A Diamond is a Girl's Best Friend

 

There aren’t many people I know who don’t like getting something new and shiny – especially if it’s a beautiful tennis bracelet or a great pair of diamond earrings.  As the saying goes, “A diamond is a girl’s best friend.”

Over the past three weeks I have run into multiple individuals who are concerned about their jewelry collections and potential losses associated with these items.  What are some of the (warranted) concerns I am seeing?

-          Chipped or missing stones

-          Mysterious disappearance of an item

-          One lost item of a pair or set

-          Theft

So – what is the best way to avoid or deal with these losses before they happen?

-          Have your items regularly checked by a jeweler (One recent client caught a horrible loss because the jeweler checked this item every six months.  If they had not done this, it would have likely been years before they were able to recover the damages.)

-          Get an in home safe that is bolted down (I can’t tell you how many horror stories I have heard where the individual has a safe but it’s not bolted.  The thief takes the entire safe and the whole collection is gone.)

-          Make sure your insurance policy includes pair and set coverage (This is especially important for earrings.  If one earring is lost or stolen, you want to be sure you can replace both of them so they match exactly.  This endorsement allows you to do that.)

-          Bring only enough jewelry for you to wear if you’re traveling (There are some cases where you may need special items, but at the risk of having them stolen or left behind, it’s always better to only bring what you will wear to and from the airport.  There are numerous real life examples of individuals having their bags checked by security and items fall out, or are never placed back in the bag by TSA.  Don’t allow this to happen to you.)

-          Have updated appraisals completed every five years or so (With the value of precious metals and stones going up almost every day, an item can easily appreciate in the course of a year.  While there are some policies that build in coverage for this so you can replace the item, many policies only place a stated value coverage which does not allow any increased coverage for appreciation.  These appraisals will give piece of mind that you have the correct number assigned to this item and many times the jeweler you bought the item from will update your appraisals without any cost to you. )

While insurance policies are great things, some of these things are steps you can take to protect yourself.  What other ways are you managing your risk?

 

Photo courtesy of: http://www.adweek.com/fishbowldc/files/2010/11/diamonds-1.jpg?red=dc