How Does Jewelry Appraisal Work
Buying jewelry, diamonds, gems, or gold can be a stressful experience. Selling can be even more so. These are items of incredible value and no one wants to feel like they have been ripped off or didn’t get a fair value. That’s why, this week on the Stewart Kuper Jewelers blog, we are talking about jewelry appraisals.
What an Appraisal Is
An appraisal is in its most basic form a piece of paper that lists, verifies, all the necessary value information of the ring. This is different from a diamond grading report that can also be obtained for just the diamond facts. An appraisal will assign a value to the complete ring, not just the diamond. It covers the band, the diamond, any other gems as well as the metal involved.
How to Get an Appraisal
You can find out the value of jewelry through a few avenues, the most common being at your friendly neighborhood jeweler (like Stewart Kuper Jewelers). These jewelers will have the gemologists and appraisers on hand who can verify the facts and assign value.
Under the best circumstances, process will be done in front of you, the customer, to ensure and protect both parties from any sort of charges. Unfortunately, this is not often a possibility, so you may need to make a few concessions. You can make yourself familiar with your rings properties beforehand (using a plot diagram for instance) and compare that info with what the appraisal comes back with.
Getting an appraisal will cost a fee, so be aware. The expertise, time, complexity of the job can all vary the price, but the price should be well understood before the appraisal is done.
Why and When to Get The Appraisal?
There are a few reasons to get an appraisal done on your ring. One of the most common is to secure insurance on the piece. Doing this is a no-brainer, it’s a treasured belonging now, you wouldn’t want to risk anything. It also acts as a receipt of sorts in case of theft and can act as proof of ownership should the ring be stolen and located by authorities.
This leads into the ‘when’ question of course. Since it is acting as a super receipt you should be getting this appraisal done as soon as you have the ring. The faster this appraisal is handled, the less time for disaster to strike!
Aside from acquiring insurance on the ring, an appraisal can also give you a solid place to bargain from if/when it comes time to sell that piece. Both the buyer and seller will respect the value of the item and an agreeable price can be found.
Getting an appraisal of your engagement ring (or what have you) is a critical part of the chain of purchasing and protecting your new treasure. We here at Stewart Kuper Jewelers can do just that. Stewart M. Kuper became a Master Gemologist Appraiser in 1987, 31 years ago! You can be certain that he has the expertise and knowledge to get your appraisal handled smoothly.
We hope now that the process is better understood you feel much more comfortable in seeking an appraisal. If you need yours, give us a call!
