Appraisal cost?

[ssharma1121]

Woohoo the wire transfer went through! In 2 weeks we will have a ring. Well my e-ring is EGL certified, 1.77 ct round ideal H SI1. Since we know EGL is kind of shifty, I was going to get the ring appraised. There''s AGA down the street here in Philly that charges $125 at the minimum. There''s Vincent Lash, near my parent''s house who only charges $35. Why is there such a disparity? I would rather pay less to have the ring appraised, but I want to make sure it''s done right. My fiance wants to make sure the diamond matches the certificate and that the diamond had not been switched. I found both AGA and Vincent Lash on PS, but there was no information on Vincent Lash beyond his listing.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

i just had three very small but fancy colored diamonds appraised, they guy spent about 30min and it cost $90 bucks. i think it has a lot to do with the location of the appraiser, what they pay for rent and whatnot, and how in-depth the appraisal is. good luck!

 

[oldminer]

I don''t own AGA anymore so I might be able to explain a bit to you. People often only want the verification that the diamond is the correct stone, but once they get that part nearly everyone wants to know if the value is good. The value is not part of a simple color-clarity-measurement verification. Rather than do h
half-a**ed work, I encourage my old employees to do only complete work and to spend all the time necessary to do the job right. When you buy a diamond with an EGL paper, you have already increased the liklihood that the grades will be off a bit from GIA type grading. Would you just accept this sort of expert disagreemnt and not want to ask more questions? Few folks have that much self control and the time is what is being charged for.

A $35 appraisal is likely to be incomplete. If an appraisal is incomplete your knowledge base is left only partly filled. If there is innacuracy involved combined with incomplete, then you have wasted your money and your time.

I hope it all turns out well for you.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Appraisals are like anything else, you pretty much get what you pay for.

 

[:)]

Date: 8/26/2008 10:37:52 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
Appraisals are like anything else, you pretty much get what you pay for.

And Richard''s appraisals are worth every penny!

Dave''s old company (AGA) also has a stellar reputation!

 

[hearts-arrows_girl]

I just had my wedding set with 2.03 center stone appraised for insurance purposes. I paid $120.00. Norm, the gemologist who did the appraisal spent almost 2 hours with me looking at the stone, answering my questions, and photographing my ring to put a picture on the appraisal. He laminated it and put it in one of those plastic sleeves like GIA or AGS does. He was very thorough. And although I showed him my GIA report, he told me what I had before I showed him the report. He was amazing! I got to play and compare with his master color stone set (it used real diamonds, not CZ). I had soooo much fun. He is in Woodland Hills, CA. He charged by center stone size. I had my .50 center stone ring done for $50 that same day!

 

[Deelight]

I had my diamond appraised by Chris (who is a real sweetie) at AGA for insurance, worth every single cent (I thought the price was reasonable) and I was very happy with the service, I would recommend him completely.


You spend so much on a diamond to me it makes no sense to skimp on the other details.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 8/27/2008 3:19:17 AM
Author: Deelight
I had my diamond appraised by Chris (who is a real sweetie) at AGA for insurance, worth every single cent (I thought the price was reasonable) and I was very happy with the service, I would recommend him completely.


You spend so much on a diamond to me it makes no sense to skimp on the other details.

Chris did mine a few years ago.

 

[dee96789]

Last Friday I got my cento e-ring appraised by Neil Beaty out in Denver, since I was close by I was able to go and watch the appraisal. His cost was $85 and he gave me a complete report on the mounted ring. As part of the appraisal he verified it was infact a diamond (question I didn''t even think about asking); checked the color (noted it was harder to do since it was a mounted diamond); collected measurements (also a little harder to do since it was mounted); photographed the diamond, the inclusion not covered by the mounting, and the inscribed GIA certificate number on the girdle), an ASET picture; verified the platinum; made notes on all the side stones; approximated the cost of the ring; and showed me everything he was looking at under the microscope on a TV screen; and most important of all: answered the questions that I had to ask. The appointment was about 1hr to 1 hr 15 min.

I think the $ spent was well worth it, we sent in the additional information into the insurance agent to supplement the written appraisal from the jeweler we bought the ring from. I know it would have been even more precise if I had been able to bring him an unmounted diamond.