Appraisal Question...

[kbesner]

The diamond I just purchased at JA is priced at roughly $6300 US.
When I checked the price on a very similar diamond at one of the local chains here in Canada (Charm, I think), they gave a price of $13,999! Almost double......
From what I''ve read here, this is somewhat typical?

What I am wondering is, when I take it to a local appraiser for insurance purposes, what should I expect?? Will the value be closer to the local jewelry store''s estimate?? If not, I''m thinking people in general would be pretty pissed off to pay 14k for a stone locally only to have the local appraiser tell them its only worth 7-8k???

thx!

 

[yellowsparkles]

This is kinda in line with my question. Lets say I bought a ring for $12,000. THe jeweler gives me an appraisal for $23,000. But, I take it to an independant appraiser (GIA Master Gemologist) and she says the cost appraisal is $15,500 (not taking into account market conditions, etc). I am not sure what this really means. Do I insure it for the $15K or $23K?

 

[ephemery1]

I asked a similar question a while back so I''ll be interested to hear the answers to this!! Our stone and setting cost a total of $8100 (bought stone online), but was appraised by the store that did the setting at $23,000. Currently it has been added to my FI''s insurance policy at that appraised value... but is costing WAY more than we expected to insure. We are planning to have it independently appraised in hopes of ending up with a lower number, and then having it insured under that value. I think if the number had been under $20k, we could have chosen how much to insure it for? But because it was higher, the insurance company dictates a certain percentage we have to pay... ugh, I''m so bad with all that stuff... I can''t remember exactly how it worked.

 

[kbesner]

bump for more replies!
thx!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would never have it insured for the highest appraisal amount. That is just something to psychologically make you feel you got a good deal. I usually insure my jewelry using the sales receipts and use the value I paid (and update with an appraisal every few years if I think the value has increased). If I lose a piece of jewelry, then I'd want to recover the amount I paid, because I would replace the item with the same vendor or kind of vendor. I am not going to replace my $8000 item at the jeweler who charges $16,000 or whatever. Be sure how your insurance works, though. See if they replace the item for you or whether they send you a check. If they replace it for you, then what is most important is a good appraisal with details about the quality of the stone plus the certificate.

 

[kbesner]

I agree with what you are saying, I just wasn''t sure what the appraiser would say, and in turn, what the insurance company would say/insist about the insured amount based on the report from the appraiser.
If the appraisal comes back at $15k, does the insurance company care if I only take insurance to cover 10k?
Sorry if thats a dumb question.....beyond car insurance, I''m new to all this!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

All I can tell you is that my insurance company accepted the sales receipts along with the insurance valuation papers supplied by the jeweler. If I were you, I'd tell the independent appraiser that you do not want an inflated value, and perhaps just tell him what you paid. They will value it more than likely closer to full retail. Do you have doubts about your ring's quality? I don't even see a need for an independent appraisal from some of these vendors who sell certified stones and include their own insurance appraisal.