold is worth the spot price it has to be separated, melted, assayed and refined, which takes time and costs money. Offers reflect the gold that can actually be recovered, after those costs. That’s also why we don’t show a live gold price on this website: it isn’t the price of the jewellery you’re selling.

Yes. Refining costs are much the same whether a batch is small or large, so bigger lots are more efficient to process and we can pay more per gram. For very large lots — think kilograms of gold filled jewellery — offers can reach up to around half of the spot value of the gold content, depending on the items.