Everything else on this site can be damaged in transit. This is the category that can simply disappear, and the packing has to answer that first.
Before anything else
Photograph the piece, the packing and the sealed parcel. On a plain surface, with the weight visible if it is a weighed item. This is the record that settles a dispute, and it takes a minute.
Do not write what is inside on the outside. No "gold", no brand name, no helpful label. A parcel that announces itself is a parcel that goes missing.
Use a tracked service, and keep the receipt. For anything of real value, a signed-for service is worth the difference.
The packing itself
- Each piece in its own soft pouch or tissue, so nothing rubs against anything
- Chains fastened and laid flat — an unfastened chain arrives knotted, and knots in fine chain are damage
- Stones and settings face-in, padded
- A small rigid box inside a larger one, with the gap filled
- Nothing loose: if it can rattle, it can scratch
Watches
Secure the strap so the case cannot swing against the buckle. Wind-sensitive and automatic watches travel fine, but a loose watch in a box arrives with a scratched case back.
If the box and papers are part of the sale, protect the box as carefully as the watch — a crushed box is value gone.
When to say collection instead
For a genuinely high-value piece, collection is an honest option rather than a fallback, and some sellers offer it only for their most valuable lots. Agree it before bidding, as the rules require.
Questions people ask
Should I insure the parcel?
For anything of real value, use a service that covers it and keep the proof. The cost is small against the loss.
Can I post several pieces in one parcel?
Yes, each in its own pouch. The risk is them meeting each other in transit, not the parcel size.
What if it never arrives?
Tracking and your packing photographs are what settle it. What happens if an item never arrives.