General Chat

OH has just renewed the home contents insurance and I don't think we own anything worth stealing!

We do have those little computer things but they were just about the cheapest we could get my mobile is the most basic I could get and this lap-top must be ten years old.

Apart from that, there is nothing anybody else would want.

Maybe not.......but God forbid it all went up in flames, you'd be covered. :-) :-)

Kath. x

But sometime things you may not thought would be covered are!


We got engaged in 1955 and my engagement ring is a diamond solitaire in a platinum setting

Never worried about it all was only worn when going out and to work

Soo in the 1990,s went to work and it was ok leaving home but later a colleague said is your ring ok?
Looked and no diamond,panic and big searches but zilch

So the local Ernest Jones took it it in for repair and seems the settings had worn and claws had let the diamond drop out

So all repaired and a new diamond installed and insurance valuation

Was worth £800 plus as shoulders were platinum and band is 18ct gold

Hubby had paid £17.50 for it in 1955


It took some time e for me to accept it was my engagement ring because of the new diamond but it’s now a very precious ring and connection to my hubby

Thank goodness too for house insurance

There is one ring here. It is in the desk drawer and has not seen the light of day for twenty odd years.

Otherwise,there is the briefcase with the family photographs, my patchwork quilt and that book I bought from a jumble sale that turned out to be valuable. That is the family fortune!

OH does not tend to wear her engagement ring but a couple of years ago we could not locate it anywhere in the house.

We hadn't got the original invoice but I think it cost about £60 or so in 1968 but we'd had it valued some time after we got married at £245.

Claimed on the house insurance and they accepted a current value of £850 so we bought a replacement for a bit more than that.

So the replacement is sat in our safe, still not worn.

The ring in the desk is nothing to do with me. I think Fred found it in a cesspit fifty odd years ago.

You never know, Sharron!
I bought a painting in a local jumble sale about 25 years ago, for £2.50.
I didn't like the painting, just fancied the frame.
Wiped the frame with a damp cloth - wasn't sure. Eldest liked it, though.
I put it where all old pictures and frames go, between the wardrobe and the small whitewood chest of drawers my dad stained, varnished and ruined over 50 years ago.

About 5 years ago, having a small clear out of my bedroom, I found the painting.
Being easily distracted, I decided to look up the name in the corner.
It was by Rene Le Forestiere, and was a view of Montmartre (one of many he did).

Well, his paintings can go for up to 500 euros.
Whatever it's worth - it will definitely be more than £2.50 :-D

I gave it to the daughter who liked it, for her birthday in July. :-D

I did get the ring valued once. A ruby fell out of it and I thought I had better get it put back in before I lost it and I asked the jeweller how much it was worth.

I think he said something like £300 then but it is still in the envelope it came home in.

We paid £52 for my engagement ring in December 1966 ......... a very dark sapphire with a diamond on each side. I say "we" because OH said he could only afford £50 but we both loved this ring, so I produced the extra £2 right there and then :-D

It was valued last year for about £1,200 :-0

I wore it every time I went out, whether that was to work, shopping or whatever, never took it into a jeweller until late 1998 when daughter got engaged and had to have her new solitaire diamond valued for insurance. I decided to also leave mine for "examination, cleaning and valuation".

Back came the message that the platinum tips on the white gold claws had all worn away and I was lucky to have ANY stones left!

That was a longer and more expensive "job" than I'd thought. But they did tell me that platinum wears away quite quickly, and rings should be checked every 10 or so years! Hence the new valuation last year (although over 20 years later) .............. the jeweller cleaned and checked it (claws still good :-D), and then it had to be sent to a gemologist for valuation. I now have this very professional report detailing the condition and standard of each stone, etc etc.


To get back to Sharron's original post on house contents insurance ................

we have always taken out insurance for REPLACEMENT value of the contents, taking advice from our very first insurance agent back in the day.

He said "your couch might only be worth £100, bu to replace it today would cost around £500". Gulp!

We forget that prices have gone up while our 50 year old couch or table has greatly depreciated with age!!

We've only claimed a couple of times, but have always got the cost of the replacement item.

In one case, we had to buy a generator to provide electricity at the cabin we used to have, but brought it back down to the house for the winter (far too cold to leave it unused up there). It was stolen from under the house one night. OH reported ti to the police, got a police case number, and went to the insurance agency.

They looked at the police report, took the details of the generator, and said "we'll pay this amount".

Not sure what they looked at, but they gave us enough to buy the next size model of generator that we hadn't been able to afford 5 years before!!

I wear my engagement ring now every day with the replacement wedding ring hubby bought me in the 70,s

I have my original wedding ring in its original ring box

It’s 22 carat gold and faceted but got worn and thin in places so got sharp to wear

My late brother in law was a diamond cutter and setter and worked for a wholesale jeweller in Hatton garden and we went to his place of work and hubby bought me a 9ct gold wide band that is sort of triangled shape on the outside ,smooth inner


So both rings not originals but still bought by OH

:-)

I just don't wear jewellery. I don't like it, it gets in my way and I am always aware it is there.

Bought a haematite ring in Namibia and I wore it, even though it got in my way but, one day, two saucepans were stuck together and I banged on the bottom of one to try to seperate them.

The ring broke in two and I can't really say it caused me any great distress.

Shirley ...

That's interesting about your wedding ring.

I still have both my original rings, although the wedding ring has rarely been off my finger. Both rings have however been enlarged by a jeweller .......... that was the only time that the wedding ring was off for any length of time.

I remember discussing with one of my teaching colleagues the difference between a "traditional" plain wedding ring and one of the faceted ones. She had been married about 10 years at the time, so around 1955/56 about the same time as you, and had a quite beautiful wedding ring, but said I should not even consider one because hers was now so worn that she would not recommend anything other than a plain ring to anyone else.

I do have a rather beautiful engraved guard ring that belonged to my mother that I sometimes wear either above my engagement ring or on the 3rd finger of my right hand. It must be about 60 years old

Sylvia

Pity we can’t post pictures on the site as I would put mine online

My brother in law made a ring for my mum from dad for their fortieth wedding anniversary

It’s like a smaller version of Diana’s engagement ring

It’s not hall marked because it was wholesale

When mum died she left all her rings to her daughters and we decided to select by the eldest having first choice

Elder sister took her engagement ring and I took the anniversary ring

Never wore it as too big and didn’t want to alter it

Some years ago I gave it to my daughter so I know where it is

She doesn’t wear it either as too big but it’s a family treasure as she knows it was her nans who she remembers and her grandad too

I get my contents only insurance from SAGA and its only £6.04 a month. As I've nearly had a major fire with the stove, its worth it as you never know what may happen. If you had to replace everything in your house, it would add to quite a lot without any valuables.

All your white goods, tv, phones plus all your kitchen items, lounge furniture, bedroom furniture and linen etc...I don't have any valuable individual items but the contents of the house amount to several thousand i'm sure.

Florence in the hebrides

Florence ..........

that's why we have Replacement Value for the contents of the house, and also for the building!