Get your watches and jewelry appraised for insurance purposes

Most watch and jewelry owners are insured. Far fewer are insured for the correct amount. The discrepancy isn't due to negligence: people declare what they paid, sometimes twenty years ago, rather than what it would cost to replace the item today.

What a home insurance policy really covers

A standard home insurance policy covers all household contents. Watches and jewelry are a separate category, almost always capped, either by a percentage of the sum insured or by a fixed amount.

Beyond this cap, a separate declaration is required, item by item. Two clauses warrant careful reading: the one distinguishing theft at home from theft outside, which is often covered more restrictively, and the one requiring storage in a safe beyond a certain value.

Take out your policy and look for the section on valuables. This is the starting point for the entire process.

Three values, three different figures

The purchase value is what you paid. A historical data point, not necessarily connected to the present.

The market value is what the item would fetch if resold today.

The replacement value is what it would cost to acquire an equivalent. Most contracts base their reasoning on this.

The difference can be considerable in both directions. Some watch references trade for several times their original price. A ring whose gold and stones were bought fifteen years ago would cost significantly more to remake today, including materials and labor. Conversely, items bought at a high price have seen their market value decline.

A technical point to be aware of: if the declared value is significantly lower than the actual value, the insurer may reduce the indemnity proportionally. Being under-insured therefore costs more than just the difference.

What an appraisal report contains

For a watch: brand, reference, case and movement numbers, material, dimensions, presence of papers, condition, and function.

For a piece of jewelry: type and purity of the metal, weight, dimensions, description of the setting, and for each main stone its estimated weight, color, approximate clarity, and cut. A mounted stone is not measured the same way as an unmounted stone, and the report must specify this.

In addition, there are overall photographs and macrographs of signatures and hallmarks, followed by the appraisal itself, the basis used to establish it, the date, and the signature. A report without a date or valuation basis is of little use to an insurer.

When to establish it, how often to update it

Before any claim, obviously. It's up to you to prove the existence and value of what has been lost, and this proof is prepared beforehand, never afterward.

Then count on three to five years of relevance. Sooner in four cases: after a major service or restoration, after a jewelry transformation, after an inheritance that redistributes pieces, and after a marked market movement on a reference you own.

An update costs significantly less than an initial report, as the identification has already been done. Only the valuation is reviewed.

Inheritance and division of assets

The appraisal report is also useful among heirs. Established by a third party, on a single document, it removes values from the realm of personal appreciation, where everyone overestimates what they covet and underestimates what they give up.

We regularly work at the request of notaries, on cases where the inventory of movable property must be established. For anything relating to the procedure itself, contact your notary: we intervene on the value of the objects, not on the law that distributes them. If the pieces concerned come from an inheritance, our article on inherited jewelry discusses the decision that comes next.

How we proceed

An initial examination takes place in your presence, during a private consultation, by appointment on Monday or Saturday. Nothing leaves the workshop.

Bring everything that documents the pieces: invoices, stone certificates, original boxes, warranties, old reports. An existing gemological certificate saves time and strengthens the final document. If a watch no longer works, bring it anyway: its condition affects its value, and it's better to have it confirmed than assumed.

The report is provided to you in printed and electronic versions. We keep a copy, which simplifies updates, and you can request that no copy be kept.

Send us some photographs via WhatsApp and the number of pieces concerned before the appointment: we will provide you with a quote before you visit. A word to your broker doesn't cost anything either, as some insurers have their preferences regarding reports.

Atelier Ulmann. Route de Thonon 52, 1222 Vésenaz. Make an appointment.