Why a Home Visit Is the Safest Way to Sell Jewellery
Selling precious jewellery, watches, or antiques often involves a difficult choice: travel from shop to shop with valuable items in your bag, or post them away and hope for the best. Our home-visit valuation service offers a better alternative. A DBS-checked expert comes to your door with professional testing equipment, values your items in front of you, and makes an immediate offer with no obligation.
For clients across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Southampton, Portsmouth, and the wider South Coast, this approach combines the security of professional expertise with the comfort and privacy of your own home. Whether you are dealing with an inheritance, downsizing, or simply prefer discretion, the process puts you in complete control from start to finish.
Step 1: Booking Your Free, No-Obligation Valuation
Getting started with South Coast Jewellers is straightforward. You have several ways to reach us.
Phone — call to speak directly with our booking team. You will get immediate answers to your questions, rough estimates based on descriptions of your items, and often a same-day appointment.
WhatsApp — send photographs of your items for a preliminary assessment. This is a quick way to get estimated value ranges before committing to an appointment.
Online — use the contact form on our website at any time. You will receive confirmation within one business day.
What We Need to Know
To ensure our expert brings appropriate equipment and allocates sufficient time, we will ask for a general description of your items (jewellery, watches, antiques, coins), an approximate quantity, any specific concerns or requirements, and your preferred appointment times.
Our Service Area
Our primary service area covers all of Dorset, including Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Wimborne, Ferndown, Dorchester, Weymouth, Swanage, and the Purbeck area. We also cover the extended area including the New Forest, Salisbury, and all Hampshire postcodes. Same-day appointments are often available in Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch. For valuable collections outside our standard area, we are happy to discuss bespoke arrangements.
Flexible Scheduling
We offer early morning, evening, and weekend appointments for working professionals. Extended appointments are available for large collections. You will receive written confirmation with the name and credentials of your visiting expert, a courtesy reminder 24 hours before, and a direct contact number for the day of your appointment. Rescheduling or cancelling is always free.
Step 2: Preparing for Your Expert's Arrival
While our experts are equipped to handle any situation, a little preparation can help maximise your appointment.
Items We Value
We assess gold jewellery of all carats and conditions, silver items including jewellery, cutlery, and ornaments, platinum and palladium pieces, luxury watches (working or not), diamond and gemstone jewellery, antique and vintage pieces, coins and bullion, and designer jewellery including costume jewellery from notable makers.
Helpful but Not Essential
Original boxes and packaging, certificates and documentation, purchase receipts, previous valuation reports, and insurance documents can all enhance the accuracy of the valuation, but they are not required. Our testing equipment provides definitive results regardless.
Practical Preparation
Clear a table or surface with good lighting, ensure there is access to a power socket for testing equipment, and have comfortable seating for the discussion. If you have specific questions, write them down beforehand so nothing is forgotten.
Security Considerations
You are welcome to have a trusted friend or family member present during the valuation. Inform someone you trust about the appointment time. Keep valuable items secure until our expert arrives. Our expert will present full photographic identification and company credentials upon arrival.
Step 3: The Professional Assessment Process
The heart of our home-visit service is a meticulous, transparent assessment conducted in front of you. Unlike rushed shop valuations, home visits allow for detailed examination and explanation of every factor affecting your items' value.
Visual Inspection
Our expert begins with a systematic visual examination: overall condition, identification of maker's marks and hallmarks, design period and style classification, gemstone quality evaluation, and craftsmanship analysis. This initial inspection often reveals value that less experienced buyers would miss, particularly with antique pieces or items by notable makers. Understanding UK gold hallmarks is a key part of this process, though our professional equipment provides definitive purity readings regardless of hallmark condition.
Technical Testing
Professional testing follows the visual inspection. Electronic gold testing is non-destructive and shows exact gold content on a digital display, identifying 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct, and 24ct gold and immediately detecting gold-plated items. Precision weighing measures each item to 0.01 grams using calibrated scales. Gemstone assessment uses professional loupes at 10x-20x magnification, thermal conductivity testing for diamonds, and colour and clarity grading against GIA standards. Watch authentication covers movement inspection, serial number verification, condition grading across case, dial, and bracelet, and functionality testing.
Transparent Communication
Throughout the assessment, our expert explains findings clearly. You will be shown hallmarks through magnifying equipment, see test results displayed digitally, hear how condition affects value, and learn about any special features that add a premium. Current precious metal prices, collectability factors, and brand premiums are all discussed openly. Our pricing is based on live London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) rates — see our guide on how we calculate your gold cash offer for the exact formula we use.
Handling Special Situations
Broken or damaged items are still valuable for their precious metal content — our guide on the hidden value in broken and unwanted gold explains why condition is irrelevant to precious metal worth. Our experts calculate recoverable gold weight, assess salvageable gemstones, and recommend the best option between repair and scrap value.
Unmarked or foreign pieces are tested to reveal exact metal composition, with professional equipment determining purity regardless of whether hallmarks are visible.
Sentimental items are handled with care. We offer options including detailed photography before sale, gemstone removal from settings, and partial sales where you keep certain pieces and sell others.
Step 4: Your Offer and Same-Day Payment
Once the assessment is complete, our expert presents a comprehensive offer. You will see a clear breakdown showing individual item values, the pricing factors for each piece, current market rate comparisons, and no hidden fees or deductions.
Your Options
You can sell your entire collection, select specific items to sell while keeping others, arrange gemstone removal from settings you wish to sell, or decline entirely with no obligation whatsoever. There is no pressure to decide immediately. If you want time to think, our expert will leave you with the offer details and you can contact us when ready.
Immediate Secure Payment
If you accept, payment is processed via immediate bank transfer. You can verify the payment has arrived before our expert leaves. A full receipt and certificate of sale are provided for your records, which can be useful for tax purposes, insurance documentation, and probate matters.
After-Sale Support
Our service continues beyond payment. We provide probate valuation letters, insurance documentation support, and future valuation services. Many clients return to us multiple times as they discover forgotten pieces or receive further inheritances.
Why Dorset Residents Choose Home-Visit Valuations
Complete Privacy
Your valuation takes place in the privacy of your own home. There are no queues, no public discussions of your financial affairs, and no need to carry valuable items through the streets. This is especially valued by clients dealing with sensitive inheritances or personal circumstances.
Professional Security
Every member of our team undergoes enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks. We carry comprehensive professional indemnity insurance and follow strict security protocols. Our established local reputation across Dorset, built over more than twenty years of fair dealing, provides accountability and trust. With thousands of satisfied customers across the region, we are proud to be one of the top-rated jewellery buyers in Dorset. We actively encourage customers to get multiple quotes — we are confident our prices compete.
No Travel Risk
Carrying valuable jewellery, watches, and gold through public spaces involves inherent risk. Our home-visit service eliminates this entirely. Your items stay safely in your home until you decide to sell them.
Expert Education
Many clients tell us they learn as much from the valuation process as they gain financially. Understanding your items' history, quality, and market position is valuable knowledge in its own right, and a good home-visit valuation provides this naturally.
Book Your Free Home-Visit Valuation
Whether you have a single ring or a boxful of inherited pieces, our home-visit service provides professional valuation in the comfort of your own home. DBS-checked experts, museum-quality testing equipment, immediate secure payment, and absolutely no obligation.
Contact us to arrange your appointment or learn more about how the full process works. We serve Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Southampton, Portsmouth, Winchester, and the entire South Coast, with flexible scheduling including evenings and weekends. If you prefer not to wait for a visit, you can also explore our guide to selling jewellery by post for an alternative approach.