My grandma recently passed aged 87 and left me a bunch of jewelry I honestly never thought she'd give it to me but turns out some of it is actually valuable and I feel a little shaken out my feet. I don’t want fuck this up like what’s next to do? Should I look into insurance or a safety deposit box and even selling some of it? Would wanna know suggestions you got for a surprise like this.
Just inherited a bunch of jewelry from my grandma never knew she had this much
byu/JournalistPrevious39 inpersonalfinance
Posted by JournalistPrevious39
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If you identify specific pieces you believe to be valuable, get them appraised. Then you have a valuation you can put on them for insurance purposes. And an idea of worth before you make a decision to sell.
If it’s that valuable, insurance will most likely require an appraisal. In the short term, you could consider adding a rider(s) to your existing home/renters policy, to make sure at least the average stuff is covered. They will usually do that without an appraisal, though if it is lost, you’ll be in for a long battle with the carrier. Honestly, though, I don’t think you need to panic and add insurance instantly, unless we are talking about life-changing amounts, and that will almost certainly require appraisals.
If you feel safer having it in a safety deposit box, you can definitely go that route. That might give you the peace of mind while you sort out the situation.
Either way, I would contact a reputable jeweler and have them look at the various pieces, sell what you want to sell, and take out a dedicated policy on any really expensive pieces you decide to keep.
Step one- Tell Nobody. Money and valuable property makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do.
Step two- Secure it. If it has enough value that you are concerned enough to be here, then it likely has enough value to get a safety deposit box till you have a full game plan.
Step three- Get it appraised, twice. Resale value and replacement value are different things. Replacement value would be what you would insure it for, which will be higher than resale, but resale value will more tell you what kind of a value you might get in turning it into cash.
Step four- Identify heirlooms and other sentimental pieces. Not just for you, but potentially family members. You would hate to have pawned her wedding ring passed down through generations. There is also a good chance that if there is such a quantity of it that some or most of it was also inherited as well rather than only accumulated in her lifetime. There might be pieces that should be GIFTED to family members depending on their connection. Don’t try to sell an inheritance to family. Money and people sucks, money and family is worse.
The journey to get those done and the knowledge you gain by doing them will likely point you in a direction. The right choice is the one you feel good about making with all of the information you can gather. If you arent hurting for money now, then wait a bit. Its tough to buy it back.
Definitely start with keeping it in a safe place. Even if it only has family and sentimental value you don’t want things to go missing. Next, It would be worthwhile to have a jewelry appraisal done. My MIL is a GIA certified gemologist and has done estate appraisals for a really long time. She would tell you to have someone like her have a look at what you inherited and sort out what is real vs costume. That’ll give you a better idea of what you have and whether a full appraisal on specific pieces is warranted. More information is what you really need so you can make informed decisions. The GIA (gemalogical institute of america) is one of the main organizations for education and licensing for gemologists in the US and you can look up appraisers in your area on their website. For your own sake avoid going to someone who would value your jewelry so they can purchase from you (I.e. jewelry dealers, antique stores, pawn shops). Not that they are a bad place to go necessarily but getting an unbiased opinion first is important.
Sorry for your loss!! Since you mentioned some of the pieces are quite valuable I’d really suggest getting them insured like jewelry insurance like Brite are actually cheap and will cover in case of an accident. That way you can keep your grandmother’s gift safe while honoring her memory!