Guidebook: Appraisals

There are two kinds of appraisals. The first kind establishes the dollar value of a piece of jewelry in order to ensure it against loss, theft or damage. The second form of appraisals are sometimes called estate appraisals. These establish a hypothetical market value for a piece of jewelry and suggest how much it might command at auction or if a buyer is found.

Rochester Lapidary Jewelers performs insurance appraisals and helps customers ensure that insured jewelry is replaced with jewelry of the same value and quality. Insurance appraisals are usually more rigorous than estate appraisals and must meet strict insurance company guidelines and standards.

In addition to insuring against loss or damage, other reasons people get jewelry appraised include establishing fair market valuations of jewelry to settle estates and divorce settlements. Appraisals can also help establish jewelry identification to guarantee against switching when it is left somewhere for repair.

Appraising is not regulated in most states. Therefore, appraisers are not required to have formal education or belong to appraisal organizations. This often leads to incomplete and shoddy appraisals done by untrained appraisers. These appraisals seldom meet the strict standards of insurance companies, resulting in replacement jewelry that is often worth less than the originals.

That’s why its important to have an appraisal done by appraisers certified by the Gemological Institute of America. Such appraisers have received extensive training and are required to continually receive on-going training in order to appraise newer types and styles of gemstones, precious metals and jewelry construction.

Market values change, so most professionals recommend you have jewelry appraised every two years.

Grading reports

Jewelry appraisals and grading reports are two important types of reports about your gemstones and Jewelry, but they do not serve the same purpose. A grading report describes an unmounted gemstone. Grading reports differ for diamonds and colored gems, but documentation will include specifics about carat weight and dimensions, color and clarity grades, and cut and shape.