Posted on: July 29, 2019 Posted by: Aaron_George Comments: 0

Wearing jewelry is part of most women’s and many men’s everyday lifestyle, even if it’s only a wedding ring. For many it’s much more significant, and features both regular and extra special items, while others have pieces they treasure as family heirlooms or investments. Whatever type of jewelry you have, it’s generally worth having each piece valued independently, especially before you decide to do something many do – hand any of it over to an engraving service.

What and why do people choose to have pieces of jewelry engraved?

Engraving services exist to add special information like names, dates and messages on all kinds of items, with things like trophies, plaques, awards and milestone gifts being the most obvious. However, jewelry is also an incredibly popular item on the engraver’s table, as it’s a lovely way to personalize and commemorate important dates and events such as birthdays, weddings and graduations on items like rings, watches, bracelets and various other kinds of decorative jewelry.

Engraving is usually either done by hand or by machine (which includes laser engraving.). It shouldn’t be a surprise that hand engraving is more expensive as it takes a lot of labor, but in return it provides a better finish and the results last longer too.

Choose the right people for the job

It is really important to make sure the person evaluating your piece of jewelry before you hire an engraving service. Top jewelry stores like The Estate Watch & Jewelry Co. can help you be 100% confident that the jewelry valuation you receive is carried out by an expert with the required skills and knowledge.
Why bother getting a valuation for your jewelry?

Even if your jewelry doesn’t seem to have an especially high cash value it still needs to be counted toward the total value of the things you own when you work out how much home and possession insurance cover you need. In other circumstances jewelry valuations are unavoidable, say like when jewelry forms part of a probate claim you need to manage.

·       To meet insurance company rules

Insurance companies do tend to expect an accurate estimation of how much a piece of jewelry is worth, compared to the ‘guestimates’ they may accept for mainstream possessions. This is, perhaps, inevitable considering that unlike say with a TV or a car, with jewelry it is much more difficult to find similar items on the market to help create an average estimate of value to cover any necessary replacement or compensation figure.

·       To avoid fake inflation figures of what jewelry is worth

This isn’t as common anymore, but until quite recently it was standard practice for jewelry to be sold with a valuation at least double what was paid for it. Although this was never a true depiction of what the piece could be sold for on the open market it was generally accepted at face value by insurers. After all, the greater the value the higher the premium to protect it will be! Modern practice is to value an item at the price actually paid, or the current market value on times which are inherited.

·       To help if you ever need to make a claim

A good jewelry evaluation service will come with additional benefits such as color photographs of the item, and a detailed description of the piece- including a note of any unique identifying features or flaws. This kind of detail is really useful should your jewelry be stolen and later recovered by the police. It shows for sure that you are the legal owner of an item, and it helps the police to identify things, and hopefully reunite you with any items which they recover.

If possible always keep the receipts if you buy a piece of jewelry, and make sure the item is clearly described on it. This applies equally to jewelry bought new or from an antique/used jewelry dealer. Insurance companies also really appreciate clients who make the effort to have an official valuation carried out for two reasons: firstly it helps show your claim is legitimate, and secondly, it makes the whole claims process easier on their side.

An experienced engraver may be able to leave a special mark you design between you which can be documented as being a unique mark which clearly identifies your possessions should they be stolen.

Note: always make sure your jewelry is valued by an experienced professional, rather than someone who just happens to work in a jewelry store.

Why a jewelry evaluation is crucial before you consider having any of it engraved

There are several key reasons why it makes really good sense to get that jewelry valued before hiring engraving services to add that special message. These include:

In case something bad happens during the engraving period

Of course, nobody wants to think about their precious ring, bracelet or other items of jewelry being damaged during the engraving process, but if the worst happens at least you will be fully protected and able to claim back the actual worth of the piece involved. The same protection is in place should the item be lost or stolen while in the care of the engraving service.

You get charged the right price for the engraving service

There’s no definite rule as to how jewelry engravers charge for their services, so you will find some different approaches. Some engravers charge a fixed flat fee, or have a menu of fees which will probably be based around the amount of detail needed. Others charge a flat fee which is based on a percentage of the item’s value, sometimes this is tiered – which means a higher fee for more valuable pieces. Make sure you are getting an actual valuation, and not just an estimate. This means it is vital you have a true and fair valuation of the jewelry being engraved so you don’t pay over the odds.

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