A colleague of mine from the UK has asked me to pick up two pieces of jewelry and ship them to her in the UK. I know I'm asking for trouble but I agreed.

Retail price of the pieces are ~$1,200.

She wants to minimize/avoid duties/taxes on the shipment, but wants it insured. Is that even possible?

I was going to use either US Postal Service or UPS. Is it best to declare the full value and identify them as 'gifts' or 'samples' on the paperwork?

Any thoughts on getting these to the UK?

 

Is she Nigerian?

 

imo, if its not your stuff don't even bother.
unless she is hot and puts out, then u may transport anything she wants.

 

No its not possible. You cannot insure it for $2000 and claim to customs it is worth $1. You may want to check and see if you can send a "gift" without customs penalties.