The direct answer
An insurance appraisal, probate valuation, auction estimate and direct buying offer are different figures. A selling valuation should explain what a buyer can pay now, not what replacement retail might cost. Gold prices change daily. Fair Vintage uses current market references when preparing a written offer rather than hard-coding a fixed gold price into evergreen content.
Insurance value
Often reflects replacement cost and can be much higher than resale value.
Probate value
Needs a defensible open-market basis for estate administration; it is not automatically a quick-sale offer.
Selling valuation
A buyer offer should account for metal, stones, demand, risk, resale route and margin.
How Fair Vintage assesses this page topic
We separate the metal floor from the jewellery value. That means checking gold fineness and tested metal content, weight and construction, hallmarks, sponsor marks, assay office marks and maker signatures, age, period style and originality, gemstones, pearls, enamel and condition, designer, antique or collector demand beyond melt value, boxes, receipts, certificates and family notes. If a piece is mainly scrap, we say so; if it deserves antique, designer, gemstone or collector review, the written offer explains why.
Photographs to send
- old insurance valuation
- probate paperwork if relevant
- receipts
- hallmarks
- condition issues
What jewellery owners ask on Reddit
Reddit is not used as valuation evidence. It is useful because public conversations reveal recurring seller worries: missing marks, changed fittings, whether to clean pieces, how to compare scrap and antique value, and whether a postal buyer can be trusted.
Official references used
These sources support hallmarking, gold-fineness and market-reference statements. They do not set the final Fair Vintage offer for an individual item.