Guide · 7-minute read
Stones, clasps and the parts of a piece that are not metal
The short answer
Anything in a piece that is not precious metal, such as a stone, a clasp spring, enamel, glass, a brooch pin or a watch movement, is listed and its weight left out, estimated where it cannot be weighed on its own. Assaypost does not buy gemstones, nothing is unset or taken apart before you accept an offer, and a stone that cannot be lifted out goes with the piece. A stone that may be worth more than the piece around it should be shown to a jeweller, a gem laboratory or an auction house before it goes in any parcel.
Why stones and other parts are left out of the weight
The stone in a ring is often the part its owner cares about most, and the part a metal buyer can do least with. The fair way to handle that is to describe every part of the piece on paper before anything is decided about it.
A refinery recovers gold, silver, platinum and palladium. It does not recover a garnet, a pearl, a steel spring or a watch movement. Counting them in the weight of the metal would describe the piece as something it is not.
Leaving a stone out of the weight says nothing about what the stone is worth. A diamond can be worth many times the ring it sits in, which is why it is kept out of a metal sale and pointed out to you before you commit to anything.
What is not metal, where it hides, and how it is spotted
Non-metal and base-metal parts commonly found on jewellery and silverware
| Material | Where it hides | Why its weight is left out | How it is spotted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemstones and paste (glass stones) | Rings, pendants, earrings | Not metal; a real gem can be the most valuable part | Eye and magnifying glass |
| Steel springs | Bolt-ring, spring-ring and lobster clasps | Steel has to come out before gold is refined | A magnet pulls at the clasp only |
| Enamel | Badges, lockets, watch dials | Glass fused on; will not come off whole | Eye and magnifying glass |
| Pearls, coral, jet, amber | Necklaces, brooches, mourning pieces | Organic, and often collected | Eye; weighed apart where loose |
| Cement, wax, plaster | Under old settings, inside hollow beads | Filling, and often more of the weight than you would think | Weight against size |
| Glass | Lockets, scent bottles, watch crystals | Not metal | Eye; its weight estimated in place |
| Watch movements | Gold and silver watch cases | Steel and brass, and can be worth money to a repairer or collector | Its weight estimated from the size and type of watch |
| Steel pins, brass fittings | Brooches, cufflinks, repaired chains | Base metal | Magnet, then testing |
What a magnet tells you
Gold and silver alloys are not drawn to a magnet. A pull at the clasp means there is a steel spring inside it. A pull along the whole chain means the chain is not gold at all. A fridge magnet is enough, and it does no harm to the piece.
What a photograph can show, and what has to wait until the piece arrives
A clear photograph shows whether a ring is set or plain, whether a clasp is a box or a bolt ring, whether a locket has glass in it, and whether a brooch pin is a different colour from the body. It does not show what is under a stone or inside a hollow piece, and it cannot prove what anything is made of.
- Put a ruler in the frameA ruler beside the piece turns a guess about size into a measurement. Stone size is judged from proportion, and proportion needs a reference.
- Photograph the back as well as the frontThe back of a setting shows whether a stone is foil-backed or open and whether a brooch has been repaired. The front is often the least informative view.
- Say what you already knowA laboratory report, or a receipt or valuation that records a stone's weight, is a better starting point than an estimate from the setting. If you have paperwork, say so before anything is posted.
- When the piece arrivesEach piece is weighed whole and examined as it is. Nothing is taken off it. A stone's size is judged from its dimensions in the setting, and the weight of a spring, a pin or a movement is estimated from what it is. Each estimate is marked as one on the offer and left out of the metal.
- Everything left out is written downEach part that is not metal is listed with what it is, what its weight was taken to be and how that was worked out.
If what is found differs from what the photographs suggested, you are told before an offer is made, with the reason.
Where a stone ends up
Assaypost does not buy gemstones. Valuing gems is a separate trade with its own market and qualifications. A stone in a piece you send ends up in one of three places.
- Back with you, in the piece. If you decline the offer, the piece comes back as it arrived, stones and all.
- With the piece, if you accept. A stone is never taken out unless you ask in writing before you accept. If you ask and it can be lifted out without damage, it is taken out after you accept and sent back to you. If it cannot, you are told before you accept, so you can decide. A stone that stays in the piece goes with it, and nothing is paid for it. Your offer lists each stone, so you can see this before you say yes.
- Somewhere else entirely. If a stone may be worth more than the metal around it, this is the wrong route for the piece. Take it to a jeweller, a gem laboratory or an auction house first, and keep it out of the parcel.
Settle it before you accept
Between November 2009 and February 2011 the Office of Fair Trading looked into buying gold by post, and one of its concerns was whether gemstones were bought, returned or at risk of damage. The safeguard is yours to use: agree in writing what will happen to each stone before you accept, and check that the item list names each one.
How a parcel is sorted
When a parcel is opened, everything in it is laid out and photographed before a single piece is touched. It is then sorted into groups.
- Hallmarked and marked pieces go together, because the marks can be read and recorded first.
- Unmarked pieces go beside them, to be identified by testing rather than by reading.
- Anything set with a stone goes on its own, because what happens to the stone is decided separately from the metal holding it.
- Coins, watches, signed pieces and anything that looks old enough to matter go into a group of their own, untouched, so they can be flagged to you before any offer.
- Plated and base-metal pieces go into a fifth group. They are listed and they come back.
- What is left, once the clasps have been checked with a magnet and any filling found, is the metal. That is the part we buy.
A canteen of cutlery sorts the same way. The forks and spoons are solid. The knives go to one side, because a sterling handle is a hollow shell round a filling and a steel blade. Candlesticks often go to one side too, for the reason the weighted silver guide explains.
What the sort gives you is a list: what arrived, what each thing is, and what in it is not metal. One written offer for the lot follows, and you decide. Selling gold by post follows the same kind of lot from the first photograph onwards.
Seller risks and exceptions
- A figure quoted on the whole weight of a stone-set piece will look better than one given after the piece has been examined. If any buyer gives you a figure before seeing what is in the setting, ask what they assumed.
- Stones set in cement or with foil behind them, common in Georgian and Victorian jewellery, can rarely be taken out intact, and a piece like that is often worth far more whole. Have it seen by a specialist or an auction house before it goes in any parcel.
- Small stones in rows or clusters are light one by one and add up together. They are recorded as a group, so ask how the group was counted if it matters to you.
- Enamel and glass cannot be separated from metal without destroying the decoration. An enamelled piece is flagged to you before anything is priced, and if it may interest collectors, have it seen by a specialist first.
- A watch movement is not metal and is not bought as metal, and it stays in its case until you have accepted an offer. Some movements are worth real money to a repairer or a collector, and the gold watches page explains what happens to a movement.
- If what is found differs from what your photographs suggested, the offer will differ too. You are told what changed and why, and you can decline and have everything back at no cost under the arrangements on the offers, returns and payment page.
When not to use this route at all
If the stone might be worth more than the mount, stop here
A diamond much above half a carat, a sapphire, ruby or emerald of good colour, a natural pearl, a cluster or line of old-cut diamonds, a fine opal, or any stone that came with a laboratory report can be worth more than the metal around it, sometimes many times more. This route pays nothing for a stone. Have the piece looked at by a gemmologist, a jewellery valuer or an auction house first, and keep it out of the parcel.
The same goes for signed pieces and antique settings, where the setting itself is the interesting part. The what we buy pages list what prompts a second look for each material, and the scrap gold jewellery page covers everyday pieces. If you are not sure which of your pieces belongs in which pile, read the guide to what is worth having looked at first.
Questions sellers ask
Do you buy the stones in my jewellery?
No. Assaypost buys precious metal, and valuing gems is a different trade. Stones are listed and their weight left out. A stone stays in its setting unless you ask in writing before you accept for it to be taken out and returned, and that is done only if it can come out without damage.
How do you know how big a stone is without taking it out?
From its dimensions and its type, using standard charts that relate size and shape to weight. A well-cut round diamond about 6.5 mm across is roughly one carat, and a carat is 0.2 g. The figure is shown on the offer as an estimate, and no stone is taken out to check it.
Will I get my stones back?
If you say no to the offer, yes: the piece comes back with its stones still in it. If you accept, a stone comes back only if you asked for it in writing before accepting and it can be taken out without damage. If it cannot, you are told before you accept. Otherwise it goes with the piece and is not paid for.
Why is the clasp on my chain treated separately?
Most bolt-ring, spring-ring and lobster clasps have a steel spring inside, and some clasps are base metal all through. A magnet finds them in a second. The gold part of a clasp is part of the chain; the spring and any base metal are not.
What if I disagree with what was left out?
Ask. Every part left out of a piece's weight is written down with what it is and how its weight was worked out, and we will talk you through it. If you are still not satisfied, decline and everything comes back free, as it arrived. Nothing is processed while a question is open.
A box of odds and ends?
Tip it out on a table and photograph the lot in one or two pictures. A person writes back with what looks worth posting. You do not need to sort anything first.
Nothing is sold until you say yes. Say no and everything comes back by tracked, signed-for post at our cost.
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What is not paid for
Stones, clasp springs and base-metal fittings are not paid for as metal. A stone that cannot be lifted out goes with the piece, and nothing is taken apart. If a piece may be worth more as a jewel, we tell you before any offer, so you can take it elsewhere.