Has technology made it more accurate?
Are Computers much more exact in the process?

Beulah had a tennis braclet appraised yesterday.

In 1988 it was appraised at $36,749.00
CT. Weight: 11.31
Clarity: 8

Yesterday
10 ct.
Clarity : 7
$ 25,500.00

This jeweler said that the previous jeweler, out in L.A.,
Was " off" .


Is the appraisal game open to interpretation?
If a guy could afford to get 5 appraisels , would he get
3 or four different opinions ?

Sounds like a question for our resident jeweler, David.

Yes, appraisals are subject to the appraiser.

First, there is certification. There are standards and there are quite a few certifying bodies... the Gemological Institute of America is probably the most trusted one. I think the different certifying bodies have somewhat different criteria and grade on different scales.

Once the stones are graded, then someone applies a value.

Sounds like a sheister.

I had one try to low ball me on a gun I already knew the value of once.

I made a spectacle of him on the spot.

She paid $150.00 for a 20 minute appraisal of a bracelet with 29 stones.

Then, as I understand it,
There is insurance value, market retail value and a third value
( I can't remember everything)

Obviously, a question for David, but it seems weird that they wouldn’t agree on the carat weight and clarity.

I once was the resident armed thug for a business that bought old jewelry, gold and silver. Not really a jewelry shop. People would come and say "I paid $2500 for this ring. What can I sell it for"?
Dude would say "my offer is $250." Or even less. They would then storm out of the shop, only to return later and take his offer. After the seller left the store, he would use pliers to cut the stones out of the settings and melt the ring for the gold. He then sold it all. Dude paid well and he often would offer me small diamonds for free, which I took to another jeweler and had made into necklaces or earrings. Which I in turn gave to my GFs, who then gave me.... Considerations.
My takeaway on this was: Never buy jewelry.

When I purchased the engagement ring for my wife the jewelry store gave me an appraisal sheet to go with it. The appraisal was about 2k more than the purchase price. They said to keep this for your insurance in case you ever need it. This was one of the top tier stores in our region.

Now why would they be willing to sell me a ring at 2k under its "value".

While I was ring shopping a big chain stores would let you look at the stone under a microscope. You could see every little imperfection that would never be seen by the naked eye. While at another store I asked about a microscope. They told me when they buy the diamonds they don't use a microscope and would only let you use a jewelers eye loupe.

Now if you would take a stone to a jeweler using microscope to grade your ring and one using a loupe you can bet your butt you would get a different evaluation.

quote:

seems weird that they wouldn’t agree on the carat weight and clarity.

Well, 7 and 8 aren't clarities, so it seems weird that two jewelers both did it. Unless they're referring to SI graded stones, which would be 7th and 8th down the scale.

quote:

why would they be willing to sell me a ring at 2k under its "value"

Because there are multiple values depending upon where you are on the food chain. Most appraisals are for insurance replacement value, which is generally the highest.

quote:

Now if you would take a stone to a jeweler using microscope to grade your ring and one using a loupe you can bet your butt you would get a different evaluation.

10x magnification is the industry standard, which is easily accomplished with a loupe.

When I was a kid I found a flawless 1 carat diamond engagement ring. It was appraised at $2500. The jeweler said if I sold it $1000 would be a good price. I later sold the diamond to another jeweler for $1000.

In my limited experience the gap between the "insured" value based on an appraisal for that purpose and the actual value is quite wide. When my wife passed, I had an interesting experience with a highly regarded business which looked at an antique pearl necklace and asked if they could send it out for appraisal. The insured value was $15K; the best offer that came in was for $2,500. I was told that much depends on demand. At the time the demand was pretty low. I still have the necklace but will drop the insured value.

My wife and I like to go on cruises to the Islands. One of the big things in the Islands is being able to buy Gem stones,watches and jewelry at a discount or a better negotiated price then MSRP.

I tell people to be careful because if you do not know what you are looking at you can get into trouble not knowing value.

The business will tell you the jewelry will appraise for more than we will sell it to you for.

One example:
Many years ago we walked into a jewelry store on one of the Islands. My wife was being shown a pair of white gold hoop earning with diamonds in the them.
The sales person told us the list was $26,000 dollars but they were on sale at 40% off. That made the price $15,600 but because we were on the "Disney" ship she would sell them to us for $5,500. I said that was some sale!

Whenever we go to the Islands I always bring a loupe with me. As soon as the loupe came out the price went down another $500.00 dollars.

First, I was not going to buy them for anywhere near that last price offered and after looking at the diamonds they were not the quality I was being told they were. From what I could see with my loupe they were full of inclusions and were also not nearly as clear as they were telling us.

I am by no means an expert but I do know enough no to get ripped off.
We thanked them and quickly left the store before they could try to lower the price even more or try to sell us something different.


So what I am getting at, I did not understand how they could sell earnings for $5000 with an original price of $26,000 thousand dollars.
I know there is a huge mark up on jewelry but a $21,000 dollar difference? I mean who knows what it would have appraised at.

I was not sure if an appraisal came with it or some sort of paperwork stating original store selling price. I know you at least get a receipt.

I would imagine if you were getting an appraisal for an insurance policy it would have to be by a person with some sort of training from a recognized agency.