appraisal on the Vatche Royal Crown RBC solitaire

[txideal]

Has anyone that has bought this ring had it appraised yet? The appraiser that we sent it to appraised it at only $750 for the ring itself (mounting for a platinum 1.0 ct RBC) when the online price is $1100. How can that be? Why is so much lower when no one will negotiate on the Vatche rings? Did we overpay? Why is the appraised so much lower? Any feedback?

Curious about others'' experiences.
Thanks.

 

[fountainfairfax]

I''m sorry that I don''t have an answer for you but I basically have the same question- in today''s platinum market how do the Vatche settings appraise? I understand that Vatche is a popular branded name and that the settings are of high quality, but I do doubt that the 2ct x-prong setting will appraise for equal to what I''ll pay for it (since I have the loose stone appraisal I already know the $$ before setting.) Which kinda stinks in terms of replacement insurance value.....

 

[StevL]

You apparently found an appraiser that isn''t familiar with the Vatche product or their pricing. I would be more inclined to say the "appraiser" didn''t do their job correctly. They need to find out what that mounting is selling for at today’s platinum prices. It needs to be the Vatche mounting and not a similar style.

They simply can''t say this style xyz is similar and I used that pricing. Vatche is a premium product and their product brings a certain price. Same can be said for Rolex, Tiffany, etc.

One of the largest problems I see is that most people think the appraiser is the final word and they are not. Many times they don''t do the research properly or fail to use the most current pricing. Some times they are not even familiar with the brand they are appraising.

My 2 cents on that subject..........

 

[denverappraiser]

Check with the appraiser and make sure they are answering the same question that you are asking. We are not all familiar with the prices charged by the various designers and they can vary tremendously.

The usual question being asked in new pruchase/insurance assignments is:
‘How much should I expect my insurance company to be required to pay in order to replace this item with a similar one of like kind and quality in the case of a loss?’

Replacing a Vatche product with some other designers work is not ‘like kind and quality’, even if the substitute designer is excellent. The prices being charged by a hypothetical substitute are usually irrelevant. It’s Vatche’s prices that count and the appraiser may have simply made a mistake in their research. It’s always possible that the appraiser determined that your insurer could replace that ring with an identical one for less than you paid for a variety of reasons. If this is the case, they should have no problem explaining their position. Ask ‘em.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[valeria101]

It would be nice if someone would be selling rings like that for half of the brand''s price.

Unless the ring was damaged somehow, no idea why the appraisal would be less than the price. That 1k is not out of designer solitaire range.

You definitely have a good reason to ask the aprraiser to explain and/or reconsider. Honestly, I am curious to learn the outcome.

 

[txideal]

ok thanks everyone.

I did call the appraisers'' office and the appraiser wasn''t available, I left a message for him to call me back, but no response yet. I''ll have to follow up tomorrow.

I went ahead and submitted a copy of that appraisal to the insurance company to buy a policy, but I would still like the value to be changed and also the name of the ring notated.

I would think that that detail would be relevant, don''t you think?

The way the appraisal reads now is... "lady''s engagement ring Vatche designer solitaire ring with bright polish...." etc.

It doesn''t mention that it is a Royal Crown solitaire.

He didn''t give me a breakdown as to how much the stone was and how much the ring was by itself on paper. The way I got the $750 value was I took the total appraised value less the stone''s value that he verbally gave me months ago when it was still a loose one.

You all still think I should pursue this further?

By the way, I used an appraiser listed on the Pricescope list of appraisers in my area. Supposedly this guy was supposed to be good. But now I''m not so sure.