Where can I get jewellery valued for free?

[writemynameinthesand]

Would H Samuel do it?

DM has been given a guardianship order (dementia) and relative doing that has said we need to itemise all her belongings.

Trouble is she’s in a care home and her belongings were largely distributed between my sister and I - or gotten rid of, last summer.

Anyway I’m wearing her jewellery so will need to go and get it valued asap, but I’ve no idea how to do that - it looks like that’s something that will cost me a bit? I’ve got a fair bit (about +- 10 items) that will need valued .

Never heard of valuing jewellery for a living person. If so guardian can pay for it out of mother money. You shouldn't be out of pocket. DM may have an insurance policy.

Personally I think the relative is barking up the wrong tree or just plain nosy. Ask relative to produce proof

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/paying-for-care/paying-for-a-care-home/deprivation-of-assets/

Contact age UK. for free advice

She doesn’t have an insurance policy no, nothing like that. She doesn’t have anything of real financial value but been asked to write down all her belongings including clothes etc so that’s a lot …

If she gave it you & sister already then it no longer brlongs to her.

I think it would depend what type of valuation you need.
An insurance valuation would be the cost of a new like for like replacement if the items were lost or stolen.
A valuation as in what you would get if you wanted to sell the items to raise cash would be much lower than the insurance valuation.

Some jewellers might charge a one off fee to produce an insurance valuation but others charge a % of the value. If they're giving you a valuation for sale, they would likely just put the items on the scales and work out a price based on current gold scrap prices.

I would maybe try an auction house or independent jeweller rather than H Samuel.

If its for an inventory for a care home, they only need a list of things she's brought with her into the home not a list of everything she owns.

I don't think anyone would do it for free - it's a well-established industry used by the insurance and probate areas. H Samuel and many others use valuers from a guild.
I've had mine valued twice for insurance purposes - I get it done every decade. Some charge per item, others charge a percentage of the value. If the items are under a certain amount they may group those together as one item. They will appraise each item properly, tell you what it is, photograph it and itemise it properly in a document you put away in case you ever need to refer to it. It meant that when we were burgled when I was a kid and they took some of my mum's jewellery, her pay out was accurate.

But these items have been given away and are no longer hers surely

Yeah relative’s just rang office of guardian, was a misinterpretation - phew!! They don’t need valued, which is just as well as H Samuel were going to charge around about £400 !!

Well that's a relief

That’s good you don’t have to do it.

If you did want to value them, I would suggest if you take the jewellery into a pawn shop or cash for gold shop and ask how much they’ll give you for each piece that this will give you an idea of their worth.

Which will be a shock. Insurance valuation says £500. The actual worth (ie how much someone will pay for it) £200.

A pawn shop will tell you the second-hand value, and the insurance will be replacement value though. Two very different things as you say, but if I lost my engagement ring I'd want the insurance value to replace it.