Appraisal timing questions

[Smarti5051]

I have received so much great advice here, that I think I''m addicted and can''t stop asking questions. Hopefully my questions are nearing an end, but I thank everybody that has been so helpful to my prior questions.

My next (and hopefully last) questions concern the timing for having an appraisal performed and the ballpark cost for the services I am looking to have done. I am putting together a 3 princess stone engagement ring. I have purchased the diamonds through Diamond Brokers of Florida, and I am having a 3-stone setting made by DVatche. From my research, DBOF appears to be an extremely reputable dealer, nonetheless it seems prudent on a purchase like this to have an independent third party evaluate everything. It took a couple of weeks, but Jan found for me a 2.05 ct. center princess stone (H/VS2) and two side stones, one weighing .71 cts. (H/VS1) and one weighing .76 cts (G/VS2), all of which scored very high on the BrillianceScope machine. The goal was to find the most visibly stunning stones I could find within my budget, so my primary concern was cut and light performance.

The appraisal services I would be interested in would be (1) confirmation that the stones are, in fact, the ones identified in the GIA lab reports (though I seriously doubt this will be an issue due to DBOF''s reputation), (2) an insurance appraisal report to give to my insurance company, and (3) an independent assessment that the diamonds are extremely well cut and perform as well to the human eye as they appear to in the lighting tests. I am useless for item (3) as I have little to no basis for comparison, and I will need to rely upon an expert.

This raises three questions:

(1) What is the approximate cost for these types of services? (I will already have complete GIA reports, Sarin reports, and BrillianceScope reports for each of the three diamonds when I submit them for evaluation)

(2) Would it be better to have the evaluation completed while the diamonds are still loose, or for what I need would it be better to have the ring completed first, then submitted to the appraiser? The only appraisal report I would need would be for the completed, set ring. Any recommendations here?
(3) How long does the appraisal process contemplated above generally take?

If anybody can provide assistance to one or more of these questions (particularly the second one), I would be most appreciative. Thanks again to everybody that has been so helpful. I look forward to the day when I can show photos of my completed ring and rave about Jan''s service and guidance throughout this process.

 

[diane5006]

HI...congrats...

There are several good independant appraisers who post here...I used Richard Sherwood (in FL) for mine (see attached pic) he did a great job and the appraisal took just a few days...

If you are interested send him and e-mail...and he will get back to you

the appraisal prices may vaary based on number of stones...I found his rates reasonable...and a small price to pay in the face of the total cost....

Best of luck to you

 

[Richard Sherwood]

-----------
(1) What is the approximate cost for these types of
services?
-----------

Appraisers typically charge from $60 an hour to $150 an hour. The rates vary according to their experience, the instrumentation available, the excellence of their report and the size of their mortgage payments.

To give you a concrete example, SGL rates are $90 per hour, and a comprehensive report on a ring like this would take about 2.5 hours to complete, for a total cost of $225.

-----------
(2) Would it be better to have the evaluation
completed while the diamonds are still loose, or for
what I need would it be better to have the ring
completed first, then submitted to the appraiser?
The only appraisal report I would need would be for
the completed, set ring. Any recommendations here?
-----------

It's easier to grade diamonds while they're loose, but for your purposes it sounds like doing the completed ring would be best. With the GIA reports, etc, the appraiser would be able to gain the information which is difficult for him to get on mounted stones.

-----------
(3) How long does the appraisal process contemplated
above generally take?
-----------

Turn around times vary. I've heard Dave Atlas say that he's often able to do the ring the same day. I shoot for that as well, but sometimes run at a 48 to 72 hour turnaround time.

 

[Dukegirl]

Does anyone know of an appraiser in Northern Virginia or Washington, DC that they could recommend? Also, how long is the estimated turnaround on a simple 1-carat round brilliant solitaire (J, SI1) set in a simple 6-prong setting?

 

[Dukegirl]

OK, when we picked out the stone, Jim at DCD had mentioned that if you have homeowner's or renter's insurance you should insure the ring through that company, but if not, then you could insure just the ring through Chubb (and one other place, but I can't remember what it was).

I just got off the phone with the local Chubb agent and she indicated that Chubb now has a brand new policy (might even be as of this week) in which they will not insure single items such as an engagement ring, unless the ring is valued at $15,000 or more.

Mine is definitely less than $15,000. Any thoughts on what to do? I suppose I could get a renter's insurance policy, but the lowest coverage she quoted me is substantially worth more than the value of my things, plus I would still have to do the jewelry rider on top of that.

 

[dancingmelimel]

If Chubb is not a viable option for those of us with less expensive e-rings, does anyone know of other insurers for e-rings alone? I'm concerned about putting it on my homeowner's policy, because insurers are very weird about claims. I wouldn't want to lose my homeowner's insurance because I'd had to make a claim for my ring.

-Melissa

 

[Richard Sherwood]

There shouldn't be any problem with insuring a ring through your homeowner's policy. After all, that's what it's for, and it's standard procedure. It's also cheaper doing it that way than going with another company.

The only company I know of other than Chubb which insures individual jewelry is Jeweler's Mutual. You probably can find them through a web search.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

-----------
Does anyone know of an appraiser in Northern
Virginia or Washington, DC that they could
recommend?
-----------

There's two Washington DC appraiser's listed on PriceScope's list of appraisers:

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.asp

-----------
Also, how long is the estimated turnaround on a
simple 1-carat round brilliant solitaire (J, SI1)
set in a simple 6-prong setting?
----------

It varies according to the appraiser's workload. It only takes about an hour to do the job when you get to it, but the thing is getting to it.

I promise a 3 day or less turn around time for internet jobs, even though I'm usually booked solid 7 to 10 days in advance with local work. I can pull it off because interent jobs are usually single pieces, which I can squeeze in during the day or knock off in the evenings.