An insurance valuation £55 for the first item and £25 each after, with photographs, within five working days
Written valuations
Written valuations for insurance, probate and division, with each piece weighed, measured, tested and photographed and the document laid out the way insurers ask for it. £55 for the first item and £25 for each after in the same visit, back within five working days, by Elin, who holds the NAJ diploma.
An insurer will not replace what you cannot describe, and most people cannot describe their jewellery beyond "my engagement ring". A written valuation fixes that: each piece weighed, measured, the metal tested, the stones graded and measured, photographed, and written up with a replacement value at today's prices. Elin holds the National Association of Jewellers diploma in valuation and has written about two hundred a year since 2011.
Bring the pieces in on a Wednesday or a Friday by appointment, or leave them at the counter any day. Each is examined under magnification: the hallmark read and dated, the metal tested where there is no mark, stones measured with a gauge and graded for colour and clarity as far as a mounted stone allows, and the whole piece weighed and photographed against a scale. You are welcome to sit with Elin while she does it; most people find it the most interesting hour they have spent on their jewellery.
The document is a bound set of pages, one per item, with the photograph, the description an insurer can match a replacement to, and the value for the purpose you asked for: replacement new for insurance, which is the highest figure; open-market for probate, which is lower and is what the Revenue wants; or a fair division figure for a family splitting an estate. The purpose matters and we ask. A copy is emailed and a copy kept here for five years in case yours is lost.
Values move with the gold price and the diamond market, and insurers expect a valuation to be refreshed every three to five years. A refresh of a valuation we wrote is £25 for the first item and £12 for each after. We do not buy what we value on the same visit, which is the oldest rule in the trade, and we will say in writing if a piece is not what you were told it was.
What is included
- Weighed, measured, tested and photographed
- Graded under magnification, as far as a mounting allows
- Written for the purpose: insurance, probate or division
- A bound document and an emailed copy
- A copy kept here for five years
- Refreshes at half price
What it costs
£55 for the first item and £25 for each further item in the same visit, for insurance, probate or division. A verbal opinion at the counter is free and is not a valuation. The repairs page has the full price list with the days each job takes; the bespoke page walks through a commission from the first hour to the hallmark.
Questions about valuations
How much is my ring worth, roughly?
Ask at the counter and we will give you a free verbal opinion, which is honest and is not a valuation. An insurer needs the written document, and that is what the £55 pays for.
Do you value watches?
Yes, for insurance, with the model and serial recorded and the current retail replacement price. We do not open a watch for a valuation unless you ask us to service it.
Come in with the piece, or book an hour at the table.
Repairs, batteries and the cabinet need no appointment: the counter is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 5:30, in the Royal Arcade. For a bespoke commission, a ring fitting or a valuation, book an hour and we reply within the working day with a time. The price list is on the wall and on here.