Appraisal of my ring

[redroze1]

I got my brilliantly engaged ering appraised in Canada. The diamond is set so the gemologist said it was hard to determine certain factors. The diamond is 1.5 AGS ideal, G VS2. She appraised it as F VVS1 very good cut. My husband said I should have provided the AGS appraisal so it gets appraised correctly. Especially cause her cut rating was so different - basically two levels lower. I thought the protocol is always to not give the Gia or AGS report. Should I contact the appraiser? The diamond has an AGS stamp too (I think) so couldn't she just look up the report herself?

 

[kmarla]

Fellow Canadian here. I provided my AGS certificate when I had my diamond appraised. Color can sometimes be slightly off in appraising a mounted diamond, but to call an ideal cut only very good significantly diminishes it's replacement value. The appraiser also should have noted any inscribed numbers on the girdle in his report. If I were you I would have the appraisal redone. At the very least I wouldn't show it to my insurer. I'd provide them with the AGS certificate and the sales receipt. I also would speak to the appraiser and question the justification for the "very good" cut rating. Hope this helps.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Yes, always provide the Grading report. The appraisal and report should match so that you don't have conflicting information going to your insurance company. I also stress that I do not want an inflated appraisal, especially if I bought an online stone and the pricing is current.

 

[redroze1]

Ok I'll do so. Wondering how the cut could vary so much though. Also wouldn't The report defeat the purpose of the appraisal? What's to stop the appraiser from just plugging in the numbers from the report into a calculator? I got two other rings appraised and they gave me an appraisal printed on the spot, this time it threw me off as she didn't, it came in two weeks later.

 

[Laila619]

You should not give them the report until *after* they have done their official appraisal. You don't want them to be influenced by the report, you want to see what they judge it as first. That said, an appraisal is still just an opinion, albeit an expert one. Take it for what it's worth. The report is the most accurate.

 

[denverappraiser]

Also wouldn't The report defeat the purpose of the appraisal?

I guess that depends on the purpose of the appraisal.

People get new things appraised for a variety of reasons. For example.

1) Trust but verify. Confirm or refute things that the seller has told you.
2) Match the stone and other materials to the known documentation (ex. that report).
3) Confirm that the stone is undamaged and unaltered since the date of the report.
4) Inspect the craftsmanship and condition of the mounting, the other stones, the metals and other materials and so on.
5) Document what you have for purposes of replacement should the need arise. This includes the weights, counts, grades, photographs, and the like.
6) Fill in whatever details you have that the seller may have omitted fro their sales pitch.
7) Provide a price that relates to a particular marketplace (ex. Replacement retail new locally).
It's required for your insurance.

None of that is undermined by showing the report, and quite a bit is undermined if you don't.

For example. You mentioned the cut grade. The lab called it 'Ideal', the appraiser called it 'very good'. How could it be so different? Easy. In the AGS cut grading system it's necessary to measure the pavilion angle on all 8 pavilion mains, among other things. This CANNOT be done on a mounted stone, so we estimate, and a single degree variation can make the difference you describe. How about that clarity difference? You've got two grades there. The difference between an VVS1 and a VS2 can be entirely hidden under a prong. That's three grades. It is NOT POSSIBLE to reliably make this call on a mounted stone. Even the weight has to be estimated and, as I'm sure you know, there's an important difference between 1.49 and 1.51. We're talking 30% or so here. That's less than the margin for error of the estimation formulas, not to mention the measuring equipment.

There's other data on that report that matters too. For example presence or lack of HPHT treatment. It's not detectable using standard gemological equipment and it's terribly important. It affects the price by something like 50%.

How then is an appraiser supposed to do it? Again, it's straightforward enough. This isn't rocket science. Look carefully for what you can find and, in particular, match it to the data on the report. That's done with dimensions, angles, inclusions, girdle inscriptions, details like naturals and extra facets, fluorescence and so on. From that matching you now have the report into evidence. You can reference that report directly for things like the weight and treatment questions.

You mentioned you're in Canada. There's no clue if origin matters to you but some people care where their stones are mined and cut, and Canadian provenance trades for a premium. As an appraiser, where we pick this up is the paperwork, and if the customer sandbags the paper, it's not going to be considered.

Lastly, there's that replacement question. The appraisal report becomes the purchase order for the replacement in the case of a loss. That's why the insurance company is asking you for it. What do you have? Read your own description in the question.

The diamond is 1.5 AGS ideal, G VS2.

That's probably not complete, you probably have a piece of jewelry with that as a component so there's quite a bit more too it than that, but you would like it replaced with another of like kind and quality in the case of a loss, right? That's the point of the insurance. That means the lab doc is an essential element. Even if she had agreed on every line item, she would be telling you its an approximately 1.50, F-G, VS1-2, VG+, presumed untreated natural diamond. That the limits of her procedures, and it's most definitely not the same thing. Guess how this plays out at replacement time?

Oh, in answer to your original question, yes you should talk to the appraiser about it.

 

[redroze1]

Wow this is very helpful, thanks guys. I'm a bit annoyed that I need to get another appraisal as I'm sure I'll get charged. The replacement value is crazy despite the wrong specs...more than three times the cost of what it costed me for the ring back in 2014.