I think "fake" is the wrong word.
I think the OP is concerned that he will get a "feel good" type of appraisal. Why do some appraisers do a "feel good" type of analysis.
1. It takes much less time, to just "bless" an item, than it does do factually explain, it''s shortcomings to a customer.
2. When this is done, the appraiser doesn''t have the seller angry, and in the case of referral business from that seller, when sellers send to ONE PARTICULAR APPRAISER CONSISTENTLY, they don''t lose referrals from that seller.
3. When a customer is told what "he wants to hear", everyone is happy. No complaints.
Some appraisers value the items high, which even if the gradings are not as represented, the customer feels like "he got a good deal". This is particularly true with the "credit card" type appraisals offered by many retailers provided to the client at the time of purchase.
To answer the question about How are appraisals/appraisers regulated? The salient truth is that unlike real estate appraisers, who are licensed and/or certified by a state licensing body, personal property appraisers are not licensed. In some states there are laws written specifically for jewelry appraisers, such as NY. But if one reads those laws, and interprets them properly, they do not have much basis for protecting consumers. An example is the legal requirement for NY appraisers to add a statement, that appraisals can vary 25%. In fact appraisals can vary much more than this, so even though the legal statute exists, it doesn''t have a tremendous amount of relevance.
There are trade groups that many appraisers belong to, but consumers should check what courses in appraising/ valuation the appraiser has had. General membership to an appraisal organization without taking their courses, just means the appraiser wrote a check to be a member, and has not been tested by that group.
The important consideration is to understand that for jewelry items, a gemological education is separate from a valuation/appraising one in most cases. A qualified appraiser of jewelry and gem items has BOTH a gemological education, as well as an appraisal one. A way to verify this is to read the appraiser''s CV.
Rockdoc