Appraisal After Setting?

[stellamarina]

Hi all,

I know the vast majority of you on here would recommend having the loose stone appraised by an independent appraiser, have it sent back to the vendor to be set and then appraised again after it''s set. However, my boyfriend was told by a local, very well-respected jeweler that it was unnecessary to go through all the steps and they could just appraise it for him after it was set. To further confuse him, the husband of my best friend did it this way (appraised after setting) and he is one of the most anal, thorough, organized people I know. This guy made endless spreadsheets of diamond calculations and would never do something if he didn''t think it was perfect. I will add, that my boyfriend is going through a really highly respected PS vendor and has no reason to doubt that what he is buying is not what he''ll receive. Any insight, opinions, etc? I''m posting because I think he''s already overwhelmed with this process.

THANKS!

 

[denverappraiser]

stellamarina,

The reason that many people here choose to have an appraisal done lose and then again mounted is twofold. The most important is that it allows the opportunity to choose a different stone if you’re unhappy with the results of the first examination. The second it that it’s possible for the appraiser to get additional information about the stone, like crown angles and other proportion data, that may not be already included by the dealer that you find valuable and that can’t be collected from a mounted stone.

If neither of these cases apply, it is quite common to just do it once at the end.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[strmrdr]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-have-a-certed-diamond-appraised.10662/
That thread will help you understand it.

 

[stellamarina]

Thanks! I am still not sure what my boyfriend will decide to do but I'll show him the thread.

 

[stellamarina]

One more question for you all, directly from the boyfriend, regarding the link that was given by strmdr.

Regarding point # 10 on the link (10. To get an appraisal and value which you can use for insurance.): If you don't have the stone appraised before mounting, how does that affect insurance co's valuation & what the insur. co. does? Will they have any problem agreeing that the stone/setting (if I had it appraised after mounting) is worth what I paid?

 

[denverappraiser]

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On 8/27/2004 12:25:05 PM stellamarina wrote:
<BR

Regarding point # 10 on the link (10. To get an appraisal and value which you can use for insurance.): If you don't have the stone appraised before mounting, how does that affect insurance co's valuation & what the insur. co. does? Will they have any problem agreeing that the stone/setting (if I had it appraised after mounting) is worth what I paid?

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For the most part, the insurance company isn't concerned if your stone/setting is worth what you paid. That's item #1 on the list and it doesn't really involve your insurer. Their concern is to make sure that they can replace it with like kind and quality in the case of a loss for no more than the insured value (assuming you have a replacement style policy). The definition that they use for 'like kind and quality' will be the one that is supplied by you as part of the appraisal. This is one of the reasons that they require you to get an appraisal. If the appraiser has the opportunity to examine the stone prior to mounting, you can probably have a more specific set of requirements included in that description. The insurance company will accept almost anything as an appraisal but it is in your best interest to document everything as specifically as possible so that you will get a genuinly comparable replacement in the case of a loss. This is especially important if you have gone through great effort to find something like a specific cut or brand that they may not otherwise be familiar with.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[stellamarina]

Neil,

Thank you for the great explanation. That really helps!