The best indicator of this is the hallmark - Look for the hallmarks on your jewellery which will normally show 375, 585, 750 or 916.

You may not have a scale which is accurate enough to do this but most jewellery shops will be able to do this for you and may make you an offer for the gold you have to sell. You do not have to accept their offer but it should give you an accurate weight. If your jewellery contains gemstones this will make it more difficult to assess the weight of gold it contains and some companies ask for the stones to be removed before the gold can be valued. If you think there are precious stones then go to a high street jeweller and ask for an assessment of the value of the gemstones. The gemstones may be worth more than the gold.

Examples: if you have 10 grammes of 18 carat gold (ie 750 fineness), this will contain 7.5 grammes of fine gold. If the gold fix is £684 per Troy ounce or £22 (ie £684 divided by 31) per gramme then the maximum value is £165 (£22 x 7.5). If you have 10 grammes of 9 carat gold (ie 375 fineness), this will contain 3.75 grammes of fine gold. If the gold fix for fine gold is £684 per Troy ounce or £22 per gramme then the maximum value is £82.50 (£22 x 3.75).

Call the company, tell them the weight of gold you have to sell and its fineness and ask them if they will give you a quote over the phone. This will not be a binding quote as the gold price changes twice a day and they will want to check the weight and fineness before giving a binding quote.

Remember that in doing your own calculation what you have calculated is the maximum value of the gold on the bullion market on the day. To arrive at the price they can offer you, the dealer must deduct the cost of valuing and refining the gold in the jewellery, their operational costs and profit, and any advertising and postal costs. The cost base of such companies will vary and so offers will vary and this is why you should shop around. NAJ is aware of reports that some companies will improve their offer if you ask for your gold back, so be prepared to haggle. The offer you eventually accept is your risk in the same way that it would be if you were selling a second-hand car. If you are nervous about sending your gold off by post, don’t forget that many high street jewellers will buy back secondhand gold and if you can travel to a specialist jewellery area such as Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter or London’s Hatton Garden you can offer your gold to a bullion dealer who might give you a better price. Remember that you may be asked for proof of identity and residence.

All NAJ members sign a code of ethics to abide by the law, provide a high standard of service and uphold the reputation of the association.