Confused on Appraisal and Setting
- Thread starter rosebud
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Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2004
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- 342
There seems to me to be two ways to go.
The safest way would be to have the vendor ship the stone to the appraiser before you buy it, and then have the appraiser ship it back to the vendor to have it set if it meets your expectations. Then, since you're insuring the whole ring, and not just the diamond, you'd need to take it back to the appraiser, so he can give you an appraisal value for insurance purposes. Whether he would charge extra to look at it the second time, I'm not sure. But if you want to check the diamond to make sure it's the one you want before you have it set (which makes it more difficult to evaluate the diamond), this would be the way to go. I wouldn't get involved in the mailing back and forth part, because fedex/UPS will only insure up to a certain amount, and a lot of times, it's not enough to cover the diamond, which is why vendors and appraisers have their own insurance to cover it. I think the only way for someone without their own insurance to cover more than the FEDEX/UPS max, is to use the post office and send it registered mail, instead, which takes a while.
The other way, which is the way I went, is to just have it appraised after it's set. The reason i went this way was that I felt very comfortable dealing with the vendor, they'd gotten great reviews here, had a good return period, and most importantly, provided a lot of pictures and information that made me comfortable knowing that I was getting a great diamond. Basically, I was confident that I'd be happy with the cut, color, and the clarity, so I just bought the stone without having it appraised first. Also, it was a relatively small stone. If it had been a lot bigger and a lot more expensive, than I might have sent it to the apraiser first, no matter how comfortable I thought I was.
Really, in my opinion, it's simply a matter of how confident you are in the purchase. If you're confident enough in the properties of the diamond that you're ready to shell out whatever the cost is without anymore info, than it might make sense to have it appraised after it's set, which saves some time and possibly a little money. If you'd still like someone to help you confirm that it's the diamond you want, then I'd have it sent to the appraiser first so that you're confident that you've made a good purchase. In this case, the little extra time and money would be worth it to ease whatever doubts you may have had.
The safest way would be to have the vendor ship the stone to the appraiser before you buy it, and then have the appraiser ship it back to the vendor to have it set if it meets your expectations. Then, since you're insuring the whole ring, and not just the diamond, you'd need to take it back to the appraiser, so he can give you an appraisal value for insurance purposes. Whether he would charge extra to look at it the second time, I'm not sure. But if you want to check the diamond to make sure it's the one you want before you have it set (which makes it more difficult to evaluate the diamond), this would be the way to go. I wouldn't get involved in the mailing back and forth part, because fedex/UPS will only insure up to a certain amount, and a lot of times, it's not enough to cover the diamond, which is why vendors and appraisers have their own insurance to cover it. I think the only way for someone without their own insurance to cover more than the FEDEX/UPS max, is to use the post office and send it registered mail, instead, which takes a while.
The other way, which is the way I went, is to just have it appraised after it's set. The reason i went this way was that I felt very comfortable dealing with the vendor, they'd gotten great reviews here, had a good return period, and most importantly, provided a lot of pictures and information that made me comfortable knowing that I was getting a great diamond. Basically, I was confident that I'd be happy with the cut, color, and the clarity, so I just bought the stone without having it appraised first. Also, it was a relatively small stone. If it had been a lot bigger and a lot more expensive, than I might have sent it to the apraiser first, no matter how comfortable I thought I was.
Really, in my opinion, it's simply a matter of how confident you are in the purchase. If you're confident enough in the properties of the diamond that you're ready to shell out whatever the cost is without anymore info, than it might make sense to have it appraised after it's set, which saves some time and possibly a little money. If you'd still like someone to help you confirm that it's the diamond you want, then I'd have it sent to the appraiser first so that you're confident that you've made a good purchase. In this case, the little extra time and money would be worth it to ease whatever doubts you may have had.
uvalaw2005
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2004
- Messages
- 13
I had a similar question, and someone here on PS had a great alternative. If you're not totally determined to have it set by the vendor, you might consider having the vendor send both the stone and the setting to your appraiser, have him appraise the loose diamond, have it set by someone your appraiser knows and trusts, and then have him appraise the whole ring for insurance purposes. Then when that is all finished, he sends it on to you.
There will be probably be an additional cost to have the ring set, and its not quite what you asked for, but I just wanted to let you know that this was a possibility with some reputable independent appraisers.
There will be probably be an additional cost to have the ring set, and its not quite what you asked for, but I just wanted to let you know that this was a possibility with some reputable independent appraisers.
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2000
- Messages
- 6,761
We often arrange to have a diamond set into someone's mounting after our appraisal work is completed on the loose stone. We then re-check the diamond and make sure it is set properly before sending it to the customer. The fee is nominal for setting, but does save a lot of double shipping and insurance costs. Also it saves time.
We also arrange to complete appraisals after a vendor sets the diamond. We work from the vendor's description and photo fo the mounting, but we must assume it is the correct diamond and properly set... This is adequate for getting insurance, but not the very safest way to go.
We also arrange to complete appraisals after a vendor sets the diamond. We work from the vendor's description and photo fo the mounting, but we must assume it is the correct diamond and properly set... This is adequate for getting insurance, but not the very safest way to go.
noobie
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2004
- Messages
- 1,318
Dave,
Could you elaborate on what you mean by not the "very safest"? Is it from the perspective of making sure the grading is within acceptable tolerances of the cert or is it for evaluation of visual performance of the stone?
I recently went the route of loose appraisal, mount, reappraise. This time, I'm seriously considering mount and then appraise since I trust the vendor on the diamond matching the cert.
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