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How to Sell Antique and Vintage Jewellery Online in the UK

There are three ways to sell antique and vintage jewellery in the UK: sell it to a specialist buyer, put it into an auction, or list it online yourself. Listing it yourself means you set the price, but you have to describe it correctly under UK hallmarking law, choose a site that accepts jewellery, and post it with proper cover.

Key points

• Describe metal carefully. In business it is an offence to describe an unhallmarked item as gold, silver, platinum or palladium unless an exemption applies (Hallmarking Act 1973).
• The 1950 rule. Gold or silver made before 1950 can be sold as gold or silver without a hallmark, but you must be able to prove its age and that it meets the minimum fineness.
• Show the Dealer's Notice. GOV.UK says online retail sites must prominently display hallmark information; the online version (Notice B) can be added as a listing image.
• Not every site takes jewellery. Vinterior, for example, does not accept jewellery or watches. eBay does, with its own rules on stones and metals.
• Post it by Special Delivery. Royal Mail says to use Special Delivery Guaranteed for jewellery; compensation is for what the item cost you, not its selling price.

Should I sell to a buyer, at auction, or online myself?

Each route trades speed against price.

The rest of this guide is about the third route.

What does UK hallmarking law mean when you sell jewellery?

The Hallmarking Act 1973 is mostly about description. If you sell in the course of a business, you must not describe an item as gold, silver, platinum or palladium unless it is hallmarked or one of the exemptions applies. The Assay Offices' guidance notes (published on GOV.UK, last updated 30 December 2022) say this applies to online selling as much as to shops, and to pre-owned items as well as new ones. A fineness stamp such as "375" or "925" on the piece counts as a description.

The weight exemptions

Small items are exempt from hallmarking. The limits are on the total metal weight of the piece:

• Gold: under 1 gram
• Silver: under 7.78 grams
• Platinum: under 0.5 grams
• Palladium: under 1 gram

Where a piece contains more than one precious metal, the limit for the most precious one applies.

The 1950 rule for antique and vintage pieces

Gold or silver made before 1950 can be described and sold as gold or silver without a hallmark, as long as you can prove two things: that it was made before 1950, and that it is at least the minimum fineness (375 parts per thousand for gold, and, in the Assay Offices' guidance, not less than 800 for silver). It must not have been altered in an unauthorised way since 1950. Platinum made before 1975 and palladium made before 2010 are also exempt.

If you cannot prove the age, do not call it gold or silver. Describe what you can prove.

Words that get sellers into trouble

• Calling a base-metal piece "gold" because of its colour is an offence. Say "gold tone" or "gold coloured".
• Gold-plated silver must be described as silver, with "gold" followed directly by "plated", for example "18ct gold plated silver ring". "Silver gilt" is also accepted.
• "Rolled gold", "bonded gold" and "gold plated" are allowed terms. The guidance gives "22ct gold clad" and "22ct gold vermeil" as misleading examples.

The Dealer's Notice

Every dealer in precious metal must display the British Hallmarking Council's Dealer's Notice. GOV.UK's hallmarking guidance says online retail sites must also prominently display hallmark information, either Notice A or Notice B. Notice B is made for online selling and can be added as one of a listing's images; eBay's own jewellery policy points sellers to it. The current notice is version 9/2025, available from the Assay Offices.

Where can I sell antique jewellery online in the UK?

eBay

eBay accepts jewellery and is free for UK private sellers. Business sellers pay 14.9% on the first £1,000 of a Jewellery and Watches sale and 4% above that, plus 30p or 40p per order and a 0.35% regulatory fee, excluding VAT (eBay's business fees page, updated 30 September 2026). On a £300 sale that is £44.70 + 40p + £1.05 = £46.15 before VAT.

eBay's jewellery policy adds its own rules:

• Plated, flashed or filled metal must be stated in the title, item specifics and description.
• Treated, lab-created and simulated stones must be named as such in the title.
• If you do not know whether a stone is treated, lab-created or simulated, list it in Fashion Jewellery and make no claims about it.
• Do not use the word "diamond" for anything that is not a diamond.

eBay's Authenticity Guarantee covers jewellery sold for £500 or more, but its own page excludes the Antique and Vintage jewellery category.

Specialist antiques marketplaces

Not every antiques marketplace takes jewellery: Vinterior's help pages list jewellery and watches as items it does not accept. Antiques Atlas has an antique and vintage jewellery section for vetted trade dealers, with no commission and a subscription from £130 a year. Sellingantiques.co.uk is for UK antiques businesses, with an antique jewellery category and a monthly fee from £90 depending on how many pieces you list.

Vinted

Vinted has jewellery categories and its price list shows no commission for sellers; the buyer pays Vinted's buyer protection fee.

Your own website

A Shopify or WooCommerce shop lets you present jewellery properly, with your own photographs, descriptions and the Dealer's Notice on the site. You have to bring buyers to it, so most dealers run it alongside eBay and the marketplaces.

How do I photograph jewellery to sell online?

Buyers cannot pick the piece up, so the photographs do the job of a loupe:

• Use soft daylight or a lightbox, and a plain background that shows the true colour of the metal.
• Photograph the front, back and side, then close-ups of every hallmark, maker's mark, clasp, hinge and setting.
• Show the size: a ruler or a coin beside the piece, and the piece being worn where possible.
• Photograph any damage, wear or repair. An honest picture prevents a "not as described" return, which eBay buyers can make even when you do not offer returns.

What should a jewellery listing include?

Write down everything a careful buyer would ask:

• What it is and its period, and how you know (a hallmark date letter, a maker's mark, a documented history).
• Metal and fineness, described within hallmarking law, with the hallmarks named.
• Stones: tested or untested, natural, treated, lab-created or simulated. If you have not had them tested, say so.
• Weight in grams, and size: ring size, chain length, dimensions.
• Condition: wear, repairs, replaced parts, missing stones.
• Provenance where you have it.

Artifactly Studio drafts this kind of listing from your photographs and notes, for you to check and edit, and keeps the details with the piece so the same description goes to eBay, your own shop and the marketplaces you copy it to. You remain responsible for the hallmarking wording, so read every draft before it goes live.

How do I post jewellery safely in the UK?

Royal Mail's help centre says to use Special Delivery Guaranteed for jewellery sent within the UK. Signed For does not cover jewellery at all.

• Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm includes compensation up to £750, with extra cover available up to £2,500 (Post Office, which sells the Royal Mail service, read 19 October 2026).
• By 9am includes £50 of cover, with extra available up to £2,500.
• Compensation is for your actual loss: what the item cost you to buy or make, not the price you sold it for. Keep proof of what you paid.

For business customers, Royal Mail treats jewellery with diamonds, precious metal or precious stones and a retail value over £150 as "valuables". Pack every piece securely and keep proof of posting.

Two rules that catch jewellery sellers out

Ivory

Antique jewellery sometimes contains ivory. Under the Ivory Act 2018, dealing in elephant, hippopotamus, killer whale, narwhal or sperm whale ivory is banned unless an exemption applies, and advertising counts as dealing. Items made before 3 March 1947 with less than 10% ivory by volume can be sold once registered (£20 an item, re-registered on each sale), and portrait miniatures made before 1918 have their own exemption (GOV.UK, last updated 24 July 2026). The maximum penalty is a £250,000 fine or 5 years in prison.

eBay UK goes further: its animal products policy bans ivory from those species, and walrus and dugong, outright. So even a registered piece cannot be listed there.

Large cash payments

If you take 10,000 euros or more in cash for goods, including several smaller cash payments for one sale, HMRC treats you as a high value dealer, and you must register before taking the payment. If you are only paid by card or cheque, you do not need to register.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place to sell antique jewellery in the UK?

eBay accepts jewellery and is free for UK private sellers; business sellers pay 14.9% on the first £1,000 of a jewellery sale. Trade dealers can also use antiques marketplaces that take jewellery, such as Antiques Atlas and Sellingantiques.co.uk. Check that a site accepts jewellery first: Vinterior, for example, does not.

Do I need a hallmark to sell gold or silver jewellery?

In business, you cannot describe an item as gold or silver without a hallmark unless an exemption applies. The main exemptions are small weights (under 1 gram of gold or 7.78 grams of silver) and pieces made before 1950 where you can prove the age and the minimum fineness.

Can I sell vintage costume jewellery online?

Yes. Describe the metal honestly: a base-metal piece cannot be called "gold" for its colour, so use words such as "gold tone". On eBay, if you do not know what the stones are, list it in Fashion Jewellery and make no claims about them.

How do I post jewellery safely?

Use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed. By 1pm includes £750 of compensation with extra available up to £2,500, and compensation is for what the item cost you, not its sale price. Signed For does not cover jewellery.

Can I sell antique jewellery that contains ivory?

Only if it meets an Ivory Act exemption and is registered or certified before you advertise it, for example items made before 3 March 1947 with less than 10% ivory. eBay UK does not allow it at all.

How do I price antique jewellery?

Look at what similar pieces have actually sold for, by maker, period, metal and stones, rather than at asking prices. For anything you believe is valuable, get a valuation or have the stones tested before you list it, because the description and the price both depend on it.