Have an old gold ring, broken jewellery, silver coins or gold bullion that you're thinking about selling?

You don't need to be an expert in precious metals to get started. Understanding how your gold or silver is valued, what happens during testing and how the selling process works can help you make a confident decision.

At Best Bullion, we help customers throughout New Zealand sell their precious metals. Here's what you should know before selling yours.

Gold and silver can retain value even when jewellery is broken, damaged or no longer worn.

Best Bullion purchases a range of precious metals, including:

 – Including unwanted or broken pieces.

 – Including natural gold nuggets and flakes.

If you're unsure whether your items contain gold or silver, our team can help assess them.

The value of your precious metals generally comes down to three things:

 How much precious metal your item contains.

 How much of the item is actually gold or silver.

For example, 9ct gold contains 37.5% pure gold, while 18ct gold contains 75%.

This means an 18ct gold ring will generally have a higher gold value than a 9ct ring of the same weight, assuming both contain the same weight of metal.

Gold and silver prices also change throughout the day, so the value of your items can rise or fall with the market.

Put simply, the spot price is the current market price of the precious metal itself.

When you sell physical gold or silver, a dealer uses the market price as a starting point. The amount offered will depend on the item's weight, purity and the dealer's buying rate.

This means the price you receive may be below the spot price.

At Best Bullion, our buyback prices are closely linked to current gold and silver market prices, helping us provide competitive offers to customers throughout New Zealand.

How Does Best Bullion Test Your Gold and Silver?

Before providing a final offer, it's important to establish exactly what you're selling.

Best Bullion uses modern XRF testing technology and precision scales to help determine the purity and weight of precious metals.

XRF equipment can identify the metals present near an item's surface without damaging it. Depending on the item, our team may use additional checks to help confirm its precious metal content.

For example, a gold-coloured chain isn't necessarily solid gold, and an old ring may have no visible carat marking.

Professional testing helps establish what the item contains so it can be valued appropriately.

You don't need to know the exact purity of your jewellery before bringing it in.

How Do You Sell Gold or Silver to Best Bullion?

We've made the process straightforward, whether you're based in Christchurch or elsewhere in New Zealand.

If you're selling jewellery or scrap precious metals, you can start with our online Jewellery & Scrap Pricing Estimator.

This gives you an indication of what your items could be worth before arranging an assessment.

Gold and silver bullion, along with alluvial gold, are assessed separately.

You can bring your gold or silver to our Christchurch premises or contact us about sending your items by courier.

Our team will inspect, weigh and test your items before explaining the value and providing an offer.

There is no obligation to sell. You can decide whether you'd like to proceed once you know what your items are worth.

If you're happy with the offer, Best Bullion makes payment the same day by bank transfer into a New Zealand bank account held in your name.

We don't make cash payments for precious metal buybacks.

New Zealand's secondhand dealer regulations require dealers to verify sellers' identities and keep transaction records.

To make the process easy, Best Bullion asks customers to provide:

 – Such as a driver licence or passport.

 – Such as a bank statement, utility bill or rates bill dated within the past three months.

These are routine checks, and our team can guide you through what is needed.

If you're sending items by courier, please contact us first so we can explain the process and help you prepare everything correctly.

Some people sell unwanted jewellery that has been sitting in a drawer for years. Others choose to sell part of their gold or silver bullion holdings when they want to access the value of their investment.

It's worth remembering that some antique jewellery, designer pieces and collectable coins may have additional value beyond their precious metal content. In these cases, a specialist appraisal may be worthwhile before selling solely for metal value.

Whatever your reason for selling, understanding the value of your items and choosing an established buyer can make the process easier.

Ready to Find Out What Your Gold or Silver Is Worth?

As one of New Zealand's highly rated bullion dealers, Best Bullion offers professional precious metal testing, competitive market-based buyback prices and same-day payment.

Whether you're selling unwanted jewellery, scrap precious metals, alluvial gold or investment-grade bullion, our Christchurch team is here to help.

Visit our Sell Gold, Silver & Jewellery page

 to use our pricing estimator, learn about selling in person or arrange an assessment from elsewhere in New Zealand.


Mezzanine Floor, 124 Peterborough Street, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8013

A simple guide to selling gold, silver and jewellery in New Zealand. Learn how your precious metals are valued, tested and sold with confidence.