When jewellery expert Joanna Hardy decided to track down the provenance of an unsigned and unnumbered turquoise ballerina brooch that featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow television programme, it was a rare opportunity for viewers to see how valuing jewellery can be more complex than it appears.
Hardy first came across the brooch and its owner during a recording of the show at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, north Wales, last July, when she thought it could have been made by Van Cleef & Arpels. In December, she returned to the programme with the story of how she had solved the mystery of the brooch by travelling to Paris to meet with Van Cleef & Arpels’ former heritage director.
Jewellery valuers combine scientific, art history and pricing knowledge with a deep understanding of retail sales, auction house sales and precious metals market volatility. Most, like Hardy, hold qualifications from the Gemological Institute of America or the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) — such as the latter’s fellowship (FGA) and its diamond (DGA) qualification.
The UK has two valuation bodies — the National Association of Jewellers’ Institute of Registered Valuers (IRV) and the Jewellery Valuers Association (JVA). Both require members to show rigour in their approach, including adhering to a code of conduct, undertaking continuing professional development, valuing items in person, and holding indemnity insurance.
Members of these organisations possess expertise in various types of valuation, including insurance replacement, probate, division of assets, private treaty sales, capital gains tax assessments, loan and security evaluations, and cash liquidation.
Nevertheless, Shirley Mitchell, a registered jewellery valuer and founder and fellow of the JVA, laments that there is no legal requirement for a valuer to be registered with a professional jewellery valuing organisation. “You can walk into a jeweller and unwittingly ask for a valuation from somebody unqualified,” she says.
Recently, a JVA member became involved with a client in a court case. “The client had paid £6,000 for a valuation which included a gold-plated bangle valued at £1,200, worth no more than £10,” she says. “The judge said that any person offering their services in the capacity of a ‘valuer’ had a duty to know what they were talking about. The client was awarded costs and a refund of the valuation fees. Unfortunately, the bogus valuer went bankrupt, and the client wasn’t reimbursed.”
A professional valuation will include carat weight, cut, colour, and clarity of gemstones, along with photographs. Manufacture, quality and condition are assessed, and relevant market research, exchange rates and bullion prices are noted, before a price valuation can be finalised.
Fees charged by a registered professional vary, although charging per item has become the norm. “In the past, many valuers and jewellers charged a percentage of the item’s value, but this practice is now rare,” says Heather Callaway, chair of the IRV.
“If I visit a client’s residence and encounter complex items or ancient jewels that may require several months of research, I will provide a quoted fee. For standard insurance valuations, I would charge approximately £160 for a diamond ring, with an additional £60 for each subsequent item, depending on the specifics.”
Still, the public’s understanding of jewellery valuers is often limited. “It’s akin to hiring a chartered accountant. The key message is to engage a registered valuer, as they have undergone a rigorous educational process,” says Callaway.
In the UK, obtaining an ATHE Level 3 JET Certificate in the Foundations of Appraisal Practice from the National Association of Jewellers is one route to becoming a registered valuer. Birmingham City University offers a BSc degree in gemmology and jewellery studies, which includes a valuation module, while the JVA is finalising a Level 6 valuation and applied gemmology diploma.
Often, jewellery industry professionals will turn to the valuation business later in their career. Cambridgeshire-based Gaynor Haylett-Mustafa, for example, started with a degree in jewellery design and is now a fellow of the IRV, working with 16 retailers in neighbouring counties and her own private clients.
“Many people think they can value simply because they have worked in the trade, but can they differentiate a Victorian memorial piece from a Georgian item, a red spinel from a ruby or a blue topaz from a considerably more expensive aquamarine?” she asks. “Are they able to spot the often very subtle differences of fake designer items? Then there are lab-grown diamonds, a whole area of discussion in itself.”
A spokesman for specialist jewellery insurance broker TH March says when customers purchase high-value watches — particularly those with a waiting list — while a retail price may be, for example, £35,000, the second-hand replacement value could significantly exceed this amount as some such watches are often resold at a premium to buyers unwilling to wait years for availability.
This discrepancy can create valuation issues, the spokesman adds, as professional valuers typically assess these watches based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). However, in the event of a loss, the actual cost to replace the watch promptly may be substantially higher. TH March has access to an insurer that, in this situation, will allow a customer to insure their watch for more than the MSRP to allow a swifter replacement if that is what is required.
Accurate valuations are also essential for protecting valuable pieces. Insurer Chubb specialises in cover for high and ultra-high-net-worth clients and requests that, for a piece of jewellery worth £50,000 or more, professional valuations are accredited to an IRV or JVA-registered valuer. Below this threshold, a valuation is recommended but Chubb does not require sight of it.
“Over 10 years ago it was probably acceptable to value jewellery every three to five years; now, we recommend that jewellery valuations are updated annually,” says Jo Nixon, European appraisals manager at Chubb. “Where a customer has undertaken a valuation within the last two years, we provide some additional cover should the value at the time of loss be higher than the specified value.”
However, the process of valuation can reveal unwelcome information as much as it can authenticate pieces. Sometimes valuers become the bearers of bad news. “I’ve just done a valuation where I’ve had to tell a client that what she thought was a natural sapphire is synthetic,” says Mitchell. “Unfortunately, it happens.”
