One piece. Four very different numbers. Here is what each one means — and why the difference matters.

1. Insurance Replacement Value

This is the most common valuation most people encounter. When you insure a piece of jewellery, your insurer typically requires a document confirming its value — and that document is an insurance replacement valuation.

The number reflects what it would cost to recreate or replace the piece at a retail jeweller today. That means the retail price of the metal at current market rates, the retail price of any stones, the cost of manufacture and craftsmanship, and the retailer's margin. It is designed to ensure you can replace what you've lost — at retail, in full.

This is why the number is high. It is supposed to be.

The important thing to understand is that this figure has almost nothing to do with what someone will pay you for the piece on the secondary market. A ring that costs $9,000 to recreate from scratch will not sell for $9,000 to a buyer. The buyer is not recreating the piece. They are purchasing a second-hand item in a market where supply is plentiful and demand is specific.

Using an insurance valuation as a baseline expectation when selling is the single most common reason sellers feel disappointed by the offers they receive — and the offers are usually fair.

2. Fair Market Value

Fair market value is a legal definition, not a market reality. It describes the price at which a piece would change hands between a hypothetical willing buyer and a hypothetical willing seller — both fully informed, neither under any pressure to transact.

It sounds logical, but in practice it is a theoretical construct used primarily for legal and tax purposes: deceased estate administration, divorce property settlements, capital gains tax calculations, and similar circumstances where an independent, defensible figure is required.

Fair market value assessments are typically conducted by qualified valuers engaged by lawyers, accountants, or the courts. The figure sits below insurance replacement value — it removes the retailer's margin and the cost of manufacturing new — but it still often exceeds what a buyer in the real secondary market will pay, because it assumes ideal conditions that rarely exist.

If you have received a fair market valuation as part of an estate or legal process, it gives you useful context — but it is still not the number a buyer will offer you.

3. Estate / Probate Valuation

An estate or probate valuation is a specific type of fair market value assessment conducted in the context of a deceased estate. Its purpose is to establish the value of jewellery and other assets for distribution among beneficiaries, or to satisfy the requirements of the probate process.

Estate valuations are typically instructed by the executor of the estate or the estate's solicitor. They are conducted by qualified valuers and must meet the requirements of the relevant state or territory legislation.

The figure produced is not a selling price. It is a snapshot of asset value at a point in time, used to ensure the estate is distributed fairly. Beneficiaries who receive jewellery as part of an estate and subsequently wish to sell it will often find that the amount a buyer offers differs from the estate valuation — sometimes significantly.

This is not an error or an injustice. It is simply the difference between a legal valuation and a market offer — two different answers to two different questions.

4. Buy Appraisal

A buy appraisal is the valuation type that does not yet appear on most people's radar — but it is the only one that tells you what you actually need to know when you want to sell.

A buy appraisal is an honest, expert assessment of what your jewellery, diamond, or gold is genuinely worth to a buyer in today's market. It considers the current spot price of metals, the condition and quality of the piece, the actual demand for that type of item among buyers right now, and — where relevant — the context of the sale.

There are no inflated figures to protect an insurer. There are no theoretical constructs designed for a courtroom. There is simply the number a qualified, experienced buyer will offer, explained in plain language, with a written breakdown of how it was reached.

At Miller Hirsch, every buy appraisal is:

• Written — you receive a clear document outlining how the figure was determined

• Explained — a qualified valuer walks you through each element in plain language

• Yours to keep — whether or not you choose to sell, the buy appraisal belongs to you

• Obligation-free — there is no pressure to make a decision on the day

This is the valuation type we introduced because nothing else in the industry provided it clearly. Sellers deserve to know what they will actually receive — not what an insurer calculated, not what a lawyer needed for a document, but the real number.

Why the Difference Matters More Than You Think

The gap between valuation types is not a technicality. For a single piece of jewellery, the spread between an insurance replacement value and a buy appraisal can be $5,000, $10,000, or more. That gap is not evidence of dishonesty — it is simply the result of different questions being answered.

When you understand which valuation you have and what it was designed for, you approach any sale with clarity. You ask better questions. You evaluate offers with confidence. And you are far less likely to walk away from a fair transaction because a number on a document led you to expect something it was never designed to reflect.

If you are considering selling jewellery, gold, diamonds, or gemstones, the most useful first step is a buy appraisal — the only number built specifically for you.

Book your free buy appraisal with Miller Hirsch today.