Jewellery is precious and can be one of your greatest assets. Building an enviable collection is an achievement to be proud of, but do you know its true worth, especially as pieces increase in value over time? Even more importantl, would you be able to detail every item and its current value if it where lost, or stolen?.

Without meaningful information, any insurance claim could become complex, time consuming and unlikely to yeild the settlement you desire.

Being members of the "Guild of Valuers and Jewellers", and using the latest software, a valuation from ourselves ensures you have accurate information that is well documented, including a current value of the items in your jewellery portfolio.

Valuations you can trust

Our valuations are prepared on the premises by experience and qualified gemmologists and registered valuers to the highest professional standards and are supported by the U.Ks largest insurance companies. As our valuations contain highly detailed information, your portfolio can be re-valued, as necessary (at a reduced cost), ensuring you are never under-insured.

Police endorsement

Every year millions of treasured items, often of great sentimental value, are recovered by the police. Without one of our "Guild"valuations, stored on-line, it is virtually impossible to trace the owner, and recovered items are frequently sold at auction or even given back to the thief! With one of our valuation we can register your lost or stolen jewellery, enabling the police to trace you, the rightful owner.

Dont delay

Dont wait until its too late. Arrange to have your jewellery valued by ourselves straight away so you have total piece of mind in the event that the worst happens.

For even greater piece of mind, we can further protect each item and every item you own. "Hallmark PLUS" is a discreet and unique security marking which identifies the piece as yours. If found, police access the Hallmark PLUS on-line register and will ensure you are immediately re-united with your property.

Ask about "Hallmark PLUS" for your precious items.

Types of Valuation
Insurance replacement value

Insurance replacement value If you want your jewellery valued for insurance against loss, you will need to quote its replacement value. This type of valuation is usually based on replacing your jewellery with a similar item. Alternatively it may be based on the estimated cost of recreating the article exactly to the original design. A valuation for insurance will also take into account partial loss and possible damage. For example, if one of a pair of earrings was lost, you would wish to be able to replace it from the money you paid out on your policy. If your jewellery was damaged - for instance, an important stone may be chipped or broken and need to be replaced with one that exactly matches the other stones - it could be an expensive process and you would want to have this eventually covered by your insurance. We would asses the current cost of such a stone, and of the labour in replacing it. Then the current level of taxation would be added to the cost. In preparing an itemised schedule of your jewellery, which many insurers ask for nowadays, we would allow for the possibility of such partial losses or damage

Valuation for probate

A valuation for probate is based on the price which the jewellery is likely to realise if it were sold at the time of death of the owner. As this does not take into account the current cost of labour, materials or current taxation levels, but only the current market situation, the figure put on the jewellery valued for probate will be considerable lower than a valuation for insurance purposes.

Valuation for sale

A valuation for realisation is usually made in the form of an offer by ourselves, or we may quote the price which you should offer if you wished to purchase the jewellery from an estate or by private treaty. Such a valuation will make into account not only the condition, style and quality of the jewellery but the jewellers view of the market possibilities at the time the valuation is given. It should be appreciated that a valuation given to you by ourselves does not represent an offer to purchase, unless we actually make such an offer in the course of making a valuation for realisation purposes.

What should your valuation contain?

Apart from a statement of opinion as to the final value of the piece of jewellery, the valuation should contain a description sufficiently detailed to be able to identify the item should it be stolen or lost. Together with photographs. Offords valuations contain all the above including coloured digital photographs.

Who should value your jewellery?

For very practical reasons a qualified gemmologist and registered Valuer should always undertake the valuation of jewellery, because he has the experience of the current market situation.

To gain yourself the most benefit from the valuation please bear in mind the following points. A reliable valuation is an opinion based on knowledge gained through training, experience, and specialist knowledge and is backed up by use of technical equipment where necessary. It should always be written, so please do not rush the Valuer, give him adequate time to carefully examine it. Finally, if you have any questions you wish answered about valuations, please feel free to ask.

Hallmark Plus

Millions of pounds worth of jewellery is stollen every year. Many pieces are of a high value, but often losing items which have sentimental value can be even more distressing.

Did you know that frequently the police recover stolen or lost property but are unable to trace the owner?

Your precious items could be stored at a police station with no hope of return. Even worse, sometimes not being able to prove ownership results in recovered jewellery being returned to the thief!

Now there is a way to ensure that your precious possessions are uniquely identifiable as belonging to you. Hallmark Plus is a unique security code, which discreety marks your jewellery and other possessions. The details are then entered onto a confidential on-line register, without your name and address, ensuring that the police are able to track your property back to you.

"If only everything was marked and registered. Every year we recover millions of treasured items but, if they are not uniquely marked and registered it is almost impossible to trace the owners. Sadly we if cant, the recovered items are inevitable sold at auction or even returned to the suspected thief!"
Detective Superintentent Mike Roe - Avon & Somerset Police

The unique security marking of your property will go a long way to reducing the likelyhood of theft, however in the unfortunate event that you are the victim of a crime but your items are never recovered, your unique Hallmark Plus registration certificate will give you the peace of mind youll need to prove ownership when making any necessary insurance claim.

Having our own engraving machine we can arrange the hallmark plus service for all your possessions. Dont wait untill it is too late. Mark it, Register it & Protect it.

Charges

Insurance valuations: -

Basic charge £65

Plus
Gem set items £50 each
Non gem set items £30 each
Exceptional/premium items £70-120 each


Probate valuations: -

Basic charge £65

Plus
Gem set items £20 each
Non gem set items £14 each
Exceptional/premium items £30-55 each