General appraising questions and looking for references for a trusted/reputable diamond appraiser in

[Zoologico]

I''ve narrowed down my search and I am ready to choose the stone and the vendor, but I need this to go as smoothly as possible for me and the vendor so I am looking for reputable appraisers in these regions.

The appraiser list only shows one possible vendor, but I''d like some references of other if they exist here.

Let me know for what certification, education, and experience I should be looking to satisfy my needs of obtaining the diamond that is advertised, and also the general needs my potential vendor would like to have satisfied before they agree to ship the diamond to the appraiser.

Thanks.

 

[Zoologico]

Hi,

I could really use the help, I haven't been able to find any appraisers that offer the services I need...

Essentially to receive the stone and let me look at it before I agree to purchase it.

I've contacted two and they will not receive the stones directly, they want me to buy them and THEN bring them in.

 

[aljdewey]

Sorry, Miguel....I'm not ignoring the request, but I just don't know who to send you to.




I am on the North Shore in Boston, but I didn't use an appraiser locally. I had my diamond shipped to Rich Sherwood, an appraiser in Sarasota, Florida, who contributes quite frequently to these forums. I trusted his judgment. His knowledge and credentials are impeccable, and I trusted him implicitly.

 

[Zoologico]

So then what happened?

Did Rich share his findings with you and then ship you the diamond and you go tit in the mail?

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 1/28/2004 9:23:32 PM Zoologico wrote:





So then what happened?

Did Rich share his findings with you and then ship you the diamond and you got it in the mail?
----------------

I had my loose stone and a ring mounting sent to Rich. He did a VERY thorough appraisal and advised the stone was a winner. Paid the vendor and I had Rich take the stone and ring setting to a master jeweler near him to get it set. Then he sent the completed piece to me via Fedex!

I couldn't be happier, and if I had it to do over again, I'd do the exact same thing.

 

[Zoologico]

Well, once an appraiser gets the stone, what exactly does he do to it and what does he or she provide you with once he is done appraising?

The reason I ask, is because online, I can find tons of pics, stats, charts, light loss analysis, sarin reports, H&A images, HCA, and so on.

Then I call around here to try to find a reputable appraiser and I ask for the services they provide when appraising a stone.

One said, "I appraise the stone, I don't do all the marketing hype images and charts."

Another told me, "I take a look at the certificate and I verify that the information matches."

That seemed logical, so then I asked what equipment he uses to assess the characteristics of the stone.

He said, "A digital micrometer."

Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dream of arguing gems with accomplished appraisers, but the thing is, I am basing most of my decision on all of these pics, stats, charts, light loss analysis, sarin reports, HCA, H&A images so what I'm really looking for is to make sure that the stone I am wowed by with all these great pics, stats, charts, light loss analysis, sarin reports, HCA, H&A images is the stone I am getting.

Do any appraisers perform these types of tests so that I can make sure that the stone I get is the stone I "fell in love with?"

Am I not familiar enough with the services of an appraiser?

I'm just trying to verify the stone that I spent so much time researching, is that stone that I get and I can reproduce the stats that made me choose it in the first place.

Thanks.

 

[elmo]

Marty Haske in Brookline is who you need to contact. He's one of the very top guys in the industry. http://www.gis.net/~adamas/ Something tells me though that like Dave Atlas he considers alot of the gizmos like bscope and h&a scope to be just that, gizmos for marketing. He'll do an excellent evaluation for you though.

 

[Zoologico]

Does he do Sarin reports?

 

[karenb]

Zoologico...I know how you feel. I contacted an appraiser in Michigan who is accredited through AGA (and listed here on Pricescope). I asked if he uses an IS or FS. He said no..but does provide proportion measurements. Im wondering if these instruments (IS/FS) are needed for an appraisel...or are they more for my benefit

 

[elmo]

----------------
On 1/29/2004 7:15:06 PM Zoologico wrote:

Does he do Sarin reports?----------------

Last time I asked, Marty didn't have a Sarin. If it's important to you to run one in addition to what the seller provides, I'd ask him if a Sarin could be arranged through someone he knows. He's a top-notch gemologist and appraiser located minutes from downtown Boston...I'm fairly sure that all of the appraisers on the group would recommend him highly.