The Importance of Correctly Insuring your Jewellery

Everyone knows the risks of not correctly insuring their homes, and alongside their homes, their home’s contents too.  Most of us probably assume that our contents insurance will cover all of our possessions – but does it? 

Typically, a standard home insurance policy will include coverage for personal valuables, such as our jewellery, but will it cover the entire cost of replacing your jewellery if something happens to it?  Even if you have specific jewellery insurance, do you have adequate cover? Here are some points to consider when it comes to insuring jewellery, and how your local jeweller could help you insure your precious pieces:

Price-hikes in precious metals and stones

If you’ve had a gold or silver piece of jewellery for several years, you might be surprised to hear that it’s now worth a lot more than when you originally bought it or were given it.  For example, gold prices have risen by approximately 500% in the last 10 years, so a gold piece of jewellery that may have only been worth a few hundred pounds when you got it may now be worth a thousand pounds, or even more.  Similarly, some colours and clarities of diamonds have gone up in price, and silver prices have also risen considerably.  If you’re in any doubt as to how much a prized piece of jewellery is now worth, it’s important to take it to your local independent jeweller for an appraisal.

Never deliberately under insure your jewellery: it doesn’t pay!

It has been known that people have deliberately under insured their jewellery in order to keep their insurance premiums low.  Take note: this approach never pays!  For one thing, if the insurer pays out, you will only get vouchers or a replacement to the value of the original valuation, so if the worth of your piece has gone up in the meantime, you will still have to shell out to replace your jewellery.  What’s more, if the insurer suspects that you’ve deliberately under insured your jewellery, they can refuse to pay out at all!  So if you’re worried about under insured jewellery, now’s the time to ask your local jewellery shop to value your pieces and inform your insurers accordingly.

Frequency of appraisals

If you’re at all unsure about how often you should have your jewellery valued in light of the price hikes of precious metals and stones, speak to your insurance company: they should be able to advise on how regularly you should have your jewellery appraised, allowing you to visit your local independent jeweller as required and ensuring that your precious jewellery is fully insured.

Why Everyone’s crazy for Tanzanite

You may have heard many a person recently talking about the precious stone Tanzanite.  There certainly seems to be a buzz about this beautiful stone, and the jewellery that can be created from it, but for what reason?  If you’re intrigued by tanzanite, ask your local independent jeweller about jewellery which uses it, and read on for more information:

Why is it so special?

One of the reasons that everyone is so crazy for this beautiful blue stone is its uniqueness, together with its relatively recent discovery.  It only occurs in one place in the whole world, in an area of only four square kilometres: in the East African country it’s named after, Tanzania.  Tanzanite was only discovered in 1967, making it a new precious stone.  What’s more, it’s extremely rare; as it’s only found in one place in the world, it’s estimated that there’s only another 30 years’ supply left, making each piece of tanzanite jewellery extremely coveted and valuable.  Nonetheless, your local independent jeweller will be able to source tanzanite jewellery for you, enabling you to share in this little piece of exclusivity.

How did it become famous?

The legendary New York jewellers Tiffany and Co have always been at the forefront of new jewellery trends, and their involvement in launching tanzanite to the world was no exception.   Just two years after its discovery, Tiffany presented the gemstone to the general public, and they were met with a great response.  Today, jewellers throughout the world are using the precious stone, and your local jewellery shop will be no exception.

What is it made from?

Tanzanite is actually a blue variety of the gemstone zoiste.  Research into its geology has shown this stone to be totally unique, and the chance of it occurring outside of its current production area is extremely rare.  It’s not a particularly hard stone, consisting of calcium and aluminium silicate, and therefore should be looked after and worn carefully; for example, tanzanite should never be placed in an ultrasonic bath for cleaning.  If you’re unsure of how to care for your tanzanite, ask your local jeweller for advice, as they will be able to undertake a specialist clean of your tanzanite jewellery for you.

What shades of tanzanite can I expect to find?

Tanzanite’s brilliant blue is one of its biggest selling points.  The deep shades which the stone comes in run from ultramarine to light violet.  The most popular colour is a vibrant blue surrounded by a delicate purple hint; this works particularly well if the stone is over 10 carats in size. The stones often have a polychromatic quality to them too, and may appear either blue, purple or even a brownish-yellow depending on what way you look at them. 

With all these shades available, they truly do make fascinating pieces of jewellery; ask your local independent jeweller to help you own a piece of this extremely beautiful, extremely rare stone today.

Amber, Citrine and Tiger’s Eye: get ready for the new season with Autumnal Gemstones

As the summer comes to a close and the days draw in, instead of feeling blue, our thoughts should turn to the wonderful opportunity autumn presents us with: colour!  Traditionally inspired by the changing colours of the leaves in the trees, autumn collections often feature, browns, burnt oranges and other earthy tones.

Don’t let your jewellery be left behind; this season, why not add Autumnal gemstone jewellery from your local independent jeweller to your collection? Here are some gemstone ideas to inspire you:

Browns:

If you are commissioning a bespoke piece of jewellery from your local jeweller, you can’t go wrong with brown-hued gemstones for autumn.  This is a great colour to team with yellow gold, and works really well as a large pendent on a chunky gold chain.  Ask your local independent jeweller about brown jewellery using gemstones such as tiger’s eye and amber, both of which come in deep, rich shades of brown.

Oranges:

There’s so much choice available when it comes to orange gemstones, and orange also works well with the warmth of yellow gold as well as contrasting beautifully with the coolness of silver or white gold.  What’s more, orange gemstones look great nestled in amongst clear precious stones – speak to your local jeweller about creating a bespoke ring with an orange gemstone in the centre, and diamonds surrounding it, for example.  Your local jewellery shop will be able to help you with orange gemstones including orange sapphire and smoky quartz, both of which look elegant alongside clear stones.

Greens:

Green is maybe not a traditional colour of autumn, but its earthy tones certainly complement an autumn wardrobe.  To take the autumnal trend to another level, you could ask your local independent jeweller to create a pair of leaf-shaped earrings and a matching pendant from green agate, or maybe even a stunning leaf-shaped brooch.  If you’re tastes are slightly more on the sparkly side, how about some jewellery featuring emeralds or peridot?

Yellows:

Finally, if you fancy something a little bit different, or a colour which will contrast as well as harmonise with other autumnal stones, why not add a little bit of yellow?  Ask your local independent jeweller for the best combination of stones, as they will be able to advise which gems and colours work best together, but certainly think about including citrine or champagne topaz stones – these will give just the right hint of contrast to set your autumn gemstone jewellery off perfectly.