The types of gold we lend against

What do carat and fineness mean?

Carat is the measure of how much of an alloy is pure gold, expressed in twenty-fourths. Pure gold is 24 carat. An 18 carat piece is 18 parts gold to 6 parts other metals, so 75% gold. Fineness is the same thing written as parts per thousand: 18 carat gold is 750 fine, which is why it is stamped 750.

Gold is alloyed for a reason. In its pure form it is too soft to hold a setting or survive daily wear, so it is mixed with metals such as silver, copper and palladium to harden it. The higher the carat, the softer the piece and the richer the colour.

Is it carat or karat?

Both, depending on where you are. The UK and most of Europe write carat and abbreviate it ct. The United States writes karat and abbreviates it K, to distinguish it from the carat used to weigh diamonds. A piece stamped 14K and a piece stamped 14ct are the same purity.

How to read a UK hallmark

A British hallmark has three compulsory parts: a sponsor's mark identifying who submitted the piece, a fineness mark giving the purity in parts per thousand, and an assay office mark showing which office tested it. Anything else on the piece, including the date letter, is optional.

Hallmarking is a legal requirement in the UK for any gold article sold as gold, with one exemption: pieces containing 1 gram or less of precious metal do not have to be marked. That is why very light chains and earrings are often unmarked.

What the numbers mean

The fineness mark is the number you actually need. 375 is 9 carat, 585 is 14 carat, 750 is 18 carat, 916 is 22 carat, 990 and 999 are effectively pure. If a piece carries one of these inside an oval or rectangle, it has been tested by a UK assay office and the figure is reliable.

Which assay office tested it

Four offices operate in the UK, and each has its own town mark:

What the date letter tells you

The date letter is optional and changes every January. It is the mark that lets you date a piece precisely, which matters for antique and period jewellery where age affects value well beyond the metal content. Z was 2024, A was 2025, B is 2026.

What if there is no hallmark?

It is common and it is not a problem. Imported jewellery frequently carries only a stamp such as 18K or 750 with no British marks, and pieces under a gram are exempt entirely. It simply means the purity has to be tested rather than read.

A stamp tells you what the maker claims. We test every piece to confirm it.

Gold from different markets

Purity conventions differ sharply by country, and a piece's origin is usually the fastest way to guess its carat before testing. The short version: South Asian and Middle Eastern gold is high carat, Italian and European gold sits in the middle, British and American gold is lower.

These are conventions, not rules. Legal minimums differ too: 9 carat in the UK, Ireland, France, Austria and Portugal, 10 carat in the United States, 8 carat in Denmark and Greece.

What is Asian gold?

Asian gold usually means jewellery made in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or the wider South Asian market, and it is typically 22 carat, or 916 fineness. It is often stamped 916 or 22K, and sometimes carries no mark at all. At 91.6% gold it has substantially more gold in it than most British or American jewellery.

The high purity is cultural as much as aesthetic. Gold is bought as a store of value and as dowry and gift jewellery, so buyers want as much actual gold as a wearable piece can carry.

Why is Asian gold more yellow?

Because there is more gold in it. Pure gold is a deep, warm yellow, and every part of the alloy that is not gold dilutes that colour. A 22 carat piece is 91.6% gold, so it looks close to the pure metal. A 9 carat piece is 37.5% gold and looks noticeably paler.

The colour is not a treatment or a plating. It is the gold content showing through, which is why it is a reasonable first indicator of purity even before testing.

Is Asian gold worth more than British gold?

Per gram, yes, if the carat is higher. A 22 carat piece contains roughly two and a half times the gold of a 9 carat piece of the same weight, so it is worth roughly two and a half times as much by metal content. Two pieces of the same weight can be worth very different amounts.

That is why weight alone tells you nothing. Purity and weight together give you the metal value.

What is Italian gold?

Italian gold usually means jewellery made in Vicenza or Arezzo, traditionally 18 carat, stamped 750. Italian pieces often carry a maker's number and a province code rather than British-style hallmarks, so they need testing rather than reading.

Italian gold has a reputation built on workmanship rather than purity. The chains, in particular, are made to a standard that holds its value in the resale market beyond the metal content.

Italian gold compared with American gold

Italian jewellery is typically 18 carat, or 75% gold. American jewellery is typically 14 carat, or 58.5%, and can legally go down to 10 carat. On metal content alone, an Italian piece is worth noticeably more than an American piece of the same weight.

Indian gold compared with British gold

Indian gold is typically 22 carat and British gold is commonly 9 carat, which is the widest purity gap in everyday jewellery. Gram for gram, 22 carat carries roughly two and a half times the gold of 9 carat. British pieces are more likely to carry full hallmarks, and are more often valued for their age, maker or stones rather than metal alone.

Yellow, white and rose gold

The colour of a gold alloy comes from what it is mixed with, not from the gold itself.

• Yellow gold is alloyed with silver and copper in roughly equal measure, keeping the natural colour of the metal.
• White gold is alloyed with white metals, usually palladium or silver, and historically nickel. Most white gold is then plated with rhodium for a brighter, harder finish, which wears through over time and can be replated.
• Rose gold takes its pink from copper. The more copper, the deeper the pink.

Colour does not change the value. A white gold and a yellow gold piece of the same carat and weight carry the same metal value. Rhodium plating wearing off is cosmetic and does not affect what we lend.

How we test gold

We use XRF analysis, which reads the exact composition of a piece without touching it. The instrument fires a low-energy X-ray at the surface and reads what comes back, giving the precise percentage of gold along with the other metals in the alloy.

The alternative, still common on the high street, is the acid test: a piece is scratched onto a stone and acid applied to the mark. It works, but it damages the item and it gives a range rather than a figure. A 22 carat piece tested with acid frequently gets valued somewhere between 18 and 22 carat, because that is as precise as the method gets.

On a high-carat piece, that difference adds up. XRF is also non-invasive, so nothing gets scratched.

What determines the loan on a gold item

For plain gold, purity and weight set the floor and most of the ceiling. For anything with a maker, stones or age, the piece can be worth considerably more than its metal, and it is valued on whichever is higher.

What we assess:

• Purity, tested rather than assumed.
• Weight of gold content, with stones and non-gold components excluded.
• Maker and hallmarks, where a piece is by a recognised house.
• Stones, valued separately where they are significant.
• Age and condition, for antique and period pieces.

Can you borrow against gold-plated jewellery?

No. Gold plating is a microscopically thin layer over a base metal, and the gold content is negligible. Rolled gold and gold-filled pieces carry more, but rarely enough to lend against. If you are unsure what you have, a piece with no hallmark and an unusually light weight for its size is usually plated.

Do you lend against gold coins and bars?

Yes. Coins and bars are the most straightforward gold we see, because the purity is known and the value tracks the market. The coins we handle most often are Sovereigns, Krugerrands, Britannias, Eagles, Maples and Pandas.

Some coins carry a premium above their metal content for rarity or condition. Those are valued as coins, not as gold.

How does pawning gold work?

The same way as any pawn loan. Your gold is tested and weighed, you are offered a loan against a percentage of its assessed value, and the piece is held securely and insured until you repay. It is a loan, not a sale: the piece comes back. The full process is in our guide to how pawnbroking works.

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