Appraisals in Toronto....

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All in Toronto specifically,

Looking to get some new jewelery appraised & wondering where a good place to go would be? I dont want somewhere that will appraise according to wholesale prices & I dont want hugely inflated pricing either. I was considering taking my things to EGL Toronto at 55 Queen St. They have a subsidery they use for appraisals as EGL is the grading portion of the company. Any experiences with them? Plus, are jewelery stores in Toronto or surrounding area using EGL now that they are located right in Toronto? I have broused the usual stores & all seem to use Gemscam still.

Any thoughts or personal experiences with EGL Toronto appreciated.

Thank you,
Judy


P.S...the price for a ring including stones sizes 1.9 to 2.9 cts. is $115 each. Seems steep.

 

[RockDoc]

Hi CCU

What is your intended use for the appraisal? Im sort of wondering why you want a wholesale valuation. When valuing things ( not just jewelry or gems ) there is very few items that sell for the exact same price. There are ranges for a generalized value such as "wholesale" or "retail". I would assume you want to know what a competitive retail price is. Another consideration is how exact you want the range to be. This would require researching individual market levels that would be relevant to the terms, geographic location, who the seller is (a range of different sellers would be from Flea Markets to Tiffany ( and everywhere in between ( based on the seller of type actually selling a comparable item) ). It is possible that you don''t require such a detailed and researched report, but if you do, then those items, need to be addressed by you to whomever you go to for the valuation. You might elect to know several values.

Best to discuss the concerns you have the type of report you want with the appraiser.

Do these stones already have lab reports? If so, you only need a valuation report, not a gemological one, IF you want the appraiser to use what the labs reported.

Many people offering appraisals ( valuations ) may or may not be credentialed in the subject. So best to review the CV''s of each person you consider to do your assignment, to make sure. In the case of EGL doing the valuation, check out the individual who will be signing off on the report.



APPRAISE THE APPRAISER

Rockdoc

 

[denverappraiser]

Wholesale valuation is an interesting subject. As Rockdoc points out, the purpose of the appraisal is an important element in the assignment and different purposes will result in different value conclusions. Wholesale is generally no better defined a term on appraisals than retail or insurance and the definition of value MUST appear in the appraisal report for it to be useful. For pre-loss insurance purposes, what you probably want is the appropriate funding to allow your insurance carrier (or you) to replace the item in a reasonable amount of time with another like it in the case of a loss, right? With new items, especially items where you did careful research in your purchase, you probably have a pretty good idea how much that is because you just did it and therefore have a pretty good basis for deciding if your appraisal conclusion is reasonable. You’re right not to want it to be too high or too low. Talk to them about it if their valuation seems out of whack with what you already know. Tell them your requirements, tell them what you know and what you want to know. Ask questions about what you don’t understand and get an explanation of what doesn''t make sense. Appraising is not rocket science nor is it a psychic power, it’s a matter of careful descriptions, research and documentation.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[mela lu]

Hey there! I''m a torontonian - and am going to have a my ring re-set and re-appraised. I was planning on going to GemScan...but now I''m actually considering letting my jeweler send it to their independant appraiser (cost to me is only $35).

I''m not sure yet which way to go...but that was my original thinking. If you go in the yellow pages, and make some phone calls (and ask your key questions) perhaps you may find an alternative appraiser. (??)

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 6/4/2007 9:08:43 PM
Author: mela lu
Hey there! I'm a torontonian - and am going to have a my ring re-set and re-appraised. I was planning on going to GemScan...but now I'm actually considering letting my jeweler send it to their independant appraiser (cost to me is only $35).

I'm not sure yet which way to go...but that was my original thinking. If you go in the yellow pages, and make some phone calls (and ask your key questions) perhaps you may find an alternative appraiser. (??)

Hi Mela

$ 35.00 sounds a little cheap. How much time do you think the appraiser is going to spend examining the item, and how much time to write, photograph the item and print out the report?????

If the appraiser bills his hourly time at the same rate as even a car mechanic, think that might buy you 20-30 minutes?

Rockdoc

 

[ma1lyc]

HI fellow Torontonians

I just went through the same thing and had my diamond appraised. I chose to pass on Gemscan, from my own experience and from what I read from other people here, Gemscan is not credible enough or strict enough when grading diamonds. I went to Harold Weinstein, they are the most credible i''ve heard so far. Do a search on them on pricescope.. you will see alot of threads pop up By diamond was certified by GIA, so when getting an INDEPENDENT APPRAISAL I wanted to make sure the appraisers was just as strict when grading the diamond. good luck

 

[mela lu]

Harold Weinstein was the other name that was highly reco''d to me
how much WAS he? as the reco came with the caveat ''he''s expensive''?

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi All,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I wasnt looking for a wholesale value, but more a value that isnt overly inflated which would result in a huge premium for insurance. You''re right Neil when you say we have done our homework here & therefore have a good idea about pricing. Bill thank you for advising me to talk to the person doing the appraisal. I wouldn''t have thought to do that & it still be an unbiased appraisal. We had an open conversation & he mentioned he was pleasantly surprised to know that I had as much information about the current pricing for both platinum & diamonds. I''m using my appraisals to update my insurance coverage. It''s that time again.

Hello to my fellow Torontonians. Harold Weinstien has a great reputation & many jewelery stores will not send anything to him. He does charge a higher fee though than Gemscam & probably why many retailers won''t go with him. I still find it interesting to go into the stores & no one has any graded diamonds from EGL. I wonder if it''s because of their cost? Or that they are very new in Toronto still ?

Again, thank you for some very sound advice. It was helpful.

Judy

 

[mela lu]

well - Keep me updated with your decision. I''m right behind you on this path - so I''m grateful for your experience/knowledge!

Where are you in TO?

 

[RockDoc]

RE: Possibly WHY won''t some dealers not send stones to Harold.

He is an AGS member and as such, he has higher standards to comply with. He has taken a lot more training, and education.

I think the real reason is that some of the dealers think he might be too tough, and because of that, they might lose a sale.

Certainly when you compare how many AGS reports there are for stones against the overwhelming volume from GIA, EGL and IGI, the answer becomes obvious.

That has certainly been the case with me. Sellers are merchants and you need to understand that is ok. But the seller''s primary motivation is to make the sale. If an appraiser simply "rubber stamps" all the appraisals with higher than purchase price values, or is overly generous in his gradings, then he becomes the seller''s primary choice of who to send their stones to.

AGS is a pretty stringent organization. I was a retail member for many years, a CGA, and still am an affiliate member, working on qualifying for the ICGA.

If he charges a higher price, it is probably very well worth it... "you get what you pay for", as the saying goes.

Rockdoc

 

[mela lu]

hmmm. great insight. thanks Roc Doc!

 

[mela lu]

I just spoke to Harold Weinstein''s office. it''s $75 for the appraisal. (Canadian Dollars).

FYI''s!

 

[TrueDon]

I''m also in the same situation. I''m going to be getting a loose stone shipped to me soon and I''m looking at either EGL, Harold Weinstein or Martin Sheffield to do the appraisal.
I also spoke with Harold Weinstein''s office and it is $75 but with no plotting diagram...EGL is the same price with a plotting diagram but EGL said that I would need to drop the diamond off and either pick it up later on in the day or the next morning. Whereas HW appraises the stone in a seperate room and you wait in the waiting room for 40 min. I haven''t called Martin Sheffield as of yet but since I''m downtown I''m leaning towards one if the first two choices.

Does anyone know if they also take pictures so I can post the stone on this site for people''s opinion?