heirloom diamond question

[blacksand]

I have an heirloom diamond which I am looking to get appraised this weekend. It is currently in a setting I don't care about (nor does my family), and I am really only interested in how the stone itself appraises. We would like to get the stone insured before we send it off to be reset.

My question is: Should I leave the ring intact or should I have the stone removed from the setting for the appraisal? To my mind, it makes sense to have the diamond appraised and insured loose, then ship the loose diamond off to be reset, but my boyfriend is afraid to mess with it and thinks we should leave it in the setting, presumably for the jeweler to remove just before resetting it. I am not sure if we can insure just the stone if it is still in the setting, or if we would have to insure the entire piece of jewelery?

Having never done anything like this before, nor owned anything this nice, we have no clue what we're doing here. If anyone would be so kind as to break it down for me, as if speaking to a small child, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all your help!

 

[antelope1]

In order to get the color and clarity right, it has to be out of the setting so the appraiser can view it from all sides.

 

[Amys Bling]

The most accurate grading/appraisal is when the stone is not set. It's really up to your comfort level as to what you should do, but if you wan a more accurate grading, have the stone un-set prior.

 

[blacksand]

Ok, thank you. So I should be able to just bring it to any jeweler to take it out of the setting, correct?

 

[stone-cold11]

Check with your appraiser, maybe he is skilled enough to do it?

 

[denverappraiser]

Actually I"m going to disagree with most of the above. Most insurance companies won't insure a loose stone but they will insure a ring that you then have restyled. To bind an insurance policy you will need to submit an appraisal on the item being insured and, again, they probably won't usually insure a loose stone. That said, my suggestion is to appraise and insure it as it is, then have the jeweler (or the appraiser) take it out and collect the additional data that isn't available mounted. Things like exact weight, dimensions, color etc. Have the jeweler make the new item and then get it it re-appraised with the new item and use the report from that to 'update' your policy to reflect the new configuration and the better data. This way, if there's a problem during the process, you should be covered. For exact details, talk to your agent. Not all policies are the same in terms of coverage so it's important to understand your own particular policy. This also allows a final quality control step on the jeweler so that if you have any craftsmanship concerns they can be addressed immediately.

 

[blacksand]

Thank you denverappraiser! So if I have the ring appraised as a whole, then have the stone removed and examined for carat weight, color, etc., would these specs be, essentially, just for my benefit? I.e., they would not appear on the insurance appraisal, since that would be for a ring as a whole, right? If that is the case, I think it may be easiest to do as my boyfriend suggested, and just leave the diamond in the setting until the jeweler receives it. If that means I can't get exact specs right away, that isn't a problem for me as long as I can get it insured.

I apologize for sounding so ignorant in all of this. Truth is, I am!

 

[antelope1]

So if I have the ring appraised as a whole, then have the stone removed and examined for carat weight, color, etc., would these specs be, essentially, just for my benefit?

Well. It's also to make sure that the diamond you get back from the setter is the diamond that you sent to the setter. I'm not saying that your setter is not honest, but you should be aware that sometimes things happen ... so you should protect yourself.

 

[denverappraiser]

Yes, the appraisal is for your benefit, as is the insurance policy. The grades of the stones as inspected in the mounting should appear in the report along with the photographs etc. The specs from the second inspection would appear in the second report but I wouldn’t recommend having them build this report until the ring is completed.

I presume that the ring isn’t insured NOW, which is the point of the first appraisal. That means that it won’t be insured in transit to the jeweler or while in the jeweler’s possession. Those might be covered anyway with the jewelers policy or his own terms and conditions but I wouldn’t assume it. Ask if the jeweler is covered and, especially, if damage by the jeweler during the setting process is covered.

 

[blacksand]

Right, the ring is not currently insured, nor do we really have any information about it. Hence the preliminary appraisal. The idea is to bring it to an independent appraiser here in town (listed on PS) for an appraisal. After that, we want to have the ring reset, however the setter we have chosen is on the opposite coast of the country, so this would require shipping the diamond, which terrifies me. What we want to do is get the diamond (or the ring, as the case may be) insured before we attempt to ship it cross country. I trying to figure out the best way to go about all of this.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Jewelers mutual will insure loose stones during the setting process. Check it out.

You probably need to see it loose to know for sure it does not have chips etc on the girdle under the prongs, that would matter because what if the setter for the new ring tells you there are chips and you cannot prove if they preexisted or not?

 

[Amys Bling]

Jewelers mutual will insure loose stones during the setting process. Check it out.

You probably need to see it loose to know for sure it does not have chips etc on the girdle under the prongs, that would matter because what if the setter for the new ring tells you there are chips and you cannot prove if they preexisted or not?

this is true as well.