Any suggestion on Ind. Appraisers in South Bay Area (SF--San Jose)

[tuer]

I can not find ind. appraisers from pricescope. I wonder any persons in south bay area can recommend a good one. The only one I found from previous posts is Willow Glen Custom Jewelers. (They have a Fully equipped gemological laboratory and do internet purchase verifications and jewelry appraisals).

I aslo wonder what is the purpose of appraisals? For insurance? For verification?

If I do not want to insure the stone, can I just do the verifications to see if the stone I got is the right one I paid?

One more point, what the appraisal looks like? Today, when I opened the box from Bluenile, I also found there is a document titled by "Appraisal". I don't understand why they give me this one. The price on the appraisal is much higher than I paid (of course, there is also a receipt in that box). Does this mean that I do not need to do appraisal?

Thanks!

 

[JustLooking]

There is an appraiser in Walnut Creek, her name is Nancy Stacy.
www.jewelry-appraisal.com 925-939-4367

I'll probably go to her when I come back from hawaii. Mara has brought her
e-ring and ear rings to her and recommands her. She is also listed in pricescope. She charges $125 an hour.

.......aslo wonder what is the purpose of appraisals? For insurance? For verification?

both for insurance and verification.


.......If I do not want to insure the stone, can I just do the verifications to see if the stone I got is the right one I paid?

Yes to that too.

For your last question, I believe alot of vendors just over appraise what they just sold you because it will make you feel like you just got a deal of the century.

I would not pay too much attention to the appraisal that came with the diamond.

Hope this helps

Jimmy

 

[Mara]

Yes take a look at previous posts on Nancy. She is great, and very knowledgeable. She spent alot of time with us (charged us for it but hey!) and answered all of my questions. She even gave us the GIA information on getting me signed up for a class. She teaches GIA appraisal classes to would-be appraisers and travels around the world doing it. She doesn't have a Brilliancescope or Sarin, etc...but she does use an IdealScope to measure light return and has other tools to appraise the stone with. All in all, she's a great resource, and I am glad she is somewhat local. TWhen we parted ways, she said to call if I ever had a question on anything, I appreciated the help!

There were no other real independent appraisers that we found, she said she had one in SF she'd recommend but that there was another one in Fremont that she would not.

Willow Glen jewelers was also recommended by someone else on here recently. They have an inhouse gemologist who supposedly does a good job of grading. But with an inhouse, you never really know just how objective they are in my opinion. However, I did visit WGJ while we were looking at stones (they carry 8*s and are one of the only local cos to do so) and they were very polite, helpful, etc...and their store was very nicely kept.

Good luck!!

 

[johnjay]

I found an appraiser in Cupertino and was wondering if somebody can comment on his qualifications. He charges $75 for the first ring then 50,35,25.
Thanks.

Anthony Masciarelli, Gemologist GG, GIA, and classically trained by the Gemological Association of Great Britain, stresses customer service.
http://www.idasgems.com/about.html

 

[Gearhead]

I believe Terry over at Willow Glen is AGS Certified.

btw...nice 8* diamonds. Was able to see the * pattern clearly with my naked eye!