In
recent months there has been a rise in targeted burglaries specifically aimed
at the theft of gold jewellery. With
gold values being at a record high, gold jewellery has never been more
attractive to thieves; there are even reports of burglars using metal detectors
to target family heirlooms. With this
worry looming over every jewellery owner, it’s time to ensure that your
precious pieces are properly insured.
Ask your local independent jeweller to
carry out a full valuation of your items and make sure your insurance covers
them correctly.
Who is being targeted and
what for?
Jewellery
thieves are targeting anyone whom they believe to have collections of superior
gold jewellery. Unfortunately, Asian families are particularly vulnerable at the
moment, as, according to the Metropolitan Police, they are disproportionately
being targeted for their high quality gold. Asian households account for 24
per cent of all burglaries whereby jewellery was taken, and for 16 per cent of
all repeat burglaries.
It
is not unusual for Asian families to have large quantities of Indian gold which
may have been handed down through the generations, and thieves are aware of its
quality and value. Police are warning
families to be particularly vigilant during Asian festivities and family
celebrations, when some communities bring large collections of family jewellery
together to celebrate. It’s important therefore to make sure that your
jewellery is properly protected, and a valuation at a local jewellery shop is often the
first step towards keeping your pieces safe.
How can you keep your
jewellery safe?
Police
are advising jewellery owners that one of the easiest measures to keep your
jewellery safe – or at least reunite it with you, should the worst happen – is to
use a specialist property marking solution on your pieces.
A
number of companies produce unique identifying markers which are then
registered to the piece’s owner. The solution is invisible to the naked eye,
only being visible under UV light, so it does not affect a piece’s appearance
or value.
It’s
also important to have your pieces adequately insured; household insurance
doesn’t always cover the full value of pieces, and you may need to either expressly
declare certain high-value items on your household insurance, or take out
specific jewellery insurance. Either
way, you are likely to need a valuation, which can be carried out by a local jeweller.
What do you need to do to
satisfy your insurance criteria?
When
insuring your pieces, you’ll often find that you need to satisfy certain
criteria. This may include having your
jewellery valued, which can be undertaken by your local independent jeweller. This will ensure that you are insuring your
piece for the correct value, should the worst happen; of course, it’s awful
losing a treasured piece of jewellery due to the sentimentality attached to it,
but it would be worse to have the double blow of not being insured to the full
value.
Your
pieces should also be documented photographically so that pieces can be
recreated if necessary; Asian jewellery in particular is often highly
individual and has usually been passed down from generation to generation, so
it’s important that the piece can be recreated if necessary. It’s also important to check any special
terms of your insurance policy – for example, do you need to keep your pieces
in a safe or bank when they’re not being worn?
With jewellery thieves being so specific in targeting gold pieces, it’s
important that your special items are adequately insured, and your local independent jeweller can help you protect your
property.
Source: Metropolitan Police: http://content.met.police.uk/News/MPS-launch-operation-to-target-gold-crime-across-the-capital/1400019851427/1257246741786
, last viewed 06/10/2013.
