Having to get jewelry appraisal done.

Go to a branded jewelery house for appraisal When one has to share jewelry at the passing of a loved one, the best way out of a sticky situation is to get it appraised by a professional jeweler. Just like one has to go to a lawyer to see that you are handling the will within the stipulated legal laws, one goes to a branded jeweler to get a legal appraisal. So I put together whatever my Mum had left of her jewelery which had been listed and handed over to me. I hate doing stuff like this, but Mum was immobile at the time and so she requested me after instructing me about what to do. Plus I was pushed into it literally by a brother who seemed to feel whoever was handling it at the time, needed to be changed. So off I went to the bank and just signed the locker agreement which was in Mum’s name and by virtue of his POA I was made signatory and operator of her locker. Everything was fine as she had made a list in her handwriting and all I did was keep the key.

Very interesting to see how he does it. We sat together, my mother and I looking at the little bits and pieces left of her jewelery and she told me who should get what. Her wedding set was to be sold to one sister and the money divided between the girls only. . I wish she had handled her gifts herself, of the frugal pieces that she had, but it was not to be. Mum lost her cognitive skills and was unable to give me any instructions other than the ones she did when the key was handed over. The locker remained locked and I wrote the number down on the keychain, lest I forget over the years. Then I left to study in Europe and while I was away, the jewelry remained locked and sadly Mum really never used any of it.

Watch the video, see how he checks the diamonds. Then when I returned from Europe, she was already in the home for the aged and wearing jewelry was not an option any more. The pair she had on was stolen within the week of her asking me for it. I will never forget her demanding her wedding set and wearing it for my son’s weddings. To safeguard it from the servants, I put one relative incharge of removing it at the end of the function and keeping it safe for me to return to the locker. That was the last time she ever wore her own wedding set again and that remains the only piece of value in the jewelery box. But sadly time moves on, Mum has moved to a better place and now it’s time for the jewelry to be taken out of the locker and shared among the siblings. I am very surer all my siblings have the most exquisite jewelery but will demand equal shares.

The stone checker which is amazing So, what must one do? Go to an appraiser, never mind the cost and value the pieces of jewelry.Especially if you have nasty grabbing siblings asking where is this and where is that? Thank God Mum gave me a handwritten list so I have that as proof. I remember clearly in my Dad’s time. They sat around the table and each brother and his wife chose what they wanted taking a turn each. Quietly, with no fuss I watched them as my young cousin played on the dining table, being fed soft pieces of chappatie by his mother. It was done with such elegance and civility and then all sat down to a lovely tea organised by my mother.

Calibration of every bangle is done -- checking purity of golc That was another time and another place and that kind of gentility does not exist today.