Some people wonder if jewelry appraisals are necessary when no purchase or sale is being contemplated. When they ask me why I think they are, I share a personal story with them.
When my grandmother passed away, she left three jewelry sets, one for each of her daughters. They had the receipts from when the sets had been purchased and, not realizing how much certain metals and gemstones had increased in value since they had been purchased, believed each set to be worth somewhere in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. When my mom actually took the set and brought it home, she had it appraised because she was curious about the value. It was appraised at just over $27,000, a value too high to be covered by her regular homeowner’s insurance policy, so that she needed to add a rider to the policy to have the ring covered in the event of loss. She also made changes to her will based on that new value; she intends to leave the set to her only granddaughter, but made sure to include personal conveyances of equal value to each of her grandsons after finding out it was worth almost ten times as much as she thought it was worth.
jewelry appraisals of an appraisal is to stablish the value of a piece of jewelry, but keep in mind that value fluctuates with gold and gemstone prices. Therefore, if you want to make sure you are adequately insured for your jewelry, you want to have it reappraised every five years or so. Valuations are important for insurance, but they can also be very helpful any time that value is at issue, such as in divorces, asset divisions, and estate tax evaluations.
Lincroft Village Jewelers in New Jersey offers a comprehensive jewelry appraisal service. We appraise all types of jewelry, including wedding sets, watches, pendants and gemstones, and provide you with the documentation you need to establish value.
