Serious Question.....Need Advice

[Heel_Yes]

I posted here last week for my first time. I have been talking to jewelers in my town and in other towns for over 3 months. I have done a ton of research online and decided to buy a diamond engagement ring last week from www.millenniumdiamond.com. I received the diamond today and am very satisfied.

The stone is 1.04 cts and is a round brilliant stone, ideal cut. I will not get into all of the grading details because it is not important for the question I have. I paid $5700 for the ring. They sent me the GIA certificate and a retail appraisal. Well of course, millenniumdiamond did the appraisal themselves and appraised it for $8200.

I trust the appraisal of $8200, but the skeptic in me wants to get it appraised locally. So, here is my question. Should I get it appraised by someone who just does appraisals or should I get it appraised from someone who owns their own jewelery store and is a certified gemologist? I feel that if I get it appraised at a jewelry store that they will give me a low and unfair appraisal because they will want me to buy from them. I do have a 30 - day money back return policy on the ring and if the appraisal is not somewhere close to $8200 then I am going to send it back.

Also, if I decide to go with someone who only does appraisals, how would I go about finding one?

Please any thoughts or advice is really appreciated.

 

[valeria101]

What is that 8k number good for... ?

I am very unsure that it has anything to do with details like the market or replacement value of the diamond. For insurance is acceptable... just a number.

Where you have the stone appraised depends on what you want the appraisal to read like and what you need it for. What is the Q in this case?

 

[Heel_Yes]

I guess you are right. I guess I want to feel sure that I did not pay the $5700 for nothing. If I get it appraised and it is appraised for $3000 then I will know that I got ripped off. You are right though, the $8200 is the retail appraisal value and is really only good for insurance purposes. But again, I just want to see if a second appraisal will even be close to the $8200 appraisal I already have. I read somewhere that if you have two equally certified gemologists to appraise your ring that the difference in the appraisals can easily be off by 25%.

Thank you for the input. I hope others give input also.

 

[valeria101]

Millenium diamonds does not explain what "ideal cut' means in their terms. At elast a quick look on their website did not yield a detailed explanation. GIA does not Ideal name... AGS does. Pricescope does.. Everyone does! And teh price goes accordingly.

You know if this stone was too good a bargain to be true...

With only the weight and price to go, this could have been anything between I/VS2 an F/SI2, H&A with the AGS0 badge on it. If the grades are a better mix and the stone sparkles crazy, good for you

 

[Obsessed]

It seems like the original poster just wants to know if it was a good deal. Its quite easy to do so just by comparing prices of other online dealers. If one does not mind disclosing details, you'd find out in an hour whether the stone was worth the money. You'll always have someone trying to undercut the price, but at least you'll know if you paid for 'nothing' or not.

 

[Obsessed]

So whats the full rundown?

 

[hoorray]

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On 4/6/2004 7:17:28 PM Heel_Yes wrote:

I posted here last week for my first time. I have been talking to jewelers in my town and in other towns for over 3 months. I have done a ton of research online and decided to buy a diamond engagement ring last week from www.millenniumdiamond.com. I received the diamond today and am very satisfied.

The stone is 1.04 cts and is a round brilliant stone, ideal cut. I will not get into all of the grading details because it is not important for the question I have. I paid $5700 for the ring. They sent me the GIA certificate and a retail appraisal. Well of course, millenniumdiamond did the appraisal themselves and appraised it for $8200.

I trust the appraisal of $8200, but the skeptic in me wants to get it appraised locally. So, here is my question. Should I get it appraised by someone who just does appraisals or should I get it appraised from someone who owns their own jewelery store and is a certified gemologist? I feel that if I get it appraised at a jewelry store that they will give me a low and unfair appraisal because they will want me to buy from them. I do have a 30 - day money back return policy on the ring and if the appraisal is not somewhere close to $8200 then I am going to send it back.

Also, if I decide to go with someone who only does appraisals, how would I go about finding one?

Please any thoughts or advice is really appreciated. ----------------

I think it always makes sense to have an independant appraiser tell you that what you got is what you thought you were buying, and whether you paid a fair price. Especially if you are still in the return window. Don't go to a store. Make sure you go to someone who doesn't sell stones and is actually independent. (There is a list of some here on pricescope). Also, don't insure for retail value, but instead for an actual replacement value with maybe a little buffer. You'll simply pay a higher premium for the same coverage if you use the $8200 for insurance purposes since you proved that you can replace it for less, and you know the insurance company will pay even less than you did with their volumes. Tell the appraiser what you are trying to accomplish with the appraisal. If they don't want to accomodate you, find someone who will.

Good luck!