Jewellery in a deceased estate: how it is valued, who decides, and how to sell it.

What happens to jewellery in a deceased estate

1. 1

   The family lists what there is

   Within 14 days of the death, the surviving spouse or nearest relative lodges an inventory with the Master listing the deceased’s property, jewellery included. A simple list with photographs, made in front of the heirs who want to attend, avoids arguments later.

2. 2

   The executor takes custody

   Once letters of executorship are issued, the executor takes control of the estate’s property. Jewellery is easy to lose track of: keep it locked away, keep the photographs, and check whether any insurance on it still applies.

3. 3

   The executor values it

   Within 30 days of the letters, the executor lodges an inventory showing the value of every asset. If the Master doubts a value, the Master can have it appraised by an appointed appraiser, at the estate’s cost.

4. 4

   Pieces left to someone are handed over

   Jewellery the will leaves to a named person goes to that person through the distribution account. It is not sold unless the heirs choose to sell it.

5. 5

   The heirs approve any sale, in writing

   Unless the will says otherwise, the executor sells on the terms the heirs approve in writing. The Master decides only when an heir is a minor, absent or under curatorship, or when the heirs cannot agree. A private sale is lawful; an auction is not compulsory.

6. 6

   The money goes into the estate account

   The executor must keep estate money in a bank account opened in the estate’s name. The sale appears in the liquidation and distribution account, so keep the buyer’s written offer and the payment record.

Valuing estate jewellery: three figures, three jobs

The insurance value

What it would cost to buy the piece new at retail. It is the figure on most old valuation certificates, and the wrong one for an estate.

The market value

What the piece would fetch between a willing buyer and a willing seller on the date. This is the basis the Master’s appraisers are instructed to use.

A buyer’s offer

What a named buyer will pay today, in writing. It is direct evidence of market value, and the figure the heirs actually approve.

Old insurance certificates are written at retail replacement cost, which is more than a piece fetches when it is sold, and natural diamond prices have fallen since many of them were issued (our price-trend data). Gold has moved the other way, so a gold-heavy piece can be worth more than its paperwork says.

Appraisers appointed by the Master

The Chief Master appoints appraisers for each magisterial district under section 6 of the Act. If the Master questions a value on the inventory, an appointed appraiser, or someone the Master approves, values the item at the estate’s cost. Their fees follow a government tariff: about R928 to value R100,000 of jewellery, about R2,965 for R500,000. Their title is “appraiser”; the Chief Master’s rules do not recognise “sworn appraiser”. And an appraiser may not value anything their own firm has an interest in, which is why the estate’s appraiser should never also be its buyer.

Prodiam is a buyer, not an appointed appraiser. Our written offer tells the executor and the heirs what the jewellery will fetch today; if the Master asks for an appraisal, it must come from an appointed appraiser.

Selling estate jewellery to Prodiam

We are a Bedfordview diamond cutting house that also buys jewellery, so we price the stones and the metal separately: natural diamonds against the Rapaport price list on the day, gold on weight, purity and the live price. The working is written out, so the heirs can see how each figure was reached.

1. Send the list and photographs. The inventory extract or a simple list, clear photographs, and any certificates or old valuations. You get an indicative range within 48 hours, free.
2. We inspect. At our Bedfordview office by appointment, or the pieces travel by insured Brink’s courier from anywhere in South Africa.
3. An itemised written offer. One line per piece, stone and metal shown separately, for the heirs to approve in writing.
4. Documents, then payment. Letters of executorship or the letter of authority, the heirs’ written approval, the executor’s FICA documents, and the estate’s bank details. Payment goes by bank transfer to the estate account.

We buy natural diamonds, loose or set, diamond jewellery, gold jewellery and signed pieces. We do not buy coins, gold bars or scrap gold by weight, and we cannot value lab-grown diamonds or simulants. Prodiam is registered under the Second-Hand Goods Act: every purchase is recorded with the seller’s authority, and by law nothing we buy is altered or re-cut for seven days afterwards.

For attorneys and fiduciary companies

If you administer estates, send the jewellery section of the inventory with photographs and we reply with an indicative range per item within 48 hours. Firm offers follow inspection, itemised so they drop straight into the heirs’ approval and the liquidation and distribution account. Pieces can be collected by insured courier, so nobody carries estate jewellery across town.

Divorce and joint estates

When a marriage ends, jewellery is valued too. In community of property it forms part of the joint estate that is divided. Under the accrual system each spouse’s estate is valued at the end of the marriage; inheritances and gifts between the spouses are left out, but jewellery a spouse bought during the marriage counts, and each spouse must give the other full particulars of its value on request. In a marriage in community of property, selling jewellery held mainly as an investment needs the other spouse’s written consent, so a buyer should ask for it. We give an itemised written figure of what we would pay today, and we buy pieces either party is free to sell.

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Deceased estate jewellery: common questions