Editor’s Note
This article details the official valuation of items stolen in a high-profile burglary, underscoring the significant financial loss involved. The expert assessment provides a concrete figure for the stolen goods as legal proceedings continue.
Experts have appraised the watches and jewelry stolen from María del Monte and Inmaculada Casal at 181,345.53 euros. This valuation is detailed in the official expert report submitted to the Court of Instruction number 16 in Seville, which assessed a total of 288 pieces and precious stones. The report values the items at a price similar to “second-hand” after consulting “antique dealers and specialized websites.”
The two experts who signed the report, belonging to the National Judicial Association of Experts, explain that the amount of 181,345.53 euros was obtained by valuing the pieces as if they were “second-hand.” They indicate they did not have access to a visual inspection of the items nor to their invoices in full. In fact, they were only able to consult “three invoices” for watches, which forced them to turn to “different antique dealers and antique houses to obtain an average second-hand market price.” They also consulted “specialized websites in the sector, as the characteristics and qualities of the stolen items to be valued in this report are unknown,” the expert report specifies.
The two experts, specialists in jewelry, gems, and precious stones, recall in their assessment that there are several methods for valuing such items. One is that outlined in Royal Decree 197/1988, of February 22, which approves the Regulation of the Law on objects manufactured with precious metals, as this regulation details how to value jewelry and precious metals according to hallmarks and punches. A second method is “sample comparison,” used to calculate the average market price of stolen items, so their final cost “is obtained taking into account the average amount of objects similar to the stolen second-hand items.”
In the case of the assault on the popular singer’s villa and her partner, the experts point out that since they could not access the objects for a relevant visual inspection (as they were stolen), nor could they verify the quality of the stones, the metal punches, or their weight, “the sample comparison method was chosen to obtain the final valuation of the stolen items.”
The expert report includes tables with the description and valuation of the 288 stolen pieces. Among them, a total of 20 high-end watches stand out, valued from 1,110 euros for the cheapest to 9,800 euros for the most expensive, in this case a “Cartier Panthère model” watch. Other watches include a steel Rolex with a black dial valued by the appraisers at 8,334 euros and a gold Cimax watch with a snake chain appraised at 7,868 euros.
Alongside these twenty watches, the experts list as the most valuable items from an economic standpoint a three-carat diamond solitaire valued at 4,335 euros or three gold bracelets—yellow, white, and rose—each around almost 4,000 euros. Among the 288 stolen jewels is another three-carat diamond and sapphire ring, valued at about 1,600 euros.
The experts note in their report that there are a series of objects for which they could not obtain a valuation due to not having an “exact number of pieces nor their characteristics, composition, material, etc.” In this case, they refer to two jewelry boxes, one with medals, brooches, and earrings, and another with hairpins and watches belonging to the singer’s father from the Cartier firm; as well as numerous costume jewelry earrings, rings, and pendants from brands like Loewe, Tous, or Swarovski, among others.
When filing the robbery complaint, María del Monte listed a series of objects stolen in the assault, citing as the most notable a Rolex brand watch; a gold medal from the Villamanrique Rocío brotherhood; several bracelets; two pairs of coral beads with a diamond; a complete coral necklace; gold earrings with emeralds; as well as gold bangles and slave bracelets with small diamonds; and a watch with a crown of diamonds and rose gold. The thieves also took very valuable lighters, one from the brand…
