Jewellery valuation for probate and selling inherited jewellery in Ireland

First: inventory and secure

Jewellery does not spoil. Until the estate is settled and everyone agrees what should happen, the right place for it is somewhere secure, with a written inventory: a line per piece, a photograph, and any hallmarks you can read. That list costs nothing and prevents most of the disputes and doubts that arise later. Do not clean, repair or separate stones from settings; it can destroy value and evidence.

Valuation for probate

When an estate goes through probate in Ireland, its assets are declared to Revenue on the Statement of Affairs, and jewellery forms part of that declaration. The relevant figure is the open market value at the date of death: what the items would realistically fetch, not the insurance replacement value, which is usually far higher because it reflects the retail cost of replacing the item new. Using an insurance figure in a probate context overstates the estate, so it matters which kind of valuation you ask for.

A proper probate valuation lists each item, identifies the metal and fineness, records weights, notes gemstones, and states a value with the date and basis. For precious metal items, the metal is tested and the value tied to the market price on the valuation date. Our valuation service produces a written report on exactly this basis, and because we do not make offers on items we value, the figure is independent of any interest in buying them.

How to get a written valuation for probate

Ask for a probate valuation by name, so the valuer uses the open market basis rather than the insurance one. Then, in order:

1. Gather the pieces and the paperwork. Everything that might be precious metal or carry stones goes in, including odd earrings, broken chains, watch cases and anything in a box marked plate until it is tested. Old receipts, insurance schedules and gemstone certificates go with them; they shorten the work and get copied into the report.
2. Tell the valuer the date of death and the number of items. The valuation is tied to the metal price on that date, not the day of the appointment, and the flat fee is quoted on the number of items. Through our valuation enquiry form you say roughly how many pieces and that the report is for probate, and we reply with a flat fee before anything is booked.
3. Have the metal tested, not guessed. Every item is XRF tested so the fineness in the report is measured, hallmarked or not, and each piece is weighed with its stones noted. A valuation that assumes 9ct from a worn mark can be wrong in either direction, and either way it misstates the estate.
4. Receive the report and file it with the estate papers. It lists each item, the metal and fineness, the weight, the stones, the value and the basis and date of the valuation. It is the document the solicitor needs for the Statement of Affairs, the figure beneficiaries can be shown, and later the date-of-death value any Capital Gains Tax calculation starts from.

One caution on who does it. A buyer who values the lot and then offers on it has a reason to keep the figure low, and an insurance valuer paid a percentage of the total has a reason to keep it high. We keep the two apart: items we value, we do not make offers on. If, once the estate is settled, you choose to sell some of the pieces, that is a separate transaction at the published rate per gram, with the valuation in your hand to test it against.

What executors should keep

Executors are accountable to the beneficiaries, so the paper trail is the point. Keep the inventory, the written valuation, and, if items are later sold, the receipts showing what was paid and by whom. If jewellery is distributed to family members rather than sold, record who received what against the valuation. It is much easier to do this at the start than to reconstruct it a year later.

Deciding what to sell

Inherited jewellery usually sorts into three piles.

• Pieces the family keeps. The valuation records what they are worth, which matters for fairness between beneficiaries and for insurance.
• Pieces to sell for their metal. Rings, chains, bracelets, odd earrings, dated pieces, dental gold, gold and silver watches, odd bits of silver. Each is weighed and tested and paid at a published rate per gram for its carat or fineness, any condition, hallmarked or not. Stones are assessed separately and quoted for or returned. Our guide to how jewellery is priced walks through the sum.
• Branded watches. A Rolex, Omega, Cartier or similar is bought by quote only, not at a per-gram rate and not through the post. Photo ID and proof of where the watch came from are required on every one, which for an estate usually means the grant of probate and any receipt, service record or insurance schedule that lists it.

Selling the metal fairly

When you are ready, the process should be transparent: each item tested by XRF, weighed on a proper scale, priced at a published rate, itemised, and paid by bank transfer with ID recorded. With us that works by post from any county: request a free insured pack, send the whole box, and every piece is sorted, tested and itemised on camera at the published rate per gram. Plate and costume are not bought and come back with the return postage at your cost, and you decide with the itemised offer in front of you. Appointments in Dublin are available for larger estates.

Tax, briefly

Inheritance itself is a Capital Acquisitions Tax matter for the beneficiary, assessed against group thresholds that depend on the relationship to the deceased. Selling later is a Capital Gains Tax matter: tax at 33 percent applies only to any gain over the date-of-death value, after the annual exemption of 1,270 euro, and disposals of personal belongings for 2,540 euro or less are exempt. In practice most inherited jewellery sold for its metal within a few years produces no CGT. Our page on whether selling gold is taxable goes through the rules with links to Revenue. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice; for the estate itself, your solicitor remains the right person to ask.