Appraisers / Insurance Companies in Toronto, Ontario....

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi Guys,
I know Leonid you''re in Toronto but not sure who else is in here. I havent been here for some time but its seems a lot less cluttered than the other sites these days. I have a question specifically in regards to Appraisals & Insurance. I''m in the Toronto area & looking to get my stone appraised then insured. Any suggestions for either? I know about Harold Weinstein, who has a great reputation & is known to be quite strict, as well as Gemscan that has less than a favourable reputation. Their request is that you bring any paperwork on the stone. Sure, so they can copy it??

Thank you for your assistance,
Judy

 

[pricescope]

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I know about Harold Weinstein, who has a great reputation & is known to be quite strict, as well as Gemscan that has less than a favorable reputation.
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Hi Judy, I've heard the same

Martin Sheffield and his associate Tony also do appraisals. They are selling diamonds of course but maybe they can recommend somebody?

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi Leonid,
Thanks for responding.

Just after I had left that post, I actually phoned Harold Weinsteins office & made an appt. They were quite accomodating to tell you the truth. I may have gotten a canceled appt. cause I'm taking it in tomorrow on my lunch. I work literally right in front of their building. To be honest, I completely forgot about Martin doing appraisals too. I could have taken care of that earlier in the week. Either way, I'm getting it done tomorrow then off to find an insurance company. The store I bought my setting from doesnt have coverage for an external stone & although its not common, I dont want the setter damaging my stone & not have any finacial backing. Thats too risky.

Again, thanks. Be careful, we're in for a lot of snow over the next few days.

Judy

 

[DiamondOptics]

Hi Judy

Kirk

 

[ccuheartnurse]

OPA!

Souvlaki on Danforth??? haha Nice to see you Kirk.

Judy

 

[trichrome]

Well GemScan... Diamonds evaluated by them in Canada are not rare
at all....but I simply don't trust them.
What about other members of this forum?


My point of view.
Trichrome.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hello All,
I went to Harold Weinstein & got my diamond appraised. I was careful not to give them the AGS cert & the guy there plotted it exactly like the cert. He did however say my stone was an F colour whereas AGS says its a G. I was very shocked at the replacement value. He listed that as $39,000. If we were going by todays exchange rate, the stone would have cost $16,900. How is that the replacement value is so high? I know that Royal Deversail (spelling???) on Bloor & Birks (at Bloor & Bay) have 1.5's, F colour, for $34,000 & $37,000 retail plus GST & PST. I know INSANE. But is this why the replacement value is so high? What should a reasonable replacement value be? Very confused about this & now wondering if HW is so strict with grading, why the high replacement value. Any ideas? Another thought, if HW said $39,000...What would Gemscan list for replacement value...??? $50,000. LOL LOL Anyway, I'm not looking to make a ton of insurance premiums for this diamond. I guess we'll go ahead & get it insured for 6mths then get the policy changed.

Judy

 

[trichrome]

Are you going on a trip to Montreal?
Here I can recommand you a couple of appraisers... Prices range
between 50-60$CDN. And I don't think they inflate prices that much.

Trichrome.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

No, no trip to Montreal in the near future. The stone must be insured prior to it being set. Damiani Jewelers (where we got our setting) doesnt carry insurance should their setter sc*** up & ruin my stone. I know this is a rarity, but anything can happen. I'll look into a more reasonable appraisal when we renew our policy. My poor bf was so hyped up when I told him what HW put on the appraisal.

Poor guy. haha Anyway, I'm not going to burst his bubble & let him ride that roller coaster. He thinks he bought a $39K stone.

Judy

 

[Rockford]

Well, I recently purchased a .72, VS2, F Superb Cert from Martin. I had it appraised at Gemscan loose and again after it was set just last week. Loose they came back at a little more than double what I paid. On the platinum setting they added $1,900 when I paid $1,500.
It's funny, a guy at work had the same sort of anti-Gemscan attitude when I told him I went there and said he was going to go to Wienstein too. After hearing your account though I'm not sure it's founded in anything. Just as an aside this same guy guessed my (fiancee's) stone was "about a 1.2ct" when he saw the ring.
Btw, I too don't understand the reasoning behind the apparant practice of doubling value when it comes to appraisals.
For what it's worth, our insurance company was quite happy to accept the Gemscan appraisal.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi Rockford,
Thank you for posting. May I ask what insurance company you are with?
I have always understood that HW was a tough grader but I didnt know they also doubled the value of the stone. I once went to a vendor over at Dundas Square to check out settings & he tried to sell me a stone. I said where is it graded, he said GemScan. I said not good enough, I want him to send to HW. He said no. LMAO He said they are too tough & in his opinion are too strict for no reason at all. Anyway, I'm glad to see there are so many of us from Toronto on Pricescope.

Judy

 

[jackieblue]

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On 1/18/2003 9:17:16 AM trichrome wrote:

Are you going on a trip to Montreal?

Here I can recommand you a couple of appraisers... Prices range

between 50-60$CDN. And I don't think they inflate prices that much.


Trichrome.
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Actually, *I* will be going to Montreal in May. If it's only that much Canadian, I'd love to get my ring appraised again without the appraiser seeing the GIA cert beforehand. Thanks!
-jackieblue

 

[Rockford]

Hi Judy,

I think our home insurance company is "Coseco" or something like that. To be honest my wife-to-be handles that stuff. What she ended up doing was sending the lady there the actual cert that GemScan gave us. I guess they looked at it, did whatever else, and couriered it back to us the next day.
I doubt going with this company (insurance company I mean) is the best way to go (we haven't checked round with any others yet) but wearing it and having it uninsured all together just didn't sit well with either of us.
One thing I'm wondering though: Do you have to insure it for the full value of the appraisal when you know full well you could have it replaced for a fair chunk less? It seems like it's a double-edged sword to me. On the one hand appraising at an inflated amount ensures you'll getter a much better stone/ring should yours ever be stolen, lost, or whatever. Then again though, that's not really the point is it? And you're obviously going to be paying a higher premium for this.
I don't know I still don't get it.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Hi Rockford,
I actually called a couple companies off of the Chubb Canada website. I of course had to leave messages for everyone.

I also had called the Canadian Jewelers Assoc. & they gave me the number to Twig Insurance, but Twig pointed me straight to Chubb. I'm going to go ahead & get a 6mth policy if I can then reasses it before I renew it again. I agree with you, I will not wear my ring unissured. I have absolutely NO luck.

Also, I'm not that much of a risk taker.

Thanks for your responses.
Judy

 

[trichrome]

Jackie Blue

You can contact C. Withoeft 514-393-1600 #821

Trichrome

 

[jackieblue]

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On 1/21/2003 7:48:58 PM trichrome wrote:

Jackie Blue


You can contact C. Withoeft 514-393-1600 #821


Trichrome
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Thanks so much. BTW, I don't speak or understand French...will this be a problem with this appraiser?

 

[trichrome]

No problem at all!

You can try also Montreal' Gem School at 514-272-8313.
You'll need an appointment.

Trichrome.

 

[Paolo]

I''ve called about five numbers referred to me by Chubb. Nobody wants to insure just the ring and diamond they all insist that I buy homeowner''s insurance of which I don''t have any. Can anyone suggest a broker?

 

[Sashabella]

Birks recommended HW or Gemscan. I do have a Gemscan diamond and, when it was taken to Birks, the head gemologist told me he thinks it''s higher quality and worth more than the Gemscan appraisal. After it''s set, I am sending it to HW for a final appraisal.

Right now, it''s appraised as a F, VSI, 1.22 carats, no fluorescence, ideal cut, very good symmetry and excellent polish. He thinks the symmetry is actually excellent and the colour is an E.

As for the insurance, I had to add it to my homeowners insurance. I couldn''t not find a company to insure just the ring. The insurance was very reasonable though once added to my homeowners policy. I went through Sound Insurnace (which is a broker). Meloche Monnex also has good rates but they will only add through homeowners insurance.