Antique gold is one of the few luxuries that can cost less than its modern equivalent while being worth considerably more. Here is how to buy it well.
1. Understand what you are really buying
A piece of solid gold jewellery has two kinds of value: the metal it is made from, and the craftsmanship and history it carries. New high-street jewellery asks you to pay a heavy premium for a brand and a shopfront on top of both. Antique and pre-owned gold has already shed that premium — you are buying the gold and the workmanship, at a price much closer to their true worth.
2. Read the hallmark
In Britain, gold above a certain weight must by law be hallmarked — a set of tiny stamped marks that tell you its purity, the assay office that tested it, and often the year it was made. A hallmark is the oldest form of consumer protection in the world, dating back to 1300. It is your guarantee that the gold is what it claims to be. Every solid-gold piece we sell is fully hallmarked, and we tell you exactly what the marks mean.
3. Know your carats
Carat measures purity. 9-carat gold is 37.5% pure and hard-wearing; 18-carat is 75% pure with a richer colour; 22-carat, at 91.6%, is the deep yellow of traditional fine jewellery. None is “better” than another — each has its place — but the higher the carat, the more actual gold you own, and the more the piece is worth by weight.
4. Check the weight
Weight is where value lives. Two chains can look identical and be worth very different sums because one is solid and heavier. We publish the exact weight of every piece, so you can see precisely what you are paying for — and satisfy yourself that the price is fair against the live gold market.
5. Buy from someone who buys well
The single biggest factor in whether antique gold is good value is the price the seller paid for it. We buy at auction and privately, with a trained eye and decades of the family’s knowledge behind us, which means we can offer honest pieces at honest prices — and pass the benefit of buying well on to you.
Bought and sold with confidence
Every piece at Chapman Gold is hallmarked, weighed, honestly described, priced to the live market, and sent to you beautifully. That is what “preserving value and beauty for generations” means in practice. If you are ever unsure about a piece, ask us — we would far rather you bought the right thing than simply bought.