Cleaning Out My Junk Drawers

A loving tribute to the drawer in every home that contains 47% of all human regret, and quite possibly a gold sovereign.

Every home has one. That drawer. The one you slam shut when guests arrive. The one you’ve been meaning to sort since “next weekend” — in 2021. Where batteries go to retire, where the TV remote from a TV you no longer own lives its best life, and where a single earring whose partner left years ago still holds on with quiet optimism.

You May Be Richer Than You Think

In 17 years of buying, we’ve found gold rings next to dead AA batteries, silver florins in margarine tubs, WWII medals rolled inside an old PE sock, and a gold sovereign in a sandwich bag taped to the back of a wedding album. None of those people knew. They were just normal people who had been gradually accumulating for decades.

The Four-Pile Method

Set aside an afternoon. Empty everything onto the kitchen table — don’t sort yet, just empty. Then create four piles: Keep, Recycle, Bin, and The Maybe Pile — anything gold-coloured, silver, old, military, foreign, sparkly or just interesting. That fourth pile? That’s our pile. Bring it to us. You may be very pleasantly surprised.

Why Sell Now? Prices Are at Record Highs

Gold is trading at its highest point in decades. If you’ve been sitting on inherited jewellery or old coins, the window is wide open — and history tells us it won’t stay there forever.

At the time of writing, gold spot price is hovering at levels not seen since precious metals came to mainstream attention — and then some. The combination of global economic uncertainty, inflation pressure and central bank buying has pushed valuations to extraordinary heights. For everyday people with a box of old jewellery in a drawer, this is genuinely significant.

What This Means for Your Jewellery

That broken 9ct gold chain that “isn’t worth anything” — it is. That scruffy pile of mismatched rings — those too. Even hollow gold and low-carat pieces are trading at levels that would have seemed extraordinary five years ago. We weigh everything at live market rates, so the price you receive reflects today’s market, not some outdated fixed figure.

Coins Are Catching Up Too

Pre-1947 UK silver coins — florins, shillings, half-crowns — contain 50% silver and are currently worth more than ten times their face value. A box of “old coins from nan’s house” can easily represent several hundred pounds. Gold sovereigns are well over £600 each. These aren’t rare collector items — they’re common coins that millions of people still have tucked away at home.

The Window Won’t Stay Open

Markets move. Nobody can predict exactly where gold goes next, but the historical pattern is well documented — they peak, they correct, and they don’t always return on the same timeline. If you’ve been meaning to find out what your items are worth, do it now — not next weekend.

Why Book an Independent Jeweller?

High street shops have glass cabinets, fancy lighting and enormous rent bills. Independent buyers have calibrated scales, live spot prices, and a very different cost base. Here’s why that matters for your payout.

When you walk into a high street jewellery chain to sell something, you are — with respect — walking into the wrong place. Those shops exist to sell jewellery, not buy it. When they do buy, they do so cautiously, because their overheads are enormous and their margins are tight.

The Overhead Difference

A high street store carries the cost of prime retail space, retail staff wages, display cases, insurance on displayed stock, and a brand name. All of that overhead gets baked into the spread between what they pay you and what the metal is actually worth. Independent buyers like us operate very differently. Our buyers work in the field, our premises are lean, and our model is designed around one thing: paying you as much as possible.

Smelting, Refining and Why It Matters

We buy scrap gold and silver with the direct intention of having it smelted and refined into investment bars and bullion. That direct route to market — from your broken bracelet to a 999-fine gold bar — means we can pay a higher percentage of spot price than any retail chain can justify. We are not re-selling your ring in a display case. We are recovering the metal at the highest possible efficiency and paying you accordingly. Less overheads, investment smelting of scrap into bars — that means we can pay more premium rates.

Transparency You Can See

Every weighing is done in front of you on a calibrated, certified scale. Every price is calculated at the live spot price for that day. We show you our working. You can check the price on your phone while we’re doing it. That’s a level of transparency you simply don’t get through most other channels — and it’s how we’ve built our reputation over 17 years.

Silver Investment Bars — Why Buy Now?

Silver has historically outperformed gold in bull markets on a percentage basis. It’s tangible, widely recognised and right now it is arguably the most undervalued asset in the precious metals space.

Gold gets all the headlines. Silver quietly gets on with being one of the most versatile and historically consistent stores of value in human history. For investors looking at precious metals, silver deserves serious attention — and 2026 may represent a particularly important entry window.

The Gold-to-Silver Ratio

One of the key metrics precious metals investors watch is the gold-to-silver ratio — how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. Historically that ratio averages between 50 and 60. At various points recently it has traded above 80, meaning silver has been historically cheap relative to gold. When that ratio compresses, as it historically does, silver holders benefit disproportionately.

Industrial Demand is Growing

Unlike gold, silver has enormous industrial demand — solar panels, electronics, electric vehicle components, medical devices are all major users. As the global economy transitions toward green energy, the industrial demand side of the silver equation is growing rapidly. Together with investment demand, the case for silver is exceptionally strong right now.

Why Physical Bars?

Physical silver bars are tangible, insurable, storable and globally recognised. Unlike shares or ETFs, you hold the actual metal. You can sell it anywhere in the world. A 1oz silver bar can be purchased for well under £30 at current prices — making silver one of the most accessible entry points into physical precious metals investment available.

First UK Buyer to Offer Live Video Valuations

Show us what you’ve got over a video call, receive a live-priced quote within minutes, and get paid by bank transfer before you hang up. We believe we’re the first roadshow buyer in Britain to run the entire transaction this way — valuation, quotation and payment, all in one call.

For seventeen years we’ve done it the traditional way: visit a customer’s home, attend a roadshow venue, or arrange a postal pack. Those channels still work, and many of our customers still prefer them. But the world has changed since 2008, and so has what people expect from a buyer who claims to be modern.

So we built something new. As of this year, you can WhatsApp us, jump on a video call at a time that suits you, hold your items up to the camera, and we’ll value them live — using the same London bullion spot prices that update every five minutes on our website. If you accept the offer, the money lands in your bank before the call ends.

How It Actually Works

Step one: Message us on WhatsApp with a rough idea of what you have. We’ll send back a time slot — usually same-day, evenings and weekends included.

Step two: At the appointment, we ring you via WhatsApp video. Bring your items, decent lighting, and a willingness to angle a hallmark towards the camera. We’ll talk you through what we’re seeing, weigh nothing blindly (you’ll often be asked to put items on your own digital kitchen scales for transparency), and price against today’s real spot rate.

Step three: If you’re happy with the quote, we take your bank details on the call, send the funds via Faster Payments, and you watch them arrive. Then you post the items to us using our pre-paid, fully insured Royal Mail Special Delivery process — the same one we use for our regular postal customers.

Why This Works Better Than You’d Expect

The obvious objection is “how can you value gold properly through a screen?” The honest answer is that 90% of a valuation is about three things: hallmark, weight, and current spot. All three of those are perfectly readable over video. The remaining 10% — quality assessment, gemstone identification, condition — gets confirmed when the items arrive. If anything looks meaningfully different in person, we’ll call you, explain why, and you can either accept a revised offer or have the items posted straight back to you, at our cost. We’ve never had a customer feel hard-done-by.

Who It’s Perfect For

Anyone who’s busy, anyone who lives somewhere we don’t visit often, anyone who’d rather not have a stranger at the front door, anyone who works shifts and needs an evening appointment, and anyone who simply prefers to be in control of the conversation. Also: anyone who wants to see and hear us before deciding to trust us with something precious. That last one matters more than people admit.

Live Market Rates — Why It Matters Where Your Price Comes From

Most high street gold buyers quote against yesterday’s closing price. Some quote against last week’s. We quote against right now’s. When gold moves £40 an ounce in an afternoon — which it has done several times this year — that difference goes straight into your pocket, not theirs.

Gold is one of the most actively traded assets on earth. The London bullion market sets a reference price twice every business day (the famous “London fix”), but the underlying market moves continuously throughout the trading day, often in surprisingly large jumps when economic news breaks. By the time a typical pawnbroker or high street jeweller has refreshed their daily ticket and stuck it in the shop window, the real price may have already moved several percent.

How Most Shops Actually Price

Walk into the average gold buyer on the high street and the rate you’re offered is usually built from one of three things: a published “per gram” rate that gets updated whenever the manager remembers; a number quietly written on a clipboard at the start of the week; or, increasingly often, simply whatever last week’s “safe” figure was, padded with extra margin in case the market drops. None of those approaches reflect what your gold is actually worth at the moment you’re selling it.

How We Price

Our valuation system pulls the live spot price from London bullion data feeds, refreshes every five minutes, and applies a single transparent payout percentage by carat. You can see that live price on our home page, right now, before you even speak to us. The number we quote you is built from the number you can see on your own screen. There is no hidden discount, no “today’s special rate”, no “we’ll have to check with head office”. Just current market price, your weight, your purity, our published percentage.

Why Independents Pay More

Big chains have lots of overhead — rent on high street units, shareholders, advertising budgets, district managers, regional cash transit. All of that has to come out of the spread between what they pay you and what the refinery pays them. As an independent roadshow that travels light and refines our own stock, we sit much closer to the source. That’s why our payout percentages on standard carats consistently beat the high street — and why we’re comfortable showing you the live spot price we’re working from.

Check Before You Sell

Always. Before you accept any quote from anyone — us included — spend ten seconds checking the live gold price in pounds per troy ounce. There are dozens of free sources. Divide by 31.1 for the per-gram price. Multiply by your item’s purity (9ct = 0.375, 18ct = 0.75, 22ct = 0.916, 24ct = 1.0). That’s the gross melt value at the moment. Whatever offer you’re receiving should be a sensible, declared percentage of that number. If a buyer can’t or won’t show you how they got there, walk away.

Four Ways to Sell to Us — Pick What Suits You

Some buyers offer one channel and expect you to fit in around them. We offer four, and we’re happy to flex whichever one suits your life this week. Whether you’d rather we come to you, you come to a roadshow venue, you meet us on a video call, or you never leave the sofa — we’ve built our team around accommodating real people, not pushing them through a single funnel.

1. Roadshow Events

The original way we work, and still the most popular. We hire community venues, residential park clubhouses, hotels and church halls across the UK, advertise locally, and invite anyone with valuables to walk in. Free entry, no appointment, same-day cash. You meet our team face to face, get a valuation in front of you, accept or decline the offer, and walk out with money or with your items — your choice. Check the Events page for what’s currently scheduled near you, or register your interest for areas we’re yet to visit.

2. Home Visits at Your Door

If you have a larger collection, an estate to clear, or simply prefer privacy, we’ll come to you. Two of our team, by appointment, with all the same valuation equipment we’d use in a venue. You set the time, you choose the room, you control the pace. We’re fully insured, DBS-checked, and identifiable on arrival. This is also our preferred channel for elderly customers, executors, and anyone who’d rather not move bags of valuables through public spaces.

3. Online Video Valuations

The newest channel, and increasingly the most popular among younger customers, shift workers, and anyone outside our usual roadshow circuit. You WhatsApp us, we book a time, and we run the entire valuation over video call — including live spot-priced quote and immediate bank transfer if you accept. The items themselves come to us afterwards by free insured Royal Mail Special Delivery. See our separate blog post for the full walkthrough.

4. Postal Service

The most flexible option of all, and the one our regular trade customers use most. We send you a pre-paid, fully insured Royal Mail Special Delivery pack — tracked end to end, insurance covers up to the declared value. You put your items in, drop the pack at any post office or post box. We weigh, test and value on arrival, then call or message you with the quote. Accept and the money lands the same day; decline and the items come straight back to you, at our cost, no questions asked.

One Team, Four Channels, Same Rates

Crucially, the rates you’re paid are identical across all four channels. We don’t penalise you for choosing convenience, and we don’t reward you for accepting more friction. The spot price is the spot price; the payout percentage by carat is the payout percentage by carat. The only thing that changes is how the conversation gets to happen.

Investment Bars, Ingots & Bullion Coins

Not all gold arrives from a drawer. A growing portion of what we buy in any given month is investment-grade material — LBMA-approved bars, government-minted bullion coins, recognised refiner ingots, and large lots of investment silver. If that’s what you’re holding, we’d like to talk.

Investment-grade transactions are quieter, larger, and more discreet than our typical roadshow buying. They’re also where the spread between what an independent operation pays and what a high street chain pays gets most dramatic — because the percentages all run against bigger numbers.

What We Actively Buy

On the gold side: LBMA Good Delivery bars from PAMP, Argor-Heraeus, Valcambi, Metalor, the Perth Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint and other recognised refiners, in all standard sizes from 1g up to and including kilo bars. Government-minted bullion coins — British Sovereigns and Britannias, Krugerrands, American Eagles, Canadian Maples, Vienna Philharmonics, Chinese Pandas. Cast and minted investment ingots from any recognised refiner with an intact assay card where applicable.

On the silver side: investment bars (1oz, 10oz, 100oz, 1kg) from major refiners, bullion coins (Britannias, Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), and significant lots of circulated junk silver — pre-1947 UK coinage, US 90% silver, etc, by the kilo.

Why Investors Prefer Us

Three reasons, repeatedly cited by clients. First: we pay closer to spot than virtually any high street operator can — investment bars regularly settle within 1–3% of live spot, government coins within 2–5%, with the exact percentage depending on the item and the size. Second: discretion. Investment transactions don’t happen in a crowded shop with a queue behind you; they happen by private appointment, at our office or yours, with proper paperwork and proper privacy. Third: speed. Six- and seven-figure transactions clear by same-day Faster Payments or CHAPS, with full HMRC-compliant paperwork issued at the time.

Identification, Provenance & Compliance

Investment transactions are governed by Anti-Money-Laundering regulations and we follow them properly — photo ID, address verification, and source-of-funds questions where the value crosses the threshold. We’re registered with HMRC for High Value Dealer purposes, and our paperwork is built to withstand any future audit on your end (estate, tax, divorce or otherwise).

How to Start the Conversation

Investment enquiries don’t go through the standard roadshow process. WhatsApp or email us directly with a rough description — refiner, item type, weight, quantity. We’ll come back with an indicative price band based on the live London spot, and arrange a private viewing if you want to proceed. No high street walk-ins required, no audience.

More Than Just Gold — Our Specialist Divisions

Old gold pays the bills, but the most interesting items we buy in any given month are usually something else entirely — a Crimean campaign medal in an old biscuit tin, a sealed Pokémon booster box from 2002, a working Sony Walkman with original headphones, a Georgian silver inkwell. Behind the scenes we have dedicated sub-teams who specialise in each, because doing right by these items requires real expertise.

Antiques Division

Headed by specialists with auction-house backgrounds, our antiques team handles everything from Georgian and Victorian silverware to mantel and carriage clocks, scientific instruments (binoculars, compasses, sextants, microscopes), fountain pens and dip pens with gold nibs, snuff and pill boxes, inkwells and desk sets, oriental porcelain and netsuke, and decorative items in bronze, ivory (legally documented) and hardstone. If it’s old, well-made, and has a story, we want to see it. Estate clearance customers will often find their highest single-line ticket comes from this division rather than the gold.

Militaria Division

Twentieth-century war medals are where our militaria specialists spend most of their week — First and Second World War campaign and gallantry groups, named medals with documented service, formation badges and cap badges, regimental sweetheart brooches, and complete trios or quartets with original ribbons. We also buy edged weapons (swords, bayonets, daggers) and military insignia, with proper attention to legal compliance under the Offensive Weapons Act. Where a group has documented provenance, value can be many multiples of the metal content alone, and we’ll always tell you when that’s the case.

Trading Cards & Collectibles

The category that’s grown the fastest over the last five years. Our cards specialists buy sealed Pokémon product (especially WOTC-era boxes and 1st Edition material), Pokémon singles and graded slabs (PSA, CGC, BGS), Magic: The Gathering (Alpha through Modern, with particular interest in Reserved List cards), Yu-Gi-Oh!, and sports cards. Also: vintage comic books (Silver Age and earlier, in collectable grade), Funko Pops with confirmed rarities, and Star Wars Kenner-era figures with original packaging. Bring everything, even if you think it’s nothing — we’ll tell you what’s ordinary and what’s genuinely special.

Gadgets & Vintage Tech

An unexpected division, and one of our busiest. Modern: any iPhone (working or broken, cracked screen still has value), Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, MacBook Pro and Air, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Asus laptops, iPad Pro and Air, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Microsoft Surface, Apple Watch, AirPods and premium headphones, DSLR and mirrorless cameras, games consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo), GoPro and DJI drones. Vintage: working Sony Walkmans, original game consoles (Atari, NES, SNES, Mega Drive, N64), early iPods, and any working pre-1990 personal electronics with original packaging.

The Point

Most jewellery buyers will glance politely at the non-gold items in your bag and politely decline. We’ll value them properly. The team member at the front desk may not be the right specialist for what you’ve brought — but they’ll know which colleague is, and within minutes that colleague is on the phone or in the room. That’s what we mean when we say we accommodate every client’s needs.