I recently got together with my family and we split up my mom’s large jewelry collection. She died a few years ago, and had left a list of how she wanted it distributed. I ended up with about 80 items, and about 25 of them were items my dad had covered on an insurance rider to his homeowner’s policy. He wants me to get them transferred to my insurance, and I think I need to get them appraised to do that. These aren’t the crown jewels, but there are some very nice pieces. A few will go to my daughters right away, and I know at least one of those items should be added as a rider on her homeowner’s insurance (which she knows how to do, she already has her engagement/wedding ring on it). I’ve taken photos of all the items I plan to have appraised, figured I should do that (both for the appraisal, and probably for any future insurance claims).
I’m at a bit of a loss on how to go about finding an appraiser and what it might cost me to have this many items appraised. Does anyone have any thoughts?
If you have a local insurance agent, you could ask if they work with any appraisers in your area. I had taken my mom’s diamond ring into a local jeweler, and it turned out he and my agent were well acquainted through the local merchants association. Both very nice guys. It turned out the stone had a tiny chip under the setting, so it was worth far less than its decade old previous appraisal, and not worth appraising again or insuring.
I have used a well-respected local jeweler. They charged $100 for the first item I brought and $25 for each additional item. They provided a detailed write-up describing the items that is suitable for insurance purposes.
We also used a local jeweler. He told us what was worth insuring and what wasn’t.
I used the local jeweler my engagement ring came from once. He’s no longer alive, and now I need to do the same thing. I’ve gone uninsured for years.
I would look up gem labs in your area. You want someone who is a Graduate Gemologist (GG) from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). I just googled “graduate gemologists near me” and found several options. One listed some prices:
Appraisals include a complete analysis of the gemstones and/or its precious metal, as well as an up to date evaluation of its current value.
*Gem Identification reports are $65.00 per item.
*Full Gemological reports are $90.00 per item.
*Jewelry/Gemstone consultation $50.00 per hour.
Quantity discounts are available.
I’m going to want that volume discount! I’ll probably call my insurance company (just realized I only have renters insurance, but I assume they’ll still do a rider). I think my dad just insured based on the purchase price, adding stuff as they were purchased. But he hasn’t given me those amounts (I got a list of the items he’s insured, but he blocked out the amount he insured for). I wonder if there is any way to use those amounts instead of getting all new appraisals.
A few of them aren’t gems. There is a Boucherer watch on a chain, several good sized 14 kg earrings, a 70” silver chain. An Eastern Star pin from 1922 (looks like made of white gold, appears to be a collectible per a quick online search). Maybe those are cheaper/faster to appraise?
Here’s another item: my mom was obsessed with Pandora, and over time built quite a bracelet and necklace of their original charms. I’m guessing no one charm is worth more than $50, but as a whole it is probably worth quite a bit. Some of the charms are no longer made, and I’m guessing there is something to be made on a place like eBay, a charm at a time. But researching them and figuring that out - time consuming. ? My kids have zero interest in the Pandora items.
I will probably sell some other items in the end, too.
It depends on the item. We have a very detailed appraisal along with a very detailed description of a vintage diamond ring. We have less than detailed descriptions of some high end watches.
My opinion about your Pandora…I have pandora bracelets (yes multiple) but I don’t have them insured at all. They are costume jewelry and I just don’t insure that.
If I insured all of my 14k earrings, I’d be in the poorhouse. I don’t insure those either…but i would if any were diamonds. They aren’t.
Same with silver anything.
You know…if you don’t plan on using these things, it might be cheaper to get a safety deposit box, and put them in there.
Absolutely get any diamond jewelry appraised.
Our insurance company required an appraisal done within a year. Plus…you’d be shocked about the value of some things. We had the original receipt for a vintage high end watch. Purchased for $500. Had it appraised, and the appraisal was $3000. I’m not joking.
I’ve purchased Pandora beads on Ebay. Discontinued ones can be pricey. If you didn’t want to spend the time, maybe one of your D’s would be willing to do the listings in view of making a few bucks which could be spent on something she liked better.
Might be worth discussing with your insurance provider because I think homeowners and maybe renters insurance will cover individual pieces of jewelry up to a certain amount…say $2500 so you’d only need to insure pieces which. individually are worth more than that.
Hmm, I’ll follow up with the insurance company. And maybe the Pandora beads on Ebay can be a project for me next time I’m between contracts. ?
I am with thumper. We rent a safety deposit box at our local bank branch. $35 a year. Cheaper than appraisal of a single item. We don’t have any gems or expensive stuff. The box is used for storage of stuff with sentimental value and some important papers.
We have USAA insurance. I have 5 or 6 pieces insured separately as they are valued over $2000. Those pieces have appraisals. The pieces that are worth less, but still have significant value are covered lumped as a group. If I remember correctly, we have $10,000 Worth of extra coverage, but no piece can be valued at more than $2,000, and we could not collect more than $10,000 if some or all of the items were lost or stolen. I have photos of the non listed pieces to prove that I own them. Does that make sense? The non appraised items are worth more than $10,000 total, but most stay in the safe deposit box, as I would not be using them all at the same time.
Well, part of my problem is that I don’t know for sure which pieces are worth over $2,000. And would have no idea what to claim on the ones under that if they were stolen.
I know my dad had $16,000 in insurance, but don’t know the configuration. I ended up with more of the insured items - I’m going to ballpark that I probably got $10K insured value.
Here are two websites where folks sell their pre-owned jewelry, if you don’t prefer eBay:
Diamond Bistro: https://www.diamondbistro.com
Loupe Troop: https://loupetroop.com
Do you have a trusted jeweler? When I had inherited some pieces of jewelry, I took them in and told me which pieces would be worth getting appraisals on. The others they gave me a verbal appraisal. That was enough for my insurance company.
I’ve had a number of items appraised over the years. I always started with my local jeweler who referred me to an appraiser. Different price depending on the type of appraisal - appraisal for insurance purposes was the cheapest.
I have found that not all gem appraisers have the expertise to determine antique value and, similarly, not all antique appraisers will value gems. I don’t know if that will be a concern for any of your items.
I have also received multiple appraisals on a single item with fairly wide differences in valuation from different appraisers. One appraiser I worked with had a great story about being called into court as an expert witness in a contested estate distribution. He pointed out a flaw in a gem that the initial appraiser had overlooked. It resulted in a difference in valuation of in the $10,000 range. None of my items has ever come close to that - Darn!
Remember, too, the appraised value is full retail, you can probably buy or recreate a similar diamond item for half that and if you were to sell it to a jeweler, you might get 1/4 of full retail value.