Appraiser and Jeweler disagree!

[cheethoe]

Hi all,
I took my ring to an appraiser yesterday so I could get the ring insured and I told the appraiser that my ring was a handmade platinum ring. But my appraiser looked at it and said the ring was caste. He was saying something about how there would have been file marks under the crown of the setting if it were hand made. I dont know what to think, my jeweler claims it''s handmade, and the reason I paid the amount I did for the setting was because I wanted a handmade ring. Is there anyway to know for sure?
After working with my jeweler, it just doesn''t seem like it''s a caste ring. The first time I went to the store I asked if they caste their rings and they were like "oh no, all our stuff is handmade", and he told me how they use X number of pieces of plantinum and laser weld them together etc.

 

[denverappraiser]

Not everyone uses the term ‘handmade’ in the same way but I would show the appraisal to the jeweler and ask them to explain. There’s no way to tell without carefully inspecting the piece but I must say that hand work, properly and carefully done, does not have file marks on the finished piece and often, cast piece that are poorly done do. Ask for a more complete explanation of how they came to that conclusion.

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

 

[Modified Brilliant]

WOW Neil...your new avatar is showing.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[findarock]

what did the Jeweler say when you showed him the appraisal? For some of the other experts is this something that happens frequently?

 

[denverappraiser]

That’s my Christmas avatar.

. HoHoHo. I should probably redo it so that it’s easier to read but the sentiment still holds.

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

 

[cheethoe]

Date: 12/3/2006 4:27:47 PM
Author: denverappraiser

Not everyone uses the term ‘handmade’ in the same way but I would show the appraisal to the jeweler and ask them to explain. There’s no way to tell without carefully inspecting the piece but I must say that hand work, properly and carefully done, does not have file marks on the finished piece and often, cast piece that are poorly done do. Ask for a more complete explanation of how they came to that conclusion.

Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Appraisals in Denver

I pretty sure my appraiser came to that conclusion based on the whole "file marking" theory. I should be receiving my actual appraisal in the mail on monday, so I have not shown it to my jeweler. I''m not sure if that info will be included on the appraisel either. Thank you for your reply

 

[pyramid]

Well if he was speaking about laser welding it sounds like handmade.

I think some jewellers though use the term handmade for just hand finished. I have this gold locket bought years ago and I still like it, I bought it for the look and nothing else, but in the box there was a sticker 'Handmade' I never asked anything about that because at the time it wasn't important to me, but I wish I had now. The locked is oval and quite puffed up meaning not flat and is more puffed than any I have ever seen so who knows maybe it was handmade. However, it has a pattern engraved on the front and back of it, and I just wonder if that is done with hand engraving and that is maybe what the sticker meant. Any ideas from the experts?

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 12/3/2006 4:21:08 PM
Author:cheethoe
Hi all,
I took my ring to an appraiser yesterday so I could get the ring insured and I told the appraiser that my ring was a handmade platinum ring. But my appraiser looked at it and said the ring was caste. He was saying something about how there would have been file marks under the crown of the setting if it were hand made.

I don''t think your appraiser is correct about his reasoning. If I received a handmade job from my bench that had file marks on it it would be back at the bench most ricky tic. (same for a cast piece for that matter!)

If the shank or prongs had shown porosity, that would have been a better indication of casting than the absence of file marks that had no business being there whether or not the piece was hand made. If that were a legitimate criteria it would be incredibly easy to fake hand made by adding a few file scratch marks to cast pieces.

You might want to get a better informed appraiser, or at least do a check on why he feels competent to make such a statement.

Wink

 

[CaptAubrey]

I agree with Wink and I''m inclined to question the qualifications of this appraiser. No custom piece should be delivered to a customer with visible file marks no matter how it was fabricated.

And, "hand-made" in this business is like "fresh" and "natural" at the grocery store. What it means depends on who is using it.