Heirlooms are inherited, which means that they are the one piece of fine jewelry you can receive and never have to worry about paying for. If you are going over the estate of a relative and there is no direction for who gets heirloom jewelry, dividing up the jewelry is now a job for the estate executor and those who are inheriting from the estate. If you want to split up heirlooms in a no muss, no fuss manner that is fair for everyone, here is exactly how you can divvy up the gems of the estate.

Gather all of the jewelry of the estate

In order to properly divide heirlooms, you need to know where all of the pieces are located. If there are rings, necklaces, bracelets, and even loose stones or gold bars within the estate, they need to be gathered in one place during a specific time frame. This may be easy if the owner of the estate kept all of their jewelry in one place such as a safe deposit box. Many individuals keep their jewels in jewelry boxes or in drawers. Be sure to sweep the estate to find all of the charms so that nothing is missed during the evaluation and split.

Call for a mobile jewelry evaluation

Instead of having all of the gathered jewelry taken to a shop, the best thing to do is to bring in a mobile jewelry evaluator. The appraiser will be able to look at each piece of jewelry and provide an accurate amount that the jewelry is likely worth. Most appraisers will also provide an appraisal certificate that will estimate the value of the jewelry. All of the heirs of the estate can be present during the evaluation or just the executor, depending on the desires of the family. 

Allow the inheritors to each choose a piece that has emotional meaning 

Heirlooms are to be passed from one generation to the next. But aside from just being owned, they are supposed to be used. If there is a piece that a person wore for their wedding, it may be the proper piece for them to keep as a family heirloom. If a particular jewelry piece has sentimental value to a person, they may also be more likely to care for the jewels and have a desire to give them to their children rather than sell the gems. Each person should receive one piece of their sentimental choosing and more jewelry pieces to make the division economically even. 

For more information, reach out to a mobile jewelry evaluation service, such as Cal Coast Jewelry Appraisers, near you.