As crime and drug use increase, the risks of having old and proprietary jewelry in your home seem to triple. It turns into a nightmare and you realize you are not sure what to do.
Here are some timely tips, but by no means complete. If you have special circumstances, you may want to go a step further and get professional advice.
BALANCE AND COMMON SENSE…
If you collect vintage jewelry and your collection has grown to more than ‘Just a couple of rings’, you will have to wield a double edged sword.
First of all you have two problems.
* You are an active buyer, so people know who you are.
* The insurance has put the ‘premiums’ through the roof.
Personally, we hate to see items picked up and never used.
Jewelry was made to adorn, so if you can, wear it.
But remember that this is an open announcement to everyone that you have ‘You’ve got some jewelry’ at home. It pays to be a little aware!
YOUR INSURANCE POLICY…
Your home and contents policy ‘GENERALLY’ DOES NOT cover your personal jewelry above a certain amount (this varies from company to company). Also, if you were to claim, the insurance company may charge you a ‘premium’ (say $100) which you would DEDUCT from the final payment.
The remaining value may not cover an item in your collection, but only the ‘sentimental’ value associated with your personal favourites.
Therefore, you will need to list all items individually and obtain an insurance valuation certificate as well. Since ‘Sentimental’ value does not apply, only replacement costs, you will need to make sure your qualified gemologist/jeweler/appraiser understands why you are doing an appraisal in the first place.
This can be expensive, as professional appraisals typically cost a flat price of around $20 plus a sliding scale fee of about one percent of the final value.
As an item is valued at around $1000 bucks, that fee is $10 + $20 down or $30 total. This is for ONE item only. Appraisal appraisals can cost as much as $60 or more, so if you have a small collection, you may need a small fortune just to keep up with current prices.
The BIGGER your collection, the BIGGER your cost!
But if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, you can take advantage of the helpful Do-It-Yourself Online Jewelery Self-Assessment Kit at the Online Jewelery Assessment Center at the address below, which is a great alternative.
This ONLINE database system calculates everything for you and prints a descriptive Certificate and is hundreds of times more accurate and complete than the scribbled letterhead from local jewelers.
At a rate this low, it’s money well spent. In fact, if you’ve just bought something on eBay or Yahoo auctions, for example, you might want to confirm an approximate value using this easy-to-use DIY Appraisal Appraisal Kit.
Suppose you recently bought something from a local dealer, market, or antiques fair, why not check it out? What is the worst that can happen? For less than the price of a Big Mac and a Coke, it’s a bargain, plus there are many other advantages to having your jewelry made at the Online Jewelry Appraisal Center.
Appraisal appraisals must be redone every two years as the price of gold and silver changes, as do the price of diamonds, precious stones, and antiques in particular.
We offer a great reminder service for anyone who completes an online “Do It Yourself” jewelry self-assessment kit with us. This alone is worth the small fee as it gets you off the hook.
But remember that if your Jewelry is lost or stolen, the insurance cover will only help replace your treasure with something of ‘COMPARABLE’ value.
It can’t buy you ‘feeling’ and it can’t buy you another Georgian Chatelaine to exactly replace the one you had. However, you may be able to get another ‘similar’ item, and that’s better than the few dollars you may have received from your homeowners policy.
It pays to have an updated Certificate. I can’t stress that enough.
In case of doubt, talk to your trusted Insurance Company.
But even if it’s just for ‘peace of mind’, the small price (less than a movie ticket) is well worth it.
It’s a no brainer really.
There are several other SPECIAL REPORTS available through our email-on-demand subscription box on the website, so please take some time to check them out.
There is a timely warning about security issues. It’s good advice, plus there are some great tips on investing in jewelry, insurance guidelines and other notes on sales, contrast tips, etc., and they’re added all the time.
And the best thing is that they are FREE…
Thank you for taking the time to read this special report. If you found this interesting, useful, or helped you in any way, I would appreciate your feedback via email at the address below.
This is my personal email address and I read all comments, good or bad.
Alternatively: why not pass it on to a friend? I’m sure you can think of someone who could benefit from this useful information. Treat it like you’re doing me a big favor. I will certainly appreciate it.
Greetings and please take care of the road. David Foard FGAA Fellow of the Australian Gemological Association and former member of JATVC – The Valuers Council (retired).
P.S.
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