appraiser

[3cd4her]

Can anyone recommend a good appraiser in or around Fairfield Co. CT or NYC. I found a couple under the appraisal section, but I''m looking for any experiences/recommendations. Thanks.

 

[Judah Gutwein]

3cdforher,

David Wolf of www.justappraisers.com in N.Y.C. is qualified, competent and most importantly, independent.
Many people on these boards and elsewhere have used him to their complete satisfaction.

There is also a great list of qualified and independent appraisers offered on these boards, which can be located here:

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

Best of luck!

 

[Rockdiamond]

I''ll second what my esteemed colleague Judah says- David Wolf is someone who has integrity, and knowledge- a good choice for an appraiser if you''re in NYC, or thereabouts.

 

[Judah Gutwein]

Hi David!

I''m not so esteemed, ask my wife..

Good to see you here.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hey Dave! Nice to see you back.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Thanks guys!

Nice to be back!

 

[3cd4her]

Thank you.

 

[3cd4her]

I did speak to David Wolf regarding a few questions and he sounded great, professional, and very knowledgeable. Thanks!

Now they say the appraiser shouldn''t know who the vendor is. How does that work if the vendor is in the NYC and takes the diamond to him, or a box with the company name is shipped to him for review? There''s really no way around it unless I pay for the diamond first.

 

[3cd4her]

Does anyone have any experiences with Arthur DeMello?

 

[glitterata]

I had a good experience with Rob Aretz in the NYC diamond district.

 

[njseeker]

Hi,

When I went through the process I don''t think there was any way to really hide who you purchased the diamond from... I guess you could purchase the diamond beforehand and then have the appraiser appraise it within the return period but that seems pretty risky to me. I don''t think a vendor would let you handle the diamond until you actually fully paid for it.

I didn''t mind paying a little extra so what I did was have an appraiser out of state (way out of state) take a look at the diamond and advise me on it. He did not actually provide me anything in writing but he gave me his blunt thoughts on the price and the diamond itself. He did not physically see the diamond but he looked at the images that I had as well as the reports.

I do believe most of them do know each other in the same area. I used David Wolf and I was comfortable with the fact that he knew my vendor... may be b/c I already had a different appraiser look at it beforehand. I''m sure as in any business industry no one wants to get on anyone''s bad side but at the same time they have their own reputation to uphold. I believe that David Wolf is respectable and would not "screw" you over.

Anyways, we both liked David Wolf.

 

[3cd4her]

Thanks all. After some short conversations with a few appraisers David Wolf sounds great. Is $250 for a 2ct. diamond pricey? I figure he''s pretty well know and in NYC so that alone probably bumps up the price. In the end I am willing to pay for someone who sounds very knowledgeable about what he does and who I feel I can trust will give me an honest opinion.

 

[Lorelei]

Jeff Averbrook is in the Boston area, I don''t know if that is close enough for you? He is on the appraiser list.

 

[njseeker]

That is the same price that I paid and I purchased a smaller diamond for a loose stone appraisal.

Just one more thing though... My insurance company Jewelers Mutual will not insure loose stones. Check with your insurance company to see if they will provide insurance on loose stones or only set stones. I went back to David Wolf and had it reappraised after it was set. He does charge for this but he didn''t charge me nearly as much as for the first appraisal. You might want to iron this out before you do the first appraisal.