You do not need to walk your gold around the Jewellery Quarter for quotes. Fair Vintage is a UK-wide postal buyer: request a free insured label, send your items when it suits you, and receive a written valuation from a specialist.
Gold, diamonds, silver, coins and full collections — each item valued individually. Free insured postage. Written valuation per item. Paid in 72 hours.
Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter is one of the largest concentrations of jewellers anywhere in the UK, and the city has assayed precious metal since 1773. Between the Quarter, high-street gold buyers and pawnbrokers across the West Midlands, there is no shortage of places to sell. All of them are legitimate routes, and it is always worth comparing.
What a postal specialist changes is the effort and the pressure. There is no need to carry gold through the city, visit counter after counter for quotes, or make a decision on the spot. You request a label, send your items, and read a written valuation in your own time. If you decide not to sell, everything comes back to you, insured, at no cost.
9ct, 18ct and 22ct gold, worn, broken or scrap. Chains, rings, earrings and odd single pieces all considered by weight and carat.
Diamond and gemstone rings, bracelets and necklaces, signed and unsigned pieces, boxed or loose.
Hallmarked silver, gold and silver coins, sovereigns and part or full collections. Single items and whole estates welcome.
If your gold or silver carries an anchor, it was assayed at the Birmingham Assay Office — the town mark it has used since it opened in the Jewellery Quarter in 1773. It is one of four assay offices still operating in the UK, alongside London, Sheffield and Edinburgh. Next to the anchor you will usually find a fineness mark — 375 for 9ct, 585 for 14ct, 750 for 18ct, 916 for 22ct — and a date letter.
These marks are genuinely useful: they confirm the metal and its purity and give a good indication of when the piece was hallmarked. You do not need to identify them yourself. Photograph any marks as clearly as you can, and we read them as part of the written valuation.
A hallmark confirms the metal and its fineness, and where and roughly when a piece was assayed. It does not, on its own, set the value — weight, gemstones, maker, condition and current metal prices all matter. We weigh the evidence together and explain what it supports in writing.
Every item is assessed individually rather than lumped into a single offer. The main things we look at are:
A few clear photographs make a preliminary view much easier before anything is posted:
Please do not polish or clean pieces first, or have anything re-set or repaired before sending. We assess items exactly as they are.
Each piece, any hallmarks, gemstones and coins, plus boxes and papers. Email us first if you would like a preliminary view before sending.
We email a free prepaid, tracked and insured label the same working day. Drop the parcel at any Royal Mail or DPD point in Birmingham. Insured to £5,000 from the first scan.
Your parcel is opened and the items documented with photographs before any specialist handles them.
Each item valued individually, in writing. Accept what you want to sell; we return the rest free. Paid in 72 hours or +3%.
Call us on 01234 815116 or email support@fairvintage.co.uk.
Get your free label →No. Fair Vintage is a postal buying service, not a Birmingham shop or a counter in the Jewellery Quarter. That is deliberate: instead of walking your gold around the trade for quotes, you request a free insured label, post your items when it suits you, and receive a written valuation. There is no premises to visit and no appointment to book.
Your parcel is tracked and insured to £5,000 from the moment the courier scans it, both on the way to us and on the way back. You drop it at any Royal Mail or DPD point across Birmingham and the West Midlands, or we can discuss a collection for higher-value items. Nothing about the process requires you to carry gold through the city by hand.
The anchor is the town mark of the Birmingham Assay Office, which has hallmarked precious metals in the city's Jewellery Quarter since 1773. If your gold or silver carries an anchor, it was assayed in Birmingham. Alongside it you will usually find a fineness mark — such as 375 for 9ct or 750 for 18ct — and a date letter. Photograph any marks clearly and we read them as part of the written valuation.
Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter is one of the largest concentrations of jewellers in the country, and there are many reputable buyers there and across the West Midlands. Those are all valid routes. The difference with Fair Vintage is that you get a written, itemised valuation without a counter visit or same-day pressure to decide, your parcel is opened and documented, and anything you decline is returned free. Compare offers before you accept — there is no obligation.
The same range we buy nationwide: 9ct, 18ct and 22ct gold, whether worn, broken or scrap; diamond and gemstone jewellery; silver items and hallmarked silver; gold and silver coins and sovereigns; and full or part collections. Single pieces and whole estates are welcome. If you are unsure whether something is worth sending, email a photograph first.
Metal, carat, weight, gemstones and condition all assessed. Written valuation per item. Opened and documented. Paid within 72 hours. No need to leave home.