Probate jewellery valuation in the UK (2026 guide for executors)

The limits of this guide

Two valuations, two purposes

The single most useful idea for an executor handling a jewellery box is that there are really two valuations involved, not one. The first is the probate valuation: the open-market value of the items at the date of death, used to populate the estate accounts for HMRC and, where required, the Inheritance Tax forms. The second is the realisation valuation: what the items will actually fetch when they are sold to a real buyer in today’s market. That is the figure that matters once probate is granted and the beneficiaries decide what to do with the pieces they receive.

The two are rarely the same number, and they should not be. A probate valuation reflects a deliberately conservative, defensible open-market figure as it stood on a specific past date. A realisation valuation reflects today’s precious-metal market, today’s buyer landscape, and the cost of actually moving items into cash. Confusing the two, by either overstating the probate value with today’s strong gold price, or by understating the realisation figure based on the probate number, causes administrative friction with HMRC at one end and disappointment among beneficiaries at the other.

Probate-grade valuation: what HMRC actually asks for

For UK Inheritance Tax purposes (England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have parallel procedures), the executor or administrator must establish the open-market value of all estate assets at the date of death. For chattels, including jewellery, watches, silverware and coins, that means a market-realistic figure for what each item, or a comparable item, would have sold for at the date of death in a typical open-market transaction. Where a full account is due, the valuation feeds into the IHT400 and its supporting schedules, with jewellery, watches, silver and coins going on IHT407. Where the estate is an excepted estate and the death was on or after 1 January 2022, there is no separate IHT form to complete: the figures are declared in the probate application itself (PA1P or PA1A in England and Wales, form C1 in Scotland, NIPF in Northern Ireland). IHT205 was withdrawn for those deaths by SI 2021/1167 and remains in use only for deaths on or before 31 December 2021; IHT207 is the older return for a person who died domiciled outside the United Kingdom and does not apply to an ordinary UK estate. HMRC sets out the excepted-estates position at IHTM06018, and our practitioner note on valuing chattels for IHT407 goes through the standard in detail. The forms and thresholds change, so check the current position at gov.uk before filing.

The legal test is the price the property might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold in the open market at the time of death (Inheritance Tax Act 1984, section 160). HMRC’s manual warns that a valuation made for insurance purposes, using replacement values, may include too high a value, and treats sales after the death, particularly at auction, as the best evidence of open market value at the date of sale (IHTM21041). GOV.UK puts it simply for jewellery: work out how much you would have got if you had sold it. For a wearable piece, that means a realistic second-hand selling price; for broken or scrap gold, which would only ever sell for its metal, it means what the metal would have fetched on the date of death. Where individual pieces are likely to attract HMRC scrutiny, a designer or branded watch, a piece valued in a previous insurance schedule, an item the deceased was known to own that does not appear in the estate accounts, a written valuation with provenance is the safer answer.

The mechanics of the form itself, which schedule jewellery goes on, the £1,500 line above which an individual item must be listed separately, and what to enter when a piece has already been sold, are set out in our companion guide to valuing jewellery for IHT400 and schedule IHT407.

When you need a registered valuer

Neither section 160 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 nor HMRC’s manual names a qualification a valuer must hold. What HMRC looks at is the basis: its manual says a professional valuation stated to be prepared on the open market basis, or in the terms of section 160, can generally be accepted, while one prepared for insurance, at replacement cost, may not meet that test (IHTM21041). If you instruct a valuer, ask for the open market value at the date of death. The NAJ Institute of Registered Valuers directory lists jewellery and watch valuers, and RICS Find a Surveyor lists RICS-regulated firms for antiques and art. A valuer who is not also buying gives an independent figure, which a buyer cannot.

The practical question is when the estate needs a professional valuation at all. HMRC does not insist on one (IHTM06033), and GOV.UK’s guidance for estates where Inheritance Tax is due or full details are needed adds that you can get a professional valuation for anything worth over £1,500 (GOV.UK). In broad terms, a registered valuer is the right route when: (a) any single piece may be worth over £1,500, particularly branded watches, signed jewellery (Cartier, Bulgari, signed period pieces) or unusual stones; (b) the estate is at or near the IHT threshold and the chattels figure is large enough to swing the tax position; (c) there is a dispute among beneficiaries about value; (d) the estate is being formally administered by a probate solicitor who asks for a professional valuation.

For ordinary household gold and silver, broken chains, mixed lots and sentimental pieces with no branded value, the executor can make the estimate without a valuer, provided it is realistic: GOV.UK asks what each item would have fetched if sold, and suggests checking similar items on online marketplaces (GOV.UK). A written, itemised record of each piece’s purity, weight and the rate used can show how you reached the metal part of that figure. A buyer’s figure, GoldPaid’s included, is not independent, because the business giving it may also be buying, and a figure dated the day the items are tested is not an open market valuation at the date of death.

Realisation-grade valuation: what the items will actually sell for

Once probate is granted and assets are distributed, the second valuation comes into focus. The beneficiary or executor with permission to liquidate now needs to know what the items will actually fetch in today’s market. This is realisation-grade valuation, and it is GoldPaid’s natural role.

A realisation-grade postal valuation contains the same fields a probate valuation does, the item description, the confirmed purity, the weight, the rate used and the figure, but is built against today’s live precious-metal rate rather than the rate at the date of death, and reflects the actual offer rather than an open-market estimate. For an executor or beneficiary, the realisation figure is the one that turns the estate’s paperwork into actual cash.

The probate figure, not the realisation figure, is the CGT base cost for any beneficiary who later sells. The CGT base cost of inherited items is generally the probate value (not the original purchase price), so if the realisation figure is below the probate value there is no chargeable gain. The realisation figure feeds the actual CGT calculation, while the probate figure sets the starting line.

A worked example: a modest estate

Take a typical UK estate where the deceased’s jewellery box contains: a 9ct wedding band (3g), a 9ct curb chain (28g), an 18ct engagement ring with a small diamond (4g), a silver charm bracelet (24g, sterling), and a small 22ct Indian gold pendant inherited from a parent (8g). No designer pieces, no signed items, nothing the deceased had insured separately.

For the probate paperwork at the date of death, an executor should establish an open-market figure for each piece. A reasonable approach is to note what each piece would realistically have sold for second-hand on that date and, for any piece that would only sell for its metal, what the gold or silver would have fetched, with a separate allowance for the small diamond in the 18ct engagement ring. Nothing in this box is signed or branded, and HMRC does not insist on a professional valuation, so the executor can make that estimate and keep the working with the estate papers. If any piece might be worth over £1,500, a registered valuer is the safer route for that piece.

After probate, when the beneficiary decides to sell the everyday pieces and keep the engagement ring for sentimental reasons, the realisation figure is built against today’s rate. The 9ct band, 9ct chain, sterling bracelet and 22ct pendant are XRF-assayed, weighed and offered at the buyer’s price on the day. If today’s market is higher than the date-of-death rate (commonly the case in 2026 given the run-up over recent years), the realisation figure may exceed the probate figure, producing a small CGT consideration for the beneficiary; if lower, the loss is generally not allowable but the sale is straightforward.

Common pitfalls executors run into

• Using insurance-replacement value as probate value. Insurance schedules are typically based on retail replacement cost, which is significantly higher than open-market value. HMRC expects open-market value, not replacement.
• Selling items before the grant, without knowing which rule applies to you. In England and Wales an executor named in a valid will has authority from the date of death, so can sell household jewellery before the grant of probate. Some buyers and banks still ask to see the grant, and GOV.UK advises not making financial plans until probate is granted, so waiting is the cautious course where the estate is large, taxable or disputed. An administrator (where there is no will) has no authority until letters of administration are issued. Scotland uses confirmation instead. The distinction is set out in do you need probate to sell inherited jewellery.
• Mixing valuations across dates. A probate valuation is at the date of death. A realisation valuation is today. Using one date for one item and a different date for another is exactly the kind of inconsistency that draws HMRC enquiry.
• Treating dental gold or scrap as worthless. Dental gold is an alloy with real value (see our dental-gold guide); broken chains and unhallmarked pieces are fully payable on XRF-confirmed content. Writing such items off the estate accounts at zero is both inaccurate and disadvantageous to the beneficiaries.
• Not getting a written valuation at all. Even modest jewellery should be valued on paper. A WhatsApp photo response or a verbal counter offer is not evidence. A written, itemised XRF assay is.

How GoldPaid fits into the executor’s workflow

For modest household jewellery, dental gold, sterling silver and ordinary scrap, GoldPaid gives a written, itemised offer by post, which the executor can keep with the estate file. It is a buyer’s figure for the items on the day they are tested. It is not independent, because GoldPaid buys gold and silver, and it is not an open market valuation at the date of death; for that figure, use the executor’s own realistic estimate or a registered valuer.

If the lot includes coins, a signed designer piece or a watch, send photos on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything. A watch is assessed as a timepiece, not just for its case metal.

Other guides for estates and inherited jewellery

Each of these answers a different part of the same job. Pick the one that matches where you are.

• Sell inherited and probate jewellery by post: the overview, for a family or an executor ready to sell some or all of it.
• Sell inherited jewellery in your own time: for a beneficiary who already holds the pieces.
• An executor’s guide to valuing and selling jewellery: authority, telling the beneficiaries, and the records to keep.
• Clearing a parent’s house: what to keep, what to check, and agreeing it as a family.
• House clearance jewellery buyer: mixed lots from a clearance, sent exactly as found.
• For probate solicitors and will writers: a written, itemised metal record for the client file.
• Do you need probate or a death certificate to sell inherited jewellery?: the paperwork question, answered.
• Can you sell inherited gold before probate is granted?: the answer for executors, administrators and beneficiaries in England and Wales.
• How to sell inherited gold jewellery safely: a step-by-step guide for families.

When you are ready, there is one step to take: request a free prepaid Royal Mail label, or send photos on WhatsApp first if you would rather ask before posting. Every piece is XRF-tested and you receive a written, itemised valuation. Nothing is sold unless you accept it, and anything declined comes back free by Royal Mail Special Delivery. For everyday gold that is not part of an estate, the general route is selling gold by post.