To all Mark Morrell owners out there: A Question

[echelon6]

Hi all

I''ve decided to have Mark Morrell do my setting as I see that his work is immaculate - just what I need

But Mark doesn''t provide insurance for the stone during the setting process, and the vendor won''t insure my loose stone for the setting process.

I''m wondering how this obstacle was solved for all those who went with Mark for a setting? Specifically, I want to know whether it''s possible for an insurer to write me a 1 - 2 month policy - just enough for the duration of the setting process? (Then I can get it reinsured under my own terms with my preferred insurer locally in Australia, once the ring is done)

Any experiences and comments greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[angeline]

I did this and I know I''ve written about it elsewhere. Try searching for more info. Bought a stone from WF, sent it to MM. Jewelers Mutual will insure during the setting process if you give them:

Either appraisal of stone or sales receipt and any other info. I sent Sarin, IS, cert.
Quote for setting

Then you need to get it appraised again after the ring is complete and send them the complete appraisal.

Mary Witczak at JM did it for me.

HTH

a

 

[Ellen]

I know people have been in this situation before. I think Chubb and/or Jewelers Mutal will write a policy for this. I''d do a search on here, I know there should be many threads.

HTH

 

[Ellen]

Posting at the same time!

 

[echelon6]

Thanks for the input

What I really need is an ultra-short term policy lasting 1-2 months, as I really want to insure it at a local insurer, (denominated in Australian dollars since I don''t want FX risk as well), and also insurance is much cheaper as a rider on my home and contents.

I think JM and Chubb don''t do 1-2 month policies (unless you''re buddy with an insider, which I''m not) so... stuck, out of options

 

[angeline]

No you can''t but I guess you are allowed to *ahem* cancel at any point and get pro-rated reimbursement. I don''t think a policy exists for short trem insurance. If it did it would be verrry high.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 7/26/2007 10:04:24 AM
Author: echelon6
Thanks for the input


What I really need is an ultra-short term policy lasting 1-2 months, as I really want to insure it at a local insurer, (denominated in Australian dollars since I don''t want FX risk as well), and also insurance is much cheaper as a rider on my home and contents.


I think JM and Chubb don''t do 1-2 month policies (unless you''re buddy with an insider, which I''m not) so... stuck, out of options

JM can not write you a policy since you do not live in the states. If they would the premium for a year would be between 1 - 2% depending on where you lived. So if they would write you a policy you would certainly not be out that much. But they can''t so it doesn''t matter. You will have to acquire insurance from someone licensed to write insurance in Australia.

Wink

 

[echelon6]

Thanks Wink and others. I know that Chubb can write insurance in Australia as well, but Chubb is very very expensive in Australia.
It''s like, 1000 AUD for a 25k ring, thats a staggering 4% premium!

Our crime rates AREN''T 4x that of NYC, no-where is.

(I blame unskilled actuaries for high premiums!)

But since Chubb does it in the states and locally, they are my best bet so far, unless someone knows of another solution.

 

[katebar]

Echelon6 why not check with Jadeleaves? She had her ring made by mark and the diamond sent from GOGi if i recall. She is in Australia too (as am I) so she might have some insights.

 

[echelon6]

Yeah I noticed. I'd like to ask her how she got the whole thing done.

 

[jadeleaves]

Hi

I trusted that Mark will take care of my stone.

Basically, I had wanted him to make my ''forever stone'' setting since I first saw his work here on PS, plus his integrity and reputation is undisputed.

Mark will not just set any stone from a customer and actually require your stone to be sent to him from an appraiser, or in GOG''s case, from Jon (Jon is a qualified appraiser too.) He then examines the stone himself, and if there''s any questions about the chance of breakages or anything that will affect the setting of the stone, he probably won''t set it. I can''t remember his exact words, but that''s basically the gist of it.

I know it''s hard to believe that I trusted someone to set my rock without me having insurance on it, but such was the trust I had in Mark Morrell (this trust is definitely not misplaced, and you will probably know how much of a leap of faith it was for me to do that, having had issues in the past with another ''jeweller'') that I trusted he will do a great job, and in the event that something does happen to my stone, that he will do the right thing by me.

Perhaps the experts can comment on this because I am certainly not one:

If a jeweller damages your stone in the setting process, wouldn''t their insurance cover the damage?

Hope this helps, and when you finally get your MWM creation, be sure to post it here! Also, you might want to find out if your current insurer will insure your ring because some insurers has a limit on the value of jewelry they will insure as a rider to your home and contents insurance unless you have a back to base alarm.

Cheers,

Jade.

 

[echelon6]

Date: 7/27/2007 7:48:57 PM
Author: JadeLeaves
Hi

I trusted that Mark will take care of my stone.

Basically, I had wanted him to make my ''forever stone'' setting since I first saw his work here on PS, plus his integrity and reputation is undisputed.

Mark will not just set any stone from a customer and actually require your stone to be sent to him from an appraiser, or in GOG''s case, from Jon (Jon is a qualified appraiser too.) He then examines the stone himself, and if there''s any questions about the chance of breakages or anything that will affect the setting of the stone, he probably won''t set it. I can''t remember his exact words, but that''s basically the gist of it.

I know it''s hard to believe that I trusted someone to set my rock without me having insurance on it, but such was the trust I had in Mark Morrell (this trust is definitely not misplaced, and you will probably know how much of a leap of faith it was for me to do that, having had issues in the past with another ''jeweller'') that I trusted he will do a great job, and in the event that something does happen to my stone, that he will do the right thing by me.

Perhaps the experts can comment on this because I am certainly not one:

If a jeweller damages your stone in the setting process, wouldn''t their insurance cover the damage?

Hope this helps, and when you finally get your MWM creation, be sure to post it here! Also, you might want to find out if your current insurer will insure your ring because some insurers has a limit on the value of jewelry they will insure as a rider to your home and contents insurance unless you have a back to base alarm.

Cheers,

Jade.

Thanks Jade! Chimed in when I needed you the most!

Mark puts a high emphasis on trust in his relationships with clients, I noticed. I hope me getting insured doesn''t offend him in any way. He told me that his insurance doesn''t cover situations where the diamond braeks during setting process - and that clients need to take care of their own insurance needs.

Im currently liaising with a Chubb agent in Australia, trying to get a policy up for an unborn ring - there''s no precedent of this being done in Australia, so there''s more delay for me unfortunately.

Jade, what taxes did you have to pay when your ring came to Australia? Apparently there''s a Free Trade Agreement between the US and Australia (AUSFTA) which exempts all customs duties of jewelry imports from the US. Well at least on paper (customs regulations etc) thats what it says, but was wondering whether you needed to pay the 5% duty on your MWM ring when it arrived?

 

[jadeleaves]

Hello again!

I think you'll find it hard to get a policy to cover a stone that is not in your possession in Australia. It could probably be done, but the red tape and hassle that it entailed got me off that idea quickly. I didn't really research that much, because I felt that Mark would take good care of my stone, and he did. That said, I had to reject another awesome stone because of a feather breaking the surface after a chat with my appraiser and Mark because of the issues of setting it safely.

Re: Taxes. I still feel the pinch whenever I think about the taxes I had to pay. I don't have the paperwork handy because I've just moved into my new house a couple of weeks ago and a lot of stuff are still in boxes, but suffice to say it would have bought me a business class ticket to NY and back on a reputable airline. I briefly considered picking up the rings myself, but with a new baby it was near impossible, and whilst plenty of friends were willing to go on an expenses paid trip to pick the rings up, no one had the time to spare.

I definitely paid 10% GST and the import tax. The only time I didn't have to pay import taxes was when I bought loose stones, or when the jewelry items were less than... I can't recall for sure, but I think less than AUD$1000?

You might want to work out how much you will have to pay in GST/taxes and see if it's worth going over to collect it

If you do find a solution to your insurance problem, do post about it here because it is a topic that comes up often for posters over here in Australia.

Cheers,

Jade.

ETA: I'm sure Mark would understand that you want to get insurance for your own peace of mind.

 

[echelon6]

Thanks Jade, you just gave me an idea - picking up the ring myself directly from Mark... but I too have no time, may have to ask my friends to see whether anyone''s interested in free tickets to the US.

Just out of interest, what "red tape" did you encounter regarding insurance, if you looked into it?

 

[jadeleaves]

I had to get the stone appraised by an australian appraiser, and that would involve getting the stone sent here, paying the GST on it, getting someone to appraise it, and sending it back to the US which would involve getting separate insurance for the trip back because the insurance policy was specifically for breakages and doesn''t cover goods in transit. I was also told that when the ring is set and gets sent back to Australia, I will have to pay the GST again plus import taxes this time, and then lodge a claim for the GST by showing paperwork that it has been paid once before, and it wasn''t guaranteed that I will get the 2nd payment of GST back.

It was all too hard, plus I was not really fussed on having the stone insured or had the time or energy to do all that (I was heavily pregnant & working fulltime running my own business then).

 

[echelon6]

Date: 7/28/2007 5:21:47 AM
Author: JadeLeaves
I had to get the stone appraised by an australian appraiser, and that would involve getting the stone sent here, paying the GST on it, getting someone to appraise it, and sending it back to the US which would involve getting separate insurance for the trip back because the insurance policy was specifically for breakages and doesn''t cover goods in transit. I was also told that when the ring is set and gets sent back to Australia, I will have to pay the GST again plus import taxes this time, and then lodge a claim for the GST by showing paperwork that it has been paid once before, and it wasn''t guaranteed that I will get the 2nd payment of GST back.

It was all too hard, plus I was not really fussed on having the stone insured or had the time or energy to do all that (I was heavily pregnant & working fulltime running my own business then).

Wow that''s way too hard, I would have done the same if I were in that position too

hmmm was your intended insurer Chubb?

I spoke earlier today with Andrew Perros, my Chubb agent, and he seemed ok with my situation and that an invoice from WF would suffice... but he needed to confirm with Chubb on Monday morning.

Ai... never thought coordinating an engagement ring purchase could be so structured, like some sort of high finance deal...

too much hassle sometimes