What would you do with inherited jewellery you don't wear?

[certainlycertain]

Four pieces that have mild sentimental value but have been sitting (expensively insured) in our safe for the past decade. DCs and partners don't want it (anti-mined diamonds) and they never knew the great grandparent it was passed down from. My Mum doesn't want it - she inherited it about twenty years ago, never wore it and passed it down to me.

Would you sell it? Keep it in case a DC or partner changes their mind? Have some of it remade into something else I won't wear?

I have sold antique and vintage jewellery for many years and there is cerrtainly a market for good quality pieces. I would find a good auctioneer (I use Bonhams for my better pieces) who will give you a good idea what they think it will fetch if you send clear photos. They will also advise on a realistic reserve, Be aware you will pay a sellers fee plus vat and add that into your costs.

Sold it and bought something more to my taste. It was heavy gold Victorian chains and some sovereigns. So did pretty well out of it. I had no idea who it belonged to so had no sentimental value.

Have asked for the posts from me today to be deleted @certainlycertain

I had it made into a pieces of jewellery I would wear. A set of stacking rings which used DH family jewellery in one and my families jewellery in the other. The rings I inherited were far too small be enlarged and there’s no one to pass them too, but the history made them
sentimentally of value to me.

Ah our house insurance is with a different company from contents and itemised items of jewellery, art and antiques. It happened when we moved to ten years ago. Different home I needed different cover, contents remaining identical. So it might be worth investigating.

Insuring jewellery and valuables. I became aware that HMRC have access to insurance policies and can count items towards the value of the estate which is kind of annoying. So you can either give it away, sell or just knock it off the policy.

There's a piece of art I bought years ago that I discovered had risen greatly in value but I thought I can't see your average burglar clocking it so I haven't bothered insuring it.

Sell them. I had a few bits I inherited, stuff I would never wear, my mum hadn't worn and a few rings with stones missing. I put it towards repairing once peice I did like.

The one at the top of the Mall with great great great granny's statue outside?

😂How did you guess?

@certainlycertain I have a lot of expensive jewellery I never wear but don't particularly want to part with atm. We have a very concealed under floorboard safe just for the jewellery. We have a small more obvious safe for other bits including a few decoy pieces of jewellery. Seemed a much cheaper alternative to insurance.

I have my mother's and grandmother's engagement rings (8 diamonds in all). I never wear them as I don't like rings, but would just feel guilty if I sold them. I have nobody to leave them to. Any advice?

We ended up selling most of my mums jewellery and also some of my grans that my mum had kept, obviously offered things to family first but the money was divided so everyone benefited and more importantly the kids won’t have to worry about what to do with it when we pass

@PistachioTiramisu The same advice as to the op. If they are a decent sized diamond in a platinum setting, and can be dated to Edwardian or Art Deco, sell as they are. It’s a shame to break up very good jewellery. A decent auction house would help.

Or, if they are small diamonds in non descript settings that aren’t worth anything, get a pendant designed. There must be something you would like to wear?

My mother in law had inherited some jewellery from her mother and grandmother, she never wore it. A few years ago it was stolen during a burglary, she kept it in a drawer 🤦‍♀️

The insurance wouldn’t pay the whole value in cash, she ended up with a mixture of vouchers for Samuels and some cash. She would have made a lot more money had she sold it, which she kept telling everyone she was going to 🤷‍♀️

If it's above a certain value @Snippit you have to keep it in a safe in the home. My concern is more about losing something while out and about.

Make them into something else. My friend had her DM's diamond rings made into a bubble style pendant.

@Snippit You also have to insure each piece and get it valued. Safes don’t cost much. Having it on all risks will cost more. Burglary is probably a bigger risk than losing a ring though.

I shouldn't say it but I've never been burgled but have lost diamond earrings on three occasions. One set never found and replaced by insurance company - the other twice luckily found!

@mypinkdogWe haven’t been burgled either. Our insurance requires an alarm system, which we have. Our safes are extra hard to find! It’s more likely a diamond falls out or in my case, a chain catch broke. No idea how - but when I got home my diamond solitaire necklace was no longer around my neck. Still cannot believe it!