Valuations
Our jewellery valuation charges range from £65 to £75 depending on the value of the item. Your jewellery will be cleaned and professionally photographed before being printed for you.
Also, your valuation will be kept on our system so that when the valuation needs updating, in the future, we can re-value the piece at a reduced rate of £45 per item.
Most of our valuations are completed within two weeks.
Unless otherwise specified, our valuations are for the cost to replace your lost item for insurance purposes. We can also value for probate purposes which will value the item at second hand or scrap value.
Many are unaware of their policy details so we have answered some of our most commonly asked questions.
Which of my jewellery needs to be valued for insurance?
You will need to check your individual policy, but generally items worth less than £1,500 don’t need to be valued separately on your household insurance. However beware! There will be a maximum amount they will pay out for grouped, lower value, jewellery. Often only £5,000, many are under insured. It is better to itemise your jewellery and ask your insurer, “Am I covered for these items in TOTAL”? For smaller items of a few hundred pounds we suggest taking a photograph of them individually along with a receipt, if you have one, and store them online. Items needing individual valuation, the insurance company will require a detailed up to date valuation by a reputable qualified jeweller.
How frequently should I have a valuation done?
Most insurance companies require a new valuation every three years. Our records allow us to remind clients when a new valuation is needed and update them quickly and easily. What does a jewellery insurance valuation include? A jewellery insurance valuation should include a high quality photo, a detailed description of the item, and an estimated current like-for-like replacement cost. Typically stone type, size, quality, cut and certificate details (if certified) are included.
What does a jewellery insurance valuation include?
A jewellery insurance valuation should include a high quality photo, a detailed description of the item, and an estimated current like-for-like replacement cost. Typically stone type, size, quality, cut and certificate details (if certified) are included.
How is an insurance valuation different to a probate valuation?
]A probate valuation provides the current market value of an item if sold that day to the trade. Usually either its scrap value or the amount a dealer would be prepared to pay for it (whichever is the greater). It will be significantly less than an insurance valuation. For insurance purpose, the valuation lists the cost of replacing that item in a retail jewellers or in some cases, what it would cost to re-make the piece.
What if the item is old and irreplaceable?
When we value a piece of jewellery we have to asses whether it is something that is reasonably current and still available to buy or whether it is an antique. If it is an antique, your insurer will pay out to replace it with something of similar value, not what it would cost to re-make today. If it is something totally irreplaceable, perhaps something bought on your travels, many years ago, the insurance company will view it in the same way.
I have made a claim and my insurance company say I must replace the items in a shop which is not of my choosing. What can I do?
Insurance companies have deals with certain jewellers and get enormous discounts to replace your jewellery so they never actually have to pay out the full amount of the claim. If the item of jewellery is generic, such as a plain wedding ring or a simple chain, then they can insist you use their preferred jeweller. However if the jewellery is a branded piece such as Rolex or Gucci, they would have to replace it with the same thing. The grey area is when you want to replace unbranded jewellery, but their preferred jeweller does not sell anything like that. They will try and tell you have no choice and it was in the small print or, they may offer you a cash payment less 30%. If you persevere and make a complaint to the insurance ombudsman, you will usually get the full pay out but it is much better to check the policy before you take it out.
How long does it take?
We understand how lost many are without their jewellery and endeavour to get valuations done as quickly as possible. Unlike many jewellers we are fortunate valuations are done by Dominic on-site. However we would normally need a week to ten days to photograph and value the pieces. For some higher value items we will value it the same (pre arranged) day.