There comes a time in our lives where a loved one will pass away leaving behind a legacy and a lot of stuff. The family of the deceased will now undergo the stressful process of dividing up the estate and closing down any unfinished business for their heir. During this period tensions run high and can overwhelm those involved. With emotions high, It’s overwhelming to evaluate the worth of jewellery items with a clear head. Fortunately that’s where we come in. As trusted estate jewellery buyers we provide on the spot evaluation and help families sell estate jewellery in Canada.
Not only do we educate our sellers on what they have, we present them with a fair liquidation valued offer to help them sell their estate jewellery in Canada safely and at the best price.
How We Help You Sell Estate Jewellery Anywhere in Canada
No matter where you are in Canada, there’s a way to get your estate jewellery in front of us. If you’re in Ontario, we come directly to your home and evaluate everything at your kitchen table. For larger estates, we’ll travel across Canada to you. And if a visit doesn’t make sense for the size of the collection, we also offer a mail-in option. If you’re not sure which one fits, send us a few pictures using the button below and we’ll tell you whether we’re a good fit.
We show Executors what their Jewellery is Worth
Jewellery is an art form that takes years of experience and the proper tools to evaluate effectively. From an executors standpoint it can be essential to determine the realistic value of each piece of jewellery to minimise any disputes down the road. Our in-house evaluator is a Certified Gemmologist from the Canadian Gemmological Association and is authorised to appraise and identify high value items in your estate collection.
Often we see disputes arrise when families split up their items before having them inspected and evaluated. In some cases family members may receive a substantially higher value item not realizing it and down the road resentment brews. Our service mitigates that by jotting down our professional estimations so your family can divide the items by value for each member.
Where We Come To – Our Service Area
Jaja Gems is based in Guelph, Ontario, and we come to homes across the province to evaluate and buy estate jewellery. If you’re within about an hour of Guelph, we simply book a time and come to you. If you’re further out, there may be a travel fee, which we’ll confirm with you before anything is booked so there are no surprises.
For larger estates outside Ontario, we travel across Canada. Out-of-province work is billed hourly, starting at $95 per hour, and covers helping you sort the collection, testing and analyzing the pieces, and evaluating what each one is worth. We’ll give you an estimate of the time involved before we book the trip.
If a visit isn’t practical, ask us about mailing your items in and we’ll walk you through how to package and ship them safely.
What we Evaluate and Buy from Estate Jewellery Collections
We focus on fine estate jewellery but we also buy costume jewellery too in some cases. Below is a list of items we prefer to buy from estates:
- Rings
- Watches
- Chains and Necklaces
- Pendants
- Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds in sufficient size and quality.
- Gold Filled Antique Jewellery
- Bracelets, Bangles, and Cuffs
- Antique Jewellery
- Precious Metal Trinkets
- Pocket Watches
- Non-Precious Costume Jewellery
Estates rarely contain only jewellery, so we also buy sterling silver flatware and hollowware, silver coins and gold coins. One thing we don’t do is pay brand premiums on modern designer pieces. A Cartier bracelet or similar item may well be real, but the number of high-quality fakes on the market means we can’t price the name, so we value those pieces on their gold, platinum and gemstone content, the same as any other item.
How Do We Sell Our Estate Jewellery
When getting ready to sell your estate jewellery, we recommend that the executors sort the pieces they want to sell and keep for sentimental reasons or for their future heirs. We call this the bucket process. You will start by clearing off your table and dividing up your pieces into four buckets:
- Test / Evaluate
- Keep / Sentimental / Pass down
- Unsure / Think about
- Sell
Furthermore, we also tell our clients to make a third and fourth pile composed of ‘Maybe’ pieces and ‘Test’ pieces. The Maybe pile will be items which need some thought or consulting before selling and the Test pile will require us to analyze the piece for any value.
When ready, we come to your house or secure location and help divide up these pieces into lots. We like to make a Keep, Sell, and Maybe pile.
After this we use our expertise and equipment to test your precious metal and gemstones. We identify for any synthetic stones or fake jewellery items.
You’ll likely want to consult with other family members on who wants what. When everything is spoken for, we can offer you a buy out on the pieces you wish to sell.
Furthermore, on non-precious items, we also will purchase. For example, costume jewellery and gold filled items.
How Much Will My Estate Jewellery Be Worth?
Look, we know the appraisal in the drawer may show a large number. But that number depends entirely on what kind of value the appraiser was asked to give, and there are three very different kinds.
Replacement value is what an insurance appraisal shows. It’s the cost of replacing the piece with a new one at full retail price (ex. Walking into People’s Jewellers and buying the same piece or a custom made piece), which makes it the highest number you’ll ever see attached to your jewellery.
Fair market value (FMV) is what a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on in an open market, with neither in a hurry. It’s the number estate lawyers, accountants and probate courts generally care about.
Liquidation value or resale value, is what a dealer can pay for a piece today and still resell it. This is the number we base our payouts on.
We’ve been in the second-hand jewellery market for years, and we resell what we buy through our own shop. That gives us an intimate understanding of what estate pieces actually sell for, not what they’d cost to replace. It also means we can pay more than a gold buyer on the pieces that deserve it. Large natural gemstones, antique jewellery and well-designed pieces (a Victorian bracelet, for example) are worth far more than their weight in gold, and our offers reflect that.
The Executor’s Tool kit
If you’re the executor (in Ontario, the estate trustee), you’re the one who has to keep the process fair, documented and moving. Here’s what to have ready before we visit, and what we’ll give you in return.
Identification. Bring government-issued photo ID. If probate has been granted, have your Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee on hand.
Everything in one place. Gather the jewellery boxes, loose pieces, watch boxes and papers, old receipts and any past appraisals. Paperwork can speed up identification and can confirm a stone or a maker.
Don’t divide it first. The disputes we see almost always start when items are split up before anyone knows what they’re worth. Keep the collection together until it’s been evaluated.
Written values for a fair split. We write down our professional estimate for each piece so the family can divide items by value rather than by guesswork, and everyone is looking at the same numbers.
Support for the estate paperwork. Ontario’s Estate Administration Tax is calculated on the value of the estate, including personal property like jewellery, and the CRA treats jewellery as listed personal property. Our written estimates help you put a defensible number on the collection. We’re jewellery buyers, not lawyers or accountants, so confirm the filing details with yours.
A paper trail for the estate file. Every purchase comes with an itemized receipt listing each piece and what we paid for it, and payment can be made to the estate rather than to you personally, so the estate’s money stays separate from your own.
Not ready to sell? That’s fine. We can evaluate the collection without buying anything, so your family has the numbers it needs to make decisions when they’re ready.
Do I need an appraisal before selling estate jewellery?
No. We test and evaluate everything on the spot, in front of you. If you already have an appraisal, bring it along, but keep in mind it almost certainly shows replacement value, not what the piece will sell for.
Why is your offer lower than the number on the appraisal?
Because they measure different things. An insurance appraisal shows what it would cost to replace the piece new at retail. Our offer is based on what the piece will realistically resell for. See “Understanding Appraisal Value vs. Real Liquidation Value” above.
Does the evaluation cost anything?
Within about an hour of Guelph, no. Further out in Ontario there may be a travel fee, and out-of-province visits for larger estates are billed hourly starting at $95. Either way, we confirm it with you before booking.
How do you pay?
On the spot, once you’ve decided what to sell. We can pay by e-transfer or cheque, and payment can be made directly to the estate.
Do you have to buy everything?
No. You choose which pieces to sell. We make an offer on those, and the rest stays with the family.
Do you buy broken or damaged jewellery?
Yes. Broken chains, single earrings, bent rings and worn pieces are still worth their precious metal content. Gemstones need to be in good condition to add a premium to the offer.
Do you buy sterling silverware and coins?
Yes. We buy sterling silver flatware and hollowware, silver coins and gold coins alongside jewellery.
What if we haven’t decided who gets what yet?
We can evaluate the collection first and write down our estimates for each piece, so the family can divide items by value before deciding what, if anything, to sell.
What about lab-grown diamonds?
Lab-grown diamonds have very little resale value, so pieces set with them are valued on their metal content. Only natural, certified diamonds add a premium to an offer.
What counts as estate jewellery?
Any jewellery that has had a previous owner. It doesn’t have to be antique or come from someone who has passed away; a ring bought new in the 1990s is estate jewellery the day it’s resold.
Do you come to us, or do we come to you?
We come to you. In Ontario that means your home or another secure location of your choosing, such as your lawyer’s office or your bank. For larger estates we travel across Canada, and we also offer a mail-in option.