Gold jewellery shock

BowerBadgers

When I was a student, 38 years ago, I won a short-story writing competition in a glossy women's magazine. The prize was advertised as £5,000 of gold jewellery designed for me by a high-end London master jeweller. I chose and received a necklace, two bangles - one with several tiny diamonds in - and a brooch. I didn't receive a valuation certificate, as had been promised.
Gold jewellery isn't really my thing, though so I never actually wore it.
Nearly four decades on, I've decided to try to sell it. Two dealers have valued my jewellery at just over £2,000 - quite a shock considering how much gold has soared since 1987 (about eight times as much, I think).
The original master jeweller is now retired but his daughter has since taken over the business and put it in her name. Unfortunately she is not responding to my emails or phone messages. The magazine is no longer published.
I think I will have to shop around for valuations and accept what I can get, even if it's less than half the original value and a fraction of what it should be worth. 
Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks in anticipation! 

Okell

After 38 years you have no legal rights against anybody.

And if you did, I'd suggest that your complaint would be against the "glossy woman's magazine", which misled you about the value of the prize, and not against the master jeweller

daveyjp

The majority of the cost of jewellery is paying the person who designed it and this value is only maintained if they are still famous.  If they aren't famous its scrap metal value.

Two identical pieces can be worth very different amounts if one is known to be by Faberge.

BowerBadgers

daveyjp said:

The majority of the cost of jewellery is paying the person who designed it and this value is only maintained if they are still famous.  If they aren't famous its scrap metal value.

Two identical pieces can be worth very different amounts if one is known to be by Faberge.

Excellent point, daveyjp.

cymruchris

Yes - you didn't win £5000 worth of gold - you won £5000 worth of gold jewellery. You'll have been given the value today likely based on the weight not the heritage. Unless the person who designed it is famous - you might get some interest on the likes of ebay, setting a reserve price at your weigh in value.

Ergates

BowerBadgers said:

When I was a student, 38 years ago, I won a short-story writing competition in a glossy women's magazine. The prize was advertised as £5,000 of gold jewellery designed for me by a high-end London master jeweller. I chose and received a necklace, two bangles - one with several tiny diamonds in - and a brooch. I didn't receive a valuation certificate, as had been promised.
Gold jewellery isn't really my thing, though so I never actually wore it.
Nearly four decades on, I've decided to try to sell it. Two dealers have valued my jewellery at just over £2,000 - quite a shock considering how much gold has soared since 1987 (about eight times as much, I think).
The original master jeweller is now retired but his daughter has since taken over the business and put it in her name. Unfortunately she is not responding to my emails or phone messages. The magazine is no longer published.
I think I will have to shop around for valuations and accept what I can get, even if it's less than half the original value and a fraction of what it should be worth. 
Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks in anticipation! 

Putting aside the above mentioned detail of you have no possible come back against anybody after 38 years (and certainly not against an entirely different person who quite possibly wasn't even born at the time) - the value of jewellery isn't only based on the precious materials it is made from.

As such it is entirely possible that the items in question were worth £5000 at the time but is now worth less - fashions change over time.

As for: "....even if it's less than half the original value and a fraction of what it should be worth.."
A thing is worth what people are willing to pay for it.  Nothing more.   If the people willing to buy your items say they are only worth £2000, then that is what they are worth.  If you aren't willing to part with them for that, then you are obviously free to keep them.

Moreover, to be blunt, the fact that you even tried to contact the original jewellers daughter on this matter is... odd.  I'm not surprised she's not responding to you!   Why did you do that?  What, exactly, were you expecting her to say or do?

Aylesbury_Duck

Ergates said:

BowerBadgers said:

When I was a student, 38 years ago, I won a short-story writing competition in a glossy women's magazine. The prize was advertised as £5,000 of gold jewellery designed for me by a high-end London master jeweller. I chose and received a necklace, two bangles - one with several tiny diamonds in - and a brooch. I didn't receive a valuation certificate, as had been promised.
Gold jewellery isn't really my thing, though so I never actually wore it.
Nearly four decades on, I've decided to try to sell it. Two dealers have valued my jewellery at just over £2,000 - quite a shock considering how much gold has soared since 1987 (about eight times as much, I think).
The original master jeweller is now retired but his daughter has since taken over the business and put it in her name. Unfortunately she is not responding to my emails or phone messages. The magazine is no longer published.
I think I will have to shop around for valuations and accept what I can get, even if it's less than half the original value and a fraction of what it should be worth. 
Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks in anticipation! 

Moreover, to be blunt, the fact that you even tried to contact the original jewellers daughter on this matter is... odd.  I'm not surprised she's not responding to you!   Why did you do that?  What, exactly, were you expecting her to say or do?

I thought the same.  Very odd behaviour.

Emmia

BowerBadgers said:

When I was a student, 38 years ago, I won a short-story writing competition in a glossy women's magazine. The prize was advertised as £5,000 of gold jewellery designed for me by a high-end London master jeweller. I chose and received a necklace, two bangles - one with several tiny diamonds in - and a brooch. I didn't receive a valuation certificate, as had been promised.
Gold jewellery isn't really my thing, though so I never actually wore it.
Nearly four decades on, I've decided to try to sell it. Two dealers have valued my jewellery at just over £2,000 - quite a shock considering how much gold has soared since 1987 (about eight times as much, I think).
The original master jeweller is now retired but his daughter has since taken over the business and put it in her name. Unfortunately she is not responding to my emails or phone messages. The magazine is no longer published.
I think I will have to shop around for valuations and accept what I can get, even if it's less than half the original value and a fraction of what it should be worth. 
Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks in anticipation! 

Were you seeking/expecting a multiple of the magazines stated £5k value - so £40k+ as "that's what it should be worth"?

Unfortunately as other posters have said, it doesn't work like that. You'd probably have got closer to the £5k if you'd sold it at the time you won it -  even then it would have been secondhand, but the styling should at least have been in fashion.

Also contacting the daughter repeatedly, is weird - we don't know what the messages are, but do they demand she buys it back at least £5k (or more)?

This is like taking a pair of Jaeger trousers bought in the 90's but unworn, back to M&S today as they own the brand now, and demanding a refund.

FlorayG

Retail value of gold jewellery and resale value - that sounds about right. Resale value pretty much gives you the value of the raw materials, not the fancy design of the piece. I inherited a gold and diamond ring valued for insurance at £15,000...I've been offered £4,500 for it by a reputable second-hand jeweller ( SO I'm keeping it!)

pinkshoes

Have you weighed it to see roughly how many ounces of gold it is? Then price this up against the selling price per ounce. 

Most of that £5000 value for the jewellery will be the hours of labour to design and make it rather than the raw price of gold.

When you have it valued they generally don't care about the design, but just the weight if the gold.

TELLIT01

I lost my wedding ring which had been purchased in Hatton Garden. I claimed on insurance and a new one was made to the same spec as the one I lost.  It contains just over 5 grammes of 18ct gold, so bullion value of about £260.  Insurance valuation certificate which came with it is for £2450!  I've given that info simply to indicate that retail and insurance values have very little bearing on the bullion value.