Documenting valuables: what an appraiser actually wants

For ordinary contents, a photograph and a replacement cost is enough. For jewellery, art, watches and collections it is not, because the value depends on specifics that a photograph does not capture and that nobody can reconstruct after a loss.

Here is what to record, by category.

Universal: the four details

Whatever the category, record these:

• Measurements. Actual dimensions, taken with a ruler, not estimated. Size is a primary determinant of value in almost every category.
• Marks. Hallmarks, signatures, stamps, serial numbers, edition numbers, maker's marks. Photograph them close enough to read.
• Provenance. Where it came from, when, and from whom. A receipt, an auction lot number, a letter, a family account. This is the detail most often lost and hardest to recreate.
• Condition. Honestly, including damage. An accurate condition note is worth more than a flattering one, because an inflated baseline gets challenged.

Jewellery

• Photograph on a plain, neutral background, with a ruler or coin for scale
• Photograph the hallmark and any inscription
• Record metal, stated carat, stone count and stated weights
• Keep any certificate photographed as well as filed — certificates go missing
• Note anything that has been altered: resizing, restringing, replacement stones

Jewellery is the category most often over the single-item limit on a contents policy, which means it usually needs declaring individually rather than relying on the general sum insured.

Watches

• The full reference and serial number, photographed
• Box and papers, photographed — they materially affect value
• Service history, including dates
• Whether anything is not original: strap, bezel, dial, hands

Art and prints

• The whole work, square on, in even light with no flash
• The signature, close up
• The edition number for prints
• The back of the work, which carries labels, stamps and gallery marks
• Frame condition separately, since it is separately valuable

Photograph without glass where you safely can — reflections defeat detail. If not, shoot at a slight angle and note that you did.

Collections

Collections are valued as sets and as items, so record both.

• A photograph of the whole collection
• Individual photographs of anything significant
• A count, and a list with identifiers
• Any gaps, which affect set value
• Condition grading if the field uses one

Musical instruments

• Maker, model and serial number
• Photographs of the whole instrument and of the label inside, where relevant
• Any repairs or replaced parts
• Case, which is often separately valuable

Get a professional valuation where the number matters

Self-documentation supports a valuation; it does not replace one. A professional appraisal is worth paying for when:

• An item is likely over the single-item limit on your policy
• Value depends on authentication
• It is inherited and you have no idea
• Insurance requires it, which many policies do above a threshold

Re-date valuations every few years. Insurers frequently refuse ones over five years old, and precious metal and stone prices move enough that an old figure is genuinely wrong.

Keep the documentation somewhere the loss will not reach

All of this is only useful if it survives the event you are documenting against. Off the premises, in more than one place.

Waoo Storage holds the whole record in one place — many photographs per item, replacement value, where it lives, and a full export whenever you want it, so you can hand a file to an insurer or an appraiser. The photographs and details are exactly what a contents claim turns on, so it is the same work done once.

The condensed version

• Measure, do not estimate
• Photograph every mark, signature and serial number close enough to read
• Write down provenance while somebody still remembers it
• Record condition honestly, including damage
• Get professional valuations for anything near a policy limit, and refresh them
• Store the record off the premises