Appraisals in Los Angeles/Santa Monica

[akameme]

We are in the process of looking at diamonds with a local diamond dealer (who says he is also an appraiser). Once we settle on a diamond we like, we want to have it independently appraised.

A few questions
1) Can anyone here recommend a good person in LA/Santa Monica area
2) How much should we expect to pay (I think i''ve heard about 80-100)
3) How long should it take
4) Do you recommend an appointment first?

Is there anything else I should know, or ask for in meeting with an appraiser.

Thanks...

Miriam
P.S. I''m going to miss this forum once the big event happens...this is almost as fun as having the ring!

 

[hoorray]

I went to Charles Carmona, downtown in the diamond district. He came highly recommended, and did a thorough job. So a search here and you will find lots of threads mentioning him. We were there while he did the initial appraisal, and then he arranged to have a local jeweler set the stone. He created an insurance report on the final product within a couple of days. He requires an appointment, and I think it cost somewhere around $100.

The process: he doesn't have a Sarin machine (most don't), he did have a H&A view and an idealscope. He showed us the inclusions at 30x magnification (yeow!), and show us the color compared to a master set. He isn't "cut centric" the way some people here are, but he knew his stuff, was independent, and reliable.

He was good about what amount he put down. I wanted a realistic replacement value for insurance, not an inflated "retail" value that would only cost me more in insurance for the same item.

My advise is to decide what you are looking for up front. Do you simply want to check that all is what it is supposed to be? Do you just want an insurance report? Do you want his advice on the purchase/final decision? Tell him up front what is important to you and see how he responds.

Charles Carmona
Los Angeles
(213) 624-0137

Edited to add: The actual initial appraisal took a little under an hour, but the setting, and final report took a few days.

good luck!

 

[akameme]

Thank you so much.

My first concern is independent verification of the value of the diamond (in addtion to the GIA report that my diamond guy already has) and would likely be prior to deciding if we are actually going to purchase the stone.

But, in the spirit of "kill two birds with one stone" we could certianly get the insurance report at the same time.

Since my first concern is independent verification of the value/specs for the ring, is there a different process? I''ve read here and there on the forum about folks having people look at their diamonds, I can''t imagine they are paying 100 a pop for each appraisal, or are they?

Or, is the GIA report good enough to buy and then worry later?

I''m so new to all this, and trying to get my ducks in a row.
Miriam

 

[cushioncut]

Patrick Davis, G.G.
Village Heights
122 1/2 N. Larchmont Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(323) 463-9410

We were very happy with this appraiser.

The cost was $75 for a loose stone. Took about 1/2 hour to an hour -- he does it while you wait. I would suggest an appointment.

 

[hoorray]

I had him verify that the stone matched the specs on the GIA cert first (making sure it was the right stone), and then we looked at the details of the stone, including the H&A, the inclusions at high magnification, etc. I found it somewhat hard to use that session as a evaluation of the stone for purchase since I didn''t have more than one to compare side by side, and of course it was stunning. But, there were no red flags; everything was what it was supposed to be, and it was a beautiful stone. The evaluation was one price and the insurance report was another, the total being around $100.

In hindsight, the only thing I would consider doing differently (I was new to this world at the time) would be to have a couple of my top contender stones shipped to him so that I could do a side by side comparision to make my final decision. Also, if you are shipping the stone directly to him, and want him to evaluate it before he looks at the cert or sarin info, tell him that. I think it is a good idea. He already had all the info when I got there, but he did show me proof that it was what it said it was.