Independant Appraiser vs. Seller Appraisal

[cushionsearcher]

I was just reading a post from Uncle Marty in this thread where he states that the seller should not issue an appraisal. We are working with Jonathan from GOG for the diamond and the ring and we both feel EXTREMELY comfortable working with him and trust him not to rip us off in any way, shape or form. That being said should we still get an appraisal from an independent appraiser? We pretty much only need the appraisal for the insurance (We really like the stone, so we don''t really care what someone says it should cost - we don''t plan on trading it in).

If what Uncle Marty says is true - the seller''s appraisal must equal what we paid for the ring - then I''m wondering if we should get an independant appraisal, only because I feel like we''re getting a ''good deal'' from Jonathan, and if something were to happen years down the line, it may not be possible to find a ring of comparable quality for the same price - does that make sense?

Any thoughts on this, especially from the slew of people who have purchased from Jonathan in the past would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[niceice]

While we urge our clients to have their purchase verified by an independent appraiser of their choce, the reality is that many people elect not to have their jewelry item appraised by an independent appraiser after receipt and we feel that for that reason we are justified in issuing an appraisal so that the buyer at least has some sort of document for their insurance company. However, we clearly state the actual purchase price on the appraisal along with our estimate of the current retail value of the item if purchased by traditional means. We're not familiar with Jonathan's appraisals so we won't comment on that, but his reputation is excellent.

 

[newenglandgemlab]

Hi,

The big issue I have with the sellers 'appraisals' are the ones that give you a ficticious inflated amount. They should be for the price paid for the item and nothing more. No one has a crystal ball and knows what will be happening with pricing down the road (although it looks like they are going up as I type!). Who ever issues you a report can always do an update. No reason to pay premiums on unrealistic replacement values. If you paid X amount for the ring, don't you think the insurance company can get it for that amount too? Just make sure you have all your proper documentation (I like to call it pedigree) of your stone. A good independent will provide exacting details and digital photos etc to help you in case of any claims. Cindy

 

[Chrisk327]

Up to you as to whether you get an appraisal from an independant. I bought from GOG. I was very happy with the ring and service. However, I decided to get an independant appraisal. Honestly after doing it I was a little underwhelmed, it didn't tell me anything i didn't know.

Jonathon's info packet is very informative, however the price is inflated somewhat. Most insurance companies will have you replace the ring, not give you cash. So if you insure at a higher amount all you'll get is higher premiums for the same replacement. However, an independant appraisal costs money. Your choice.

You won't run into any problems I'd bet with the diamond, the only variable is the value of the ring per the appraisal and what you want to insure it for.