Valuations and gemstone identification
For insurance, for probate, for dividing an estate, or simply because you want to know what you have.
What it is for
Insurance
Your insurer needs a current replacement value, written by someone qualified, before they will cover a piece properly. If your valuation is more than five years old it is worth revisiting, because the market has moved a long way.
Probate
An estate needs a fair market value at the date of death. I set this out clearly enough for a solicitor or the Revenue to work from, and I know what they expect to see.
Family division
When a collection is being divided between people who have to see each other at Christmas, an independent figure on each piece keeps the conversation calm.
Curiosity
You inherited something, or found it in a drawer, and you want to know what it is and what it is worth. That is a perfectly good reason, and often a short conversation.
How it works
I come to you
Dublin, anywhere in Ireland by arrangement, and further afield for collections that justify the trip.
I examine and test each piece in front of you, photograph it, and send you a written report afterwards. For probate and family division this is usually the only sensible way, because the jewellery often cannot leave the house until the estate is settled.
A Dublin appointment usually takes about an hour. Outside Dublin is booked by the day.
By video call
Thirty minutes, showing me the piece on camera. I will tell you what it is, roughly what it is worth, and whether a full valuation is worth your while at all.
The quickest and cheapest way to start if you are not sure. The fee comes off the valuation if you go ahead.
Every piece is examined, tested and photographed
What you get
A covering letter
Stating what the valuation is for and the basis it is written on, so your insurer, solicitor or the Revenue can see at a glance what they are looking at.
A schedule, piece by piece
Every item described, measured, tested and photographed. Metal, weight, stone details, and certificate numbers where they exist.
The market on the day
The gold and platinum prices and the exchange rate used, written into the report. A valuation is a figure on a date, and the report shows its working.
Terms you can rely on
What the report may be used for, what it may not, and what I did and did not assess. Plain enough to read, specific enough to stand over.
Prices
A valuation is written for one purpose and should not be used for another, and the three figures are not the same. These are starting prices, for a piece that is straightforward. Some are not. A signature, a stone that needs laboratory testing, or a maker who has to be traced through archives and old sale records all take time that a flat fee cannot carry. Where that happens I tell you what it will cost before I start rather than afterwards, and we agree the figure first.
The consultation fee comes off your valuation if you go ahead. Outside Dublin is booked as a full day plus travel at cost. Probate, estates and international work are quoted individually.
For an estate, a collection, or anything outside Dublin, email hello@colinweldon.com with what you have and roughly when, and I will come back with a fee and a date.
Or email hello@colinweldon.com directly. Tell me what you have and roughly when suits, and I will come back with a time that works for both of us.
Selling a piece
If you decide to sell, I act for you
Knowing what something is worth and getting that for it are different jobs. I find the right route for the piece, whether that is an auction room, a dealer or a private buyer, and handle the sale on your behalf.
For solicitors
Probate valuations that stand up
Each piece is described, tested and valued separately, with the basis of valuation stated, so the figures can be relied on by the estate and questioned by nobody.
I attend the property, which matters when jewellery cannot be removed, and I am used to working alongside executors and family members at a difficult time. If an estate is straightforward I will tell you so rather than run up a bill.
Get in touch with the number of pieces and the deadline you are working to, and I will come back with a fee and a date.