Your jewellery is precious and is often more than just a simple accessory; it can hold sentimental value, and family history and can also be an investment – therefore it’s crucial that it is correctly and professionally valued.
The importance of getting your jewellery valued
Having an up-to-date valuation of your jewellery collection is an important step in understanding the true worth of your treasured pieces. Perhaps you are looking to sell your jewellery, to get your jewellery collection insured or maybe a jewellery appraisal is necessary due to probate or a family division.
Getting your jewellery valued can ensure adequate coverage in case of loss, damage or theft. Unfortunately, jewellery is often undervalued on insurance policies, so having a professional valuation can help to ensure that you are properly compensated in the event of a claim.
Do I need to get my jewellery valued?
It is essential to understand that if you suffer the misfortune of losing your jewellery and you haven’t had it valued, then you may not be able to get a suitable replacement. You may find that due to the lack of a detailed jewellery valuation report, your items of jewellery are not fully insured which could result in you not getting a like-for-like replacement or a piece of equal value.
While an item of jewellery might be listed on a household insurance policy, there is no guarantee that you will be able to convince the loss adjustors of its existence or true value.
Regular jewellery valuations also help to prevent underinsurance of your treasured jewellery pieces by adjusting for increasing inflation and fluctuations in exchange rates and precious metal prices.
Jewellery Valuation for Insurance
The majority of valuations are undertaken for insurance replacements – that is finding out what a similar item will cost to replace in the unfortunate event of any loss or damage. If your jewellery is lost or stolen, then any claim with an insurance company will be simplified and expedited by having a properly conducted jewellery valuation.
It is also worth noting that regular jewellery valuations help ensure that your jewellery collections are not over or under-insured – so you can be assured that you will receive a similar replacement and are not overpaying on your insurance premium.
Probate Valuation for Jewellery
Upon the death of the owner of the jewellery, a valuation for probate purposes may be required to be submitted to legal representatives who are looking after said person’s estate. The values for probate valuations are based on an open market assessment of their worth at the time of death and usually represent lower values than for an insurance valuation.
Asian Jewellery Valuations
Many within the Asian community have amassed a sizeable jewellery collection, which has often been passed down through generations. The breadth, scope and intricacy of Asian jewellery are considerable and often require a specialist with the relevant knowledge and experience to conduct a jewellery valuation. The valuer who we partner with has many years of experience within the Asian jewellery industry.
What to expect during the valuation appointment
Once your jewellery valuation has been confirmed, you will be given an appointment for the valuation to be done at our premises.
During the Valuation the Valuator will weigh each item, calculate the value, take a photo of the item and make a note of the description. The valuator will take all the information and produce a report of the valuation which will be provided to the customer in a bounded hard copy format along with a soft PDF copy.
How much does a jewellery valuation cost?
There are cheap or even free online jewellery valuations available online – however we would advise against using these for your treasured jewellery collections as they do not provide accurate results, and they do not always meet the required standard.
Without having the item of jewellery in front of them, a valuer is unable to use their intimate knowledge of the subject, experience and specialist equipment.
As it is their livelihood, jewellers and registered valuers who provide an expert valuation service must charge for their expertise, time and use of their specialist equipment and facilities. The exact fees for the valuation will depend on the quantity of jewellery and the complexity of the work involved.
If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment for a jewellery valuation please get in touch with our Customer Service Team.