Importance Of Protecting Your Assets

Importance of Protecting Your Assets

To insure, or not to insure: that is the question and the answer is yes, always insure. Whether your engagement ring cost $1,000. or you inherited a $100,000 collection, it is important to discuss insuring your jewelry so you will be covered if something ever happened.

We know what you are thinking: can I afford to insure my jewelry? The answer is yes, there are many affordable options. Think about it, whether it’s an engagement ring or a family heirloom, a single piece or an entire collection, can you afford to replace them by yourself? God forbid,  that anything should happen to your engagement ring but life does happen, things get lost, stolen, and damaged. Having your jewelry insured is having the peace of mind that when life happens at least you’re covered. With that being said, we have devised a list of tips on how to protect your jewelry, the average cost of insuring your jewelry, and questions to ask your insurance agency.

Protecting Your Jewelry

  1. Have your engagement ring or jewelry appraised. Depending how many pieces you have in your collection, the average cost of an appraisal can range from $50/piece to $150/hour of appraising on bigger collections.
  2. Keep all of your jewelry receipts in case your insurance company needs additional proof of value and ownership.
  3.  Make sure that your pieces are insured for the correct amount. Depending on the quality or overall values of your estate, regular updates in value are a must to make sure your jewelry is properly insured. You should speak with your local jeweler or appraiser to find out how frequently this should be done. The last thing you want to do is make a claim and find out that your beautiful jewelry was underinsured.

Insurance Costs

  1.  Look into bundling your jewelry into your homeowners or renters insurance. When discussing jewelry coverage with your insurance agency make sure to ask them about comprehensive coverage such as accidental loss, stolen property, and mysterious loss. It is important to know what your insurance company will and will not cover.
  2. The average cost of a jewelry insurance policy ranges from $1 to $2 annually for every $100 that your jewelry is appraised. For example: you have an engagement ring that is worth $7,000, your insurance coverage should be in the range of $70 – $140/year. Keep in mind that some agencies are cheaper, so make sure you do your research.

 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Company

  1. Is my jewelry covered for full appraisal value?
  2. Is my jewelry only covered if it is stolen, not lost or damaged?
  3. How would we provide proof of the jewelry being lost, damaged or stolen?
  4. How will your company replace the jewelry? Will you pay us with a check or will you refer us to a jeweler and pay them directly for the replacement cost?
  5. Are there instances where your insurance company will not cover my jewelry?
  6. What damages won’t you cover?
  7. What are some options that you can provide us with to save money? Such as discounts, bundling, or any other ways that we can save while protecting our assets?
Read more
No Comments

Bigger Isn’t Always Better Get To Know The 4 C’s

We’ve all heard the phrase” bigger is better”,  right?  In the diamond world, bigger isn’t always better. There are many variables that affect the value of a diamond and size isn’t always the most important one. The 4 C’s is a common tool used in the diamond industry to help determine the value of a diamond.  So if you’re planning to “put a ring on it “, get to know the 4 C’s. The first C represents cut, a diamond that is cut well enables the stone to make the best use of light.

A fully cut diamond has 58 facets which are small, flat, polished surfaces cut into a diamond to reflect light from one facet to another this helps to disperse light throughout the stone. If the cuts on the diamond are too deep or too shallow, light will escape before it reflects to the top of the stone. The second C represents color. Diamond color is graded on a D through Z scale. D-F is colorless, making the diamond more valuable. The absence of color acts as a prism to form a rainbow of colors, otherwise known as “fire”, to show throughout the diamond. H-J is near colorless. K-N are faint yellow diamonds. O-R are considered very light yellow diamonds, and last but not least S-Z are considered to be light yellow diamonds.

The third C represents clarity, clarity is the description of inclusions found in the stone. Most diamonds will have inclusions or natural mother nature given birthmarks. Where the inclusions are located on the stone, how many inclusions there are, the size and type of inclusions all affect the value of the diamond. Just like color, clarity also has a scale. FL stands for flawless, which is extremely rare in the diamond business. An internally flawless rating is considered to be rare as well. VVS1-VVS2 are very very slightly included diamonds. VS1-VS2 are very slightly included diamonds.

SI1-SI2 are slightly included diamonds, and I rating are eye visible inclusions that can be seen by the naked eye. The last C is the carat weight or the size of the diamond. Hopefully, by now you have a better understanding that there are multiple variables that make a diamond more valuable than others and, while size isn’t everything, it is a variable that the industry takes into consideration when determining the value of a diamond.

Read more
No Comments