Sell Broken Gold Jewellery
Condition Doesn’t Change the Value
Snapped chains, single earrings, bent rings, broken clasps and tangled odds and ends. We buy gold on purity and weight — not on how it looks — so a damaged piece is worth exactly what an intact one of the same karat and weight is worth. Professionally XRF tested, with immediate EFT payment.
If It’s Gold, We’ll Buy It
Most people underestimate the drawer of pieces they’ve been meaning to throw away. Damage, tangles and missing partners make no difference to what the metal is worth.
Snapped Chains
Broken necklaces and bracelets, failed clasps, chains that snapped years ago and were never worn again. Tangled bundles are fine — don’t try to separate them.
Single Earrings
The most common item we see. A lone stud or hoop whose partner vanished still holds its full gold value — there’s no penalty for selling one instead of a pair.
Damaged & Scrap
Bent or misshapen rings, crushed pendants, offcuts, dental gold and pieces too worn to wear. All handled as scrap gold and priced against the live market.
We’re Buying the Metal, Not the Item
This is the part most people get wrong. Your gold’s price comes from two numbers, and neither of them is affected by whether the piece is still wearable.
Purity × Weight
Karat tells us how much of the piece is actually gold; the scale tells us how much there is. Those two numbers are the whole calculation — applied to the live gold price in Rand.
XRF-Tested Accuracy
Professional XRF testing confirms the exact gold content of each piece without scratching or acid. Broken items are tested exactly the same way as intact ones.
Live Market Prices
Priced against the live international gold spot price converted to Rand. Damaged gold is not discounted — it is refined the same way as any other gold.
Established Since 1997
Almost three decades and 30 000+ completed transactions. A registered business with a real head office, not a pop-up buyer working from a hotel room.
Immediate EFT
No holding periods. Accept the offer and payment goes straight to your bank account the same day your items are tested.
Honest About Plating
Mixed jewellery boxes often contain gold plated pieces, which hold no real value. We identify them immediately and tell you straight — free, with no obligation.
Three Things Not to Do
Every one of these costs sellers money or time, and none of them improves the offer. Broken gold is easiest to sell exactly as you found it.
Repair it first
A jeweller’s repair costs real money in labour and adds no gold to the piece. You would almost certainly spend more on fixing the clasp than the repair adds to your offer.
Clean or polish it
Tarnish sits on the surface and has no bearing on the price. Polishing removes a small amount of metal, so a thorough clean can very slightly reduce the weight you’re paid for.
Sort or untangle it
Send the bundle as it is. We separate, test and weigh everything ourselves, and mixed karats in one bag are no problem — each piece is tested individually.
One thing worth doing. If any piece has a stone you want to keep — a diamond, a family stone, a birthstone — tell us before you send it. We can remove and return stones, but it is far simpler to agree that upfront than after testing has started.
Choose How You’d Like to Sell
An insured courier, an appointment at our Pretoria office, or a home visit — every option gets you the same fair price and immediate EFT.
Option 1 — Insured Courier
Collected From Your Door
How most clients outside Pretoria sell. We send packing instructions, the courier collects, your items are insured the whole way, XRF-tested on arrival, and you’re paid immediately by EFT.
- Anywhere in South Africa
- Fully insured in transit
- Returned free if you decline
Option 2 — Office Visit
Visit Our Pretoria Office
Our head office in Menlyn Maine, Pretoria is open by appointment — a fully private valuation where you watch every piece being tested and weighed in front of you.
- Menlyn Maine, Pretoria
- By appointment only
- Watch the testing yourself
Option 3 — Home Visit
We Come to You
Useful for larger collections or a full jewellery box you’d rather not transport. A valuer comes to you, tests everything in front of you, and pays immediately by EFT. Ts&Cs apply.
- By appointment, subject to availability
- XRF testing in your presence
- Immediate EFT on acceptance
How to Sell Broken Gold
Four steps from first message to money in your account.
Contact Us
Call, WhatsApp or request a quote online. A photo of the bundle helps, but isn’t essential.
Choose Your Method
Insured courier, an office appointment in Pretoria, or a home visit — your choice.
Free Valuation
Every piece is separated, XRF tested and weighed. We show you the calculation before you decide.
Immediate EFT
Accept and you’re paid straight into your account. Decline and your items come back, insured.
Worth More Than People Expect
Almost every household has one — a pouch or a corner of a drawer holding a snapped chain, a couple of odd earrings and a ring that stopped fitting years ago. Individually they look like nothing. Weighed together, they rarely are.
- Every piece tested and weighed separately
- Mixed karats sorted for you at no charge
- Plated and non-gold items identified honestly
- Stones removed and returned on request
- One transparent total, explained before you accept
Where to Sell Broken Gold Jewellery in South Africa
If you’ve searched “sell broken gold jewellery,” “sell scrap gold” or “broken jewellery buyer,” the short answer is that broken gold is bought and sold every day, at the same rate as anything else. Sell My Gold has been buying it since 1997, with over 30 000+ completed transactions. Condition simply isn’t part of the calculation.
Why Damage Doesn’t Reduce the Price
A jeweller selling you a necklace is selling craftsmanship, brand and design as well as metal — which is why retail prices are far above the gold value. When you sell, that reverses. We are buying the raw material, which is refined and re-used regardless of what shape it arrived in.
So a 9ct chain weighing twelve grams is worth the same whether it is intact or in three pieces. The clasp being broken changes nothing about how much gold is in it. This is also why a repair before selling is wasted money: it adds labour cost to your side of the ledger and no gold to ours.
Broken Gold vs Scrap Gold — What’s the Difference?
In practice, none. “Scrap gold” simply means gold bought for its metal content rather than resold as jewellery. Broken pieces, single earrings, unfashionable items, offcuts and dental gold all fall into that category, and all are priced the same way — purity, weight, live market rate.
The word puts some people off because it sounds like it implies a lower price. It doesn’t. Scrap is a description of what happens to the item afterwards, not a discount applied to your offer.
What We Buy
- Snapped and broken gold chains, necklaces and bracelets
- Single earrings, lone studs and odd hoops
- Bent, crushed or misshapen rings and bangles
- Broken clasps, findings, links and offcuts
- Tangled bundles and mixed jewellery-box contents
- Worn, faded or unfashionable pieces
- Scrap gold and dental gold
- All karats — 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct and 24ct
What about stones?
If a broken piece still holds a stone, tell us before sending. We can remove and return stones to you, and we separately buy certified diamonds with a valid certificate from a recognised institution such as GIA or IGI. Uncertified diamonds cannot be valued accurately and we do not buy them.
What if some of it isn’t really gold?
Very common, and we’ll tell you honestly. Gold plated and gold filled items carry a microscopically thin layer of gold over a base metal, and the recoverable gold is negligible. Marks such as GP, GF, HGE or RGP indicate plating rather than solid gold. XRF testing identifies these in seconds, at no cost and with no obligation to sell anything.
Selling Broken Gold — Answered
Ready to Clear Out That Drawer?
Get a free, no-obligation valuation on whatever you have — broken, tangled, odd or scrap. Send it by insured courier, book an appointment at our Pretoria office, or request a home visit (Ts&Cs apply).
Ready to Sell? Contact Us
WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us — we respond within minutes during business hours.
Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat 08:00–13:00