Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
We have talked about this before, and I have no idea what your family jewelry is, but just be aware that the average person thinks their diamond jewelry is worth a whole lot more than it is. A diamond, unless extraordinary in size and quality, is like a new Cadillac. When you drive it off a lot it looses a huge amount of value. There is very little inherent value in consumer quality diamonds.
I'm pretty much down to a pair of wedding rings with miner's cut diamonds in gold and a little odds and end silver. I've gradually parceled out anything of family heirloom value to relatives the last few years. There is a local jeweler near by that I've talked with about an appraisal, and he pretty much said the same. Diamond value is down but there is a marker among younger people for the older cuts. I was once told that good modern synthetic diamonds are nearly impossible to tell from real ones without an Xray.

It has been rising on my declutter list to sell the rings, but it had not occurred to me that the capital gains taxes could complicate matters. They have passed from one safety deposit box to another for a few decades as people have passed away and they have never been formally appraised. The jeweler would be a good starting point to ask. It seems like the issue must be somewhat common.