Protecting a Watch and Jewellery Collection

Start with how you use your collection

Most collections fall into two groups: pieces you wear often, and pieces you wear rarely or keep for sentimental, family or long-term reasons. Thinking about your collection this way makes the other decisions easier. Everyday pieces need convenient, sensible storage at home. Occasional and heirloom pieces can usually be stored away from home and collected when needed.

It also helps to know roughly what you have and what it is worth. Many people underestimate the combined value of jewellery accumulated over the years, inherited pieces and a few good watches. A simple inventory, described below, is the foundation for insurance, storage and succession planning.

Keeping pieces at home

Keeping some jewellery and watches at home is normal. The aim is to reduce risk calmly and sensibly, not to live in fear of it.

• Keep at home only what you wear regularly, and return occasional pieces to secure storage after an event.
• If you use a home safe, choose one suited to its contents, have it installed and anchored by a professional, and keep it out of obvious places.
• Be discreet about new purchases, and think before posting photographs that show valuable pieces, your home or your routine on social media.
• Store pieces individually in soft pouches or a compartmented case so that diamonds and other hard stones do not scratch softer stones or metal.
• Keep mechanical watches away from strong magnets, such as some speakers, tablet covers and phone cases, which can affect timekeeping.

Check your household insurance. Many household contents policies apply limits to jewellery and watches kept at home, or require high-value pieces to be listed individually, and some set conditions about safes or alarms. Read the policy wording or ask your broker.

Using a safe deposit box

A safe deposit box gives occasional, heirloom and high-value pieces a secure place away from home. You rent the box; the contents remain yours. The provider controls access to the facility, and its agreement sets out who may open the box and how.

A few practical points help with jewellery and watches:

• Choose a box size that fits the collection with some room to spare, so that pieces are not crushed or stacked.
• Use pouches, rolls or small trays inside the box, and label them in a way that makes sense to you without advertising value.
• Mechanical watches will stop while stored. That is normal, but a watch that has not run for a long time may benefit from being wound and checked from time to time; ask your watchmaker about your specific pieces.
• Keep original boxes and papers either in the safe deposit box or somewhere equally secure, because they can matter for value.

Plan your visits, particularly before weddings, holidays and other occasions when you will want to wear stored pieces.

You do not need an appointment to access your safe deposit box during opening hours. Collection of purchased Krugerrands is by appointment only, visits to items in safe custody need at least 24 hours' notice, and cash-in-transit visits must be approved in writing at least 48 hours in advance.

Insurance: understanding what is and is not covered

Insurance for a collection can involve more than one policy, and it is worth understanding how they fit together.

• Your own policy. A household or specified-items policy may cover pieces at home, while being worn and while travelling, subject to its terms. Some policies also cover items kept in a safe deposit box, sometimes on different conditions.
• Cover linked to the box. Some storage providers include insurance with a box or offer optional additional cover. That cover has its own limits, exclusions and conditions. It is important to know whether a policy covers the provider's liability or the client's contents, because these are different things.

Each Knox safe deposit box includes complimentary insurance cover of R1 million. Clients can choose to increase this to R5 million as optional extra cover, paid for by the client.

The included R1 million cover can be increased to a maximum of R5 million per box as optional extra cover, paid for by the client. If your contents are worth more than that, you can also arrange additional cover through your own insurer or broker.

The cover excludes, among other things: dishonest acts by Knox staff; items already insured under another policy (except any excess); war, terrorism, riot and confiscation by authorities; gradual deterioration, rust, pests, dryness, humidity, light or temperature extremes; unexplained loss or mysterious disappearance; nuclear, chemical, biological or cyber-related loss; and consequential loss from stored data. Full exclusions are in the insurer's policy.

Insurers generally expect a current valuation for high-value pieces, and some require valuations to be updated from time to time. An insurance valuation usually reflects replacement cost, which is different from what an item would sell for. Keep valuation certificates with your inventory, and tell your insurer or broker when you move pieces into storage.

Building an inventory with photographs

An inventory makes insurance claims, police reports, estate administration and everyday management far simpler. It does not need to be elaborate, but it should be consistent and kept up to date.

For each piece, record:

• a description: type, metal, stones, maker or brand, model or reference name, and any engravings or distinguishing marks;
• where and when it was acquired, the price paid if known, and the receipt or invoice;
• any valuation, grading report or certificate, with its date;
• for watches, the reference, the movement type if known, and the service history; and
• where the piece is normally kept.

Photographs are an important part of the record. Photograph each piece on a plain background in good light, from several angles, with close-ups of hallmarks, engravings, maker's marks and any damage. For watches, photograph the dial, case back, clasp and the box and papers. Update photographs after repairs, resizing or servicing.

Serial numbers: record them, but keep them private

Watch serial numbers, case numbers and certificate numbers can help identify a piece if it is lost or stolen, and they matter for insurance and resale. They are also sensitive. In the wrong hands, a full serial number can be used to produce convincing false papers or to pass off a stolen or counterfeit watch as a genuine one.

• Record full serial numbers privately, for example in an encrypted file or a written record kept somewhere secure, and share them only with your insurer or another party that genuinely needs them.
• Do not send full serial numbers by ordinary email, messaging apps or web forms. For an early enquiry, the make, model and reference are usually enough.
• When sharing photographs for an enquiry, cover or crop out serial numbers and certificate numbers.
• Keep a backup of your inventory separate from the collection itself, so that a single event cannot affect both.

Service records, box and papers

For watches especially, the paperwork can be almost as important as the piece. Original box and papers, such as the warranty card or certificate, the purchase invoice and the instruction booklet, help to show where a watch came from and can affect its resale value and how easily it can be sold. Service records show that a watch has been maintained and by whom, and whether original parts have been kept or replaced.

Keep:

• the original box, outer packaging, warranty card or certificate and booklets;
• invoices and receipts for purchase, servicing, repairs and resizing;
• service records from the brand or an independent watchmaker, including any parts replaced; and
• grading reports and certificates for significant diamonds and gemstones.

Store papers flat and dry, with scans kept separately. Bulky boxes can be stored apart from the watches themselves, provided they are kept somewhere secure and clearly linked to the right piece in your inventory.

Access for family members

Think about who might need to retrieve a piece if you cannot, for example while you are travelling or unwell. Many safe deposit box agreements allow you to name an authorised person who may access the box on your behalf, within the limits the provider sets, and to change or remove that person later.

The First and Second Authorised Persons have full control of the box, including adding further authorised people. A Third and Fourth Authorised Person can access the box but cannot change the arrangement. An admin fee applies for each person added beyond the first two, and everyone must complete Knox's identification checks.

Choose authorised persons carefully, and make sure they understand what their access allows. Being able to open a box during your lifetime is not the same as having a right to its contents, and that access may end on your death.

Succession: passing pieces on as you intend

Jewellery and watches often carry meaning beyond their value, and they are a common source of family disagreement. A little planning helps.

• Make a will, and consider whether particular pieces should go to particular people. Your attorney can advise on how to describe items clearly.
• Keep your inventory where your executor can find it, and tell your executor where your collection is kept, without sharing access details unnecessarily.
• If pieces are in a safe deposit box, let your executor know which provider holds it. After a death, access is usually restricted until an executor has been appointed by the Master of the High Court.
• Record lifetime gifts in writing, so there is no doubt later about who owns a piece.

Under Knox's agreement, if the First and Second Authorised Persons have both died, the Third Authorised Person automatically takes full control of the box; if all the client's authorised people have died or become permanently incapacitated, the executor, curator or other person legally responsible for their affairs takes their place.

Gifts and inheritances can have tax consequences, which depend on your circumstances and change from Budget to Budget, so take professional advice on a larger collection.

Loans and liquidity

A collection can also be a source of liquidity. Some people sell pieces they no longer wear; others borrow against qualifying items for a period and recover them on repayment. These are different decisions with different consequences, and neither suits everyone.

A loan secured by jewellery or a watch is regulated credit. A registered credit provider must give you a pre-agreement quotation setting out interest, fees and charges, and must carry out the affordability and credit assessments the law requires. The credit agreement sets out early settlement rights, default steps, how the item may be disposed of and the complaints routes. A loan assessment looks at far more than the original retail price. For a watch, it considers brand, reference, authenticity, condition, service history, box and papers, resale demand, ownership evidence and market liquidity.

Knox accepts luxury high-end watches, from brands such as Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe, for loan assessment.

An assessment for a loan or sale is also different from brand authentication.

Knox works with trusted partners in the watch profession, who value and assess watches on Knox's behalf, considering metal content, condition and resale demand. Knox itself is not an authorised brand service centre and does not issue brand authentication.

Good records make any assessment easier, whether you are selling, borrowing, insuring or simply having a piece valued.

Practical checklist

• Separate everyday pieces from occasional and heirloom pieces.
• Store occasional and high-value pieces securely away from home, in pouches or compartments.
• Build an inventory with descriptions, receipts, valuations and photographs.
• Record serial numbers privately, and never send full serial numbers by ordinary email or web forms.
• Keep box and papers, service records and certificates together and secure, with scans stored separately.
• Read your household policy and any cover linked to your safe deposit box, and keep valuations current.
• Decide who may access your box, and review authorised persons from time to time.
• Make or update your will, and tell your executor where your collection and records are kept.
• Before borrowing against or selling a piece, compare the options and read every agreement carefully.

Key takeaways

• Keep only everyday pieces at home and store occasional, heirloom and high-value pieces securely elsewhere.
• Household cover and any insurance linked to a safe deposit box have their own limits and conditions, so check how they fit together.
• A photographed inventory with receipts, valuations, service records and box and papers supports insurance, resale and succession.
• Record serial numbers privately and never send full serial numbers by ordinary email or web forms.
• Plan who may access your box and who should inherit which pieces, and keep your executor informed.