Tricky appraising / Selling diamond questions

[EmilyHearts]

Hello everyone

With the economy in pretty bad shape, I've decided to sell 4 of my loose diamonds and a couple of diamond rings that I inherited a while ago.
I do not know the value of the items

First, I would need to get it appraised at an independent appraiser but I have never done this before so I have some questions


1)
I'm unable to locate the original certificates for my diamonds.
Will this be a problem when I appraise / sell my diamonds?


2)
After I get my items appraised and I've found a seller, would the seller go off of my appraiser's grade report value sheet or would the seller use their OWN appraiser and give me THEIR OWN price?


3)
Is there anything else I should know before I head out to appraise my diamonds?

I'm new to selling valuables and I feel like I'm venturing into uncharted territory. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you for your time.

 

[denverappraiser]

Hi Emily,

1)
I'm unable to locate the original certificates for my diamonds.
Will this be a problem when I appraise / sell my diamonds?

Don’t confuse an appraisal with a ‘certificate’. Certificates, or as they are more properly known, grading reports, is a statement from a lab about certain properties about your stone. They are fundamentally advertisements. An appraiser can grade things themselves, they can reference a 3rd party lab or they can do a combination of both. Most have experience in grading things when needed. Whether it’s a problem for your buyer depends on what you have. For large high grade diamonds, every buyer with sense will want a lab involved in the grading. On the other hand while on lower priced things people don’t want to spring for the lab fees. On the other hand, a lab isn’t going to discuss prices or markets with you. If you are looking for advice relating to the value and how to sell it, you might want an appraiser. In some cases you might want both.

2)
After I get my items appraised and I've found a seller, would the seller go off of my appraiser's grade report value sheet or would the seller use their OWN appraiser and give me THEIR OWN price?

BUYERS with sense will use their own experts for grading. This might be an employee, it might be a 3rd party appraiser or it might be their own expertise but it’s unwise to rely completely on what the seller provides. How the logistics works depends on whether they are a pro and similar details. SELLERS need to know what they have in order to set prices properly and they may or may not be interested in what your chosen appraiser has to say. It’s certainly not carved in stone and it will depend on what you have.

3)
Is there anything else I should know before I head out to appraise my diamonds?

An appraisal from a competent appraiser probably would be useful to you, but not for the reasons you think. You need to know what you have and, if you don’t, you need to find out. Otherwise, any decisions you make as to where, how and at what price you sell things will just be guesses or, even worse, relying on the buyer to guide you. When you choose an appraiser, be absolutely straight to them about what you want to know. There are lots of different types of appraisals and this is not the most common. Even the correct answer to the wrong question is doing you no favors.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[EmilyHearts]

Thank you for the correction, it should have read:

2)
After I get my items appraised and I''ve found a buyer, would the buyer go off of my appraiser''s grade report value sheet or would the buyer use their OWN appraiser and give me THEIR OWN price?


The reason for the first initial appraisal at an independant appraiser is so you will know if the BUYER is cheating you when he comes up with their own appraisal value with their own appraiser, correct?

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 11/7/2008 7:29:10 PM
Author: EmilyHearts

The reason for the first initial appraisal at an independant appraiser is so you will know if the BUYER is cheating you when he comes up with their own appraisal value with their own appraiser, correct?

No buyer with sense is going to believe you, or an appraisal supplied by you, unless they otherwise know you. The exception is a lab report from a recognized lab but even that should taken with a grain of salt because these reports can be altered, counterfeited or just unrelated. That’s just self-defense on their part and you shouldn’t take it personally. There are just too many scammers out there. That said, the same is true for you. If you don’t know what you have and don’t know what is a reasonable offer, how will you know whether to accept the offer?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver