Shipping family diamonds from US to UK?

[meggles]

my aunt has left my sisters & I her jewlery. among it are the following diamonds (they were orginally my grandmother''s and great-grandmothers, so we think they''re quite old:

(1) 0.76 round, 5.7mm
(3) 0.48 round, 5mm
(2) 0.27 square, 3.5mm

i don''t know anything else about these diamonds. my father is taking them up to NYC to get them appraised. once this is done we have a better idea of what we''re dealing with, right?

i am recently engaged, and have been offered "first dibs" on the diamonds above. i have (2) main questions:

1- how would we ship from US to UK? are there any customs or tax issues? (I am back in the US in Dec, so I could always pick them up in person there if it''ll be a big problem to ship)

2- which ones do i want? i know this is a personal decision but i''m sort of leaning towards the largest, 0.76 round flanked by the (2) 0.27 square. i think i really need to go to a local jewler and ask to see diamonds, in settings, on my fingers to get a sense of what i like.

any other advice or info or places to learn more would be most appreciated! thanks!

 

[diagem]

Date: 9/11/2008 6:59:36 AM
Author:meggles
my aunt has left my sisters & I her jewlery. among it are the following diamonds (they were orginally my grandmother''s and great-grandmothers, so we think they''re quite old:

(1) 0.76 round, 5.7mm
(3) 0.48 round, 5mm
(2) 0.27 square, 3.5mm

i don''t know anything else about these diamonds. my father is taking them up to NYC to get them appraised. once this is done we have a better idea of what we''re dealing with, right?

i am recently engaged, and have been offered ''first dibs'' on the diamonds above. i have (2) main questions:

1- how would we ship from US to UK? are there any customs or tax issues? (I am back in the US in Dec, so I could always pick them up in person there if it''ll be a big problem to ship)

2- which ones do i want? i know this is a personal decision but i''m sort of leaning towards the largest, 0.76 round flanked by the (2) 0.27 square. i think i really need to go to a local jewler and ask to see diamonds, in settings, on my fingers to get a sense of what i like.

any other advice or info or places to learn more would be most appreciated! thanks!

Are they loose (un-set) Diamonds or set in jewelry?

 

[Meowtown2]

Hi meggles,

I was recently in a very similar situation and called HM Revenue and Customs. They told me that if you have been in the UK for less than a year, you can go to the US, pick up your stones and bring them back without having to pay customs and duty. However, since I''ve been in the UK for longer, I would have to pay VAT (17.5%) PLUS another import duty (which I think was around 3%) on the entire value of the stone.

The reason for this time scale had something to do with the amount of time they had deemed appropriate to move one''s belongings completely from one country to the other. I think this was 1 year, but I can''t remember exactly, so if you''re on the line between having to pay and not, I''d give them a call.

So, the bottom line is that if you''ve been living in the UK for more than the 1 year ''transitional'' period, you will have to pay about 20% of the appraisal amount in taxes when entering the country. I know, it stinks!

Sorry for the bad news!

 

[meggles]

they''re unset- loose.

i also have the orginal setting that the (2) square & (1) largest round diamonds came out of. My aunt has dimenia, and my parents reset the ring with CZ so that she could still continue to wear it. Unfortunatly, she has now gained a lot of weight, and the ring does not fit her. the complete ring is: (left to right):
Round Ruby (approx 0.5) - square CZ - Round CZ - square CZ - Round Ruby (0.05)
all set in yellow gold (unknown carot)

thanks for the tip re: moving personal belongings. i''ve been in the UK for (5) Years- just got my permananet residency (yeah!)- so it may be best to just get them when i''m back in the states.

i''m in NJ from 8-Dec until 8-Jan. if i wanted to get the ring made in the US- i *think* it would be cheaper, no? but how long might that take? any recomendations for a central Jersey or possibily Philly or even more remotely NYC custom jewler?

random tidbit- i love rings that are a mixture of white & yellow gold. i was just looking at the coloured gemstone section- and spied an amazing spessarite ring- amazing!

 

[Meowtown2]

Congrats on getting ILR!!! I''m up for in December, so fingers crossed...

Interestingly enough, if you only just got ILR, there is a chance you can import your belonging without paying VAT and customs duty again, i.e. your transition period kind of re-starts. I have a whole storage unit packed with stuff in NYC and was planning on waiting for my permanent residence to come through before bringing it over. I''d give the customs guys a call and ask for the details, just to be safe. Ooh, a little tidbit: the customs guys will ask for your name, address, etc., when you call, which made me really nervous about going through customs again!

On another note, from the research I''ve done, I think it is definitely cheaper to get the stones set in the US. I''m in the process of looking for a stone for my ering and will have the whole thing done in NY (even if you pay the 20% import tax it works out better). I''m going to Leon Mege, who I found here on Pricescope. I love his work, and a lot of people on here have amazing rings that he''s made. His website is: http://www.artofplatinum.com
He seems to take around 4-6 weeks, but I don''t know if that''s true for all custom work. If so, you might want to start the process before you go home in Dec/Jan. Good luck!

How are you thinking of combining the yellow and white gold, by the way? (I love the combo too!)

 

[diagem]

Date: 9/11/2008 7:51:05 AM
Author: meggles
they''re unset- loose.

i also have the orginal setting that the (2) square & (1) largest round diamonds came out of. My aunt has dimenia, and my parents reset the ring with CZ so that she could still continue to wear it. Unfortunatly, she has now gained a lot of weight, and the ring does not fit her. the complete ring is: (left to right):
Round Ruby (approx 0.5) - square CZ - Round CZ - square CZ - Round Ruby (0.05)
all set in yellow gold (unknown carot)

thanks for the tip re: moving personal belongings. i''ve been in the UK for (5) Years- just got my permananet residency (yeah!)- so it may be best to just get them when i''m back in the states.

i''m in NJ from 8-Dec until 8-Jan. if i wanted to get the ring made in the US- i *think* it would be cheaper, no? but how long might that take? any recomendations for a central Jersey or possibily Philly or even more remotely NYC custom jewler?

random tidbit- i love rings that are a mixture of white & yellow gold. i was just looking at the coloured gemstone section- and spied an amazing spessarite ring- amazing!

It is completely fine to transport personal jewelry over to the UK..., but no loose Gems!

 

[Meowtown2]

Wow, this is interesting, because I have to go pick up my ring as well and from what the customs people told me, anything you bring from the US to the UK that is worth over a certain amount must be declared because if it is going to remain in the UK, you have to pay VAT on it.

However, I know quite a few people who have gone to New York specifically to purchase their Erings and just worn them back without making a declaration.

Have you had to deal with this a lot, Diagem? Sometimes I found it difficult to get the Customs people to give definitive answers, so it''s great to have another point of view.