Independent appraisal advice

[soxfan]

I have sent a 2 ct. diamond out to to be set. I have jeweler's mutual insurance for the APPRAISED value of my diamond (about 3,000 more than I paid for it at my jewelers) and for the APPRAISED setting (appraised at about 1,700 for more than I am paying.)

The appraisal for the diamond was done by the jeweler I bought it from and the appraisal for the setting was done by the jeweler I hired to make the setting.

Are the appraisals from the jeweler's enough to suffice? What do I gain from having an independent appraisal done for the final valuation of the ring?

 

[denverappraiser]

Are the appraisals from the jeweler's enough to suffice? What do I gain from having an independent appraisal done for the final valuation of the ring?

Suffice for what? Meeting the insurance company's minimum standards is pretty easy. It's YOUR standards that may be more difficult.

 

[soxfan]

Are the appraisals from the jeweler's enough to suffice? What do I gain from having an independent appraisal done for the final valuation of the ring?

Suffice for what? Meeting the insurance company's minimum standards is pretty easy. It's YOUR standards that may be more difficult.

Ok, so if my "appraised vale" during setting is, say, $19,000. And then I get an independent appraisal done and it appraises at $23,000. Does that even matter since the insurance company is going to just replace it at the lowest cost? I don't want to pay a higher premium for nothing...

 

[SB621]

Are the appraisals from the jeweler's enough to suffice? What do I gain from having an independent appraisal done for the final valuation of the ring?

Suffice for what? Meeting the insurance company's minimum standards is pretty easy. It's YOUR standards that may be more difficult.

Ok, so if my "appraised vale" during setting is, say, $19,000. And then I get an independent appraisal done and it appraises at $23,000. Does that even matter since the insurance company is going to just replace it at the lowest cost? I don't want to pay a higher premium for nothing...

You'll have to ask your insurance company what their rules are for replacement. Most companies will just buy you a similar ring with the same specs. You won't get cut a check unless they can't get you something compariable within the value. I don't get why you would insure a ring for more then you paid. To me that is just wasted money. I ensure almost everything for what I actually paid for it/ or if it was a great deal what it would cost to replace it.

 

[soxfan]

Are the appraisals from the jeweler's enough to suffice? What do I gain from having an independent appraisal done for the final valuation of the ring?

Suffice for what? Meeting the insurance company's minimum standards is pretty easy. It's YOUR standards that may be more difficult.

Ok, so if my "appraised vale" during setting is, say, $19,000. And then I get an independent appraisal done and it appraises at $23,000. Does that even matter since the insurance company is going to just replace it at the lowest cost? I don't want to pay a higher premium for nothing...

You'll have to ask your insurance company what their rules are for replacement. Most companies will just buy you a similar ring with the same specs. You won't get cut a check unless they can't get you something compariable within the value. I don't get why you would insure a ring for more then you paid. To me that is just wasted money. I ensure almost everything for what I actually paid for it/ or if it was a great deal what it would cost to replace it.

I *thought* I got a pretty good deal on the stone, but I see what you super-sleuths on here are able to find, so I *think* I could replace it for a little over what I paid...

 

[denverappraiser]

Chances are decent that if you can replace it for what you paid, the insurance company can too. How prices change over time is unknown and the theoretical loss is unlikely to be tomorrow but you're correct that raising the value beyond the replacement cost just raises your premiums. It changes nothing in terms of the way they do replacement or even what you'll get as a replacement.

The biggest value of an insurance appraisal document on a new item has to do with the quality control as well as the photographs and the details of the description. These will be what controls the replacement process. We have no way of knowing if this was done well or not but it's easy enough to estimate by simply reading the report, looking at the pictures and evaluating the value conclusion. In terms of quality control, I have yet to see a jeweler written report that even mentions it, much less identifies a problem with their own work but if you're confident that there's no problem then you may not count this as important.

An insurance replacement evaluation, particularly one written by the selling jeweler, is specifically NOT a very good way of deciding if you got a 'deal' by the way.

 

[soxfan]

Chances are decent that if you can replace it for what you paid, the insurance company can too. How prices change over time is unknown and the theoretical loss is unlikely to be tomorrow but you're correct that raising the value beyond the replacement cost just raises your premiums. It changes nothing in terms of the way they do replacement or even what you'll get as a replacement.

The biggest value of an insurance appraisal document on a new item has to do with the quality control as well as the photographs and the details of the description. These will be what controls the replacement process. We have no way of knowing if this was done well or not but it's easy enough to estimate by simply reading the report, looking at the pictures and evaluating the value conclusion. In terms of quality control, I have yet to see a jeweler written report that even mentions it, much less identifies a problem with their own work but if you're confident that there's no problem then you may not count this as important.

An insurance replacement evaluation, particularly one written by the selling jeweler, is specifically NOT a very good way of deciding if you got a 'deal' by the way.

Great info- Thank you! I think I will get the independent appraisal "just in case."

I thought I got a decent deal by searching HERE, not from the jeweler! I know they appraise the diamonds higher to make it seem like you got a deal..