Is the appraisal that came with your engagement ring reliable?

[blingblingdiamond]

Hi PSers,

I have 3 questions for you!

1. I believe every engagement ring comes with an appraisal from the vendor you ordered your engagement ring. Are those appraisals reliable? It seems like the value of the ring is usually higher than what the consumers paid for.

2. Do you always do an appraisal with your diamond rings with an independent appraiser?

3. For the third question, it is for the people that are in Boston area.. Any good appraiser recommendation (how much is the reasonable price)?

Thank you!

 

[whitewave]

I chose wrong. I meant unreliable and I do an independent appraisal for actual paid value, not inflated.

 

[ChristineRose]

I think your last two poll questions are the same answer.

The correct answer is what whitewave says. You can't always assume a vendor appraisal is inflated ot the point where it's useless, but it's a pretty good bet.

The only real exception is with branded stones. If only one vendor carries a product, and you can't find it on e-bay or whatever (at least not in any decent quantity/selection) then the vendor's price pretty much is the price you must insure it for. But in that case you still need the independent appraisal, because the vendor is not going to spring for a branded stone unless you can document that you have a stone that can only be replaced with a unique brand.

 

[GearGirly]

The ones I’ve had seem really inflated. Even from Blue Nile. I mean the appraisal should obviously be close to my purchase price as I just purchased, right? The market dictates price...and it isn’t. It’s higher.

 

[AprilBaby]

I just sent my receipt with grading reports and based it on price paid.

 

[Karl_K]

For what use?
Any value listed over what you paid is not reliable.
Lets say it says it is worth 2x what you paid. Why would they sell it for 1/2 that?
As documentation of your purchase it can be important for insurance if it is complete and done right.

Using an independent appraiser is never a bad idea but if your comfortable with your purchase and the documentation provided then I wouldn't argue with you saying you were not getting one done.

 

[Bron357]

With appraisals there are “different” types and you are likely to have different $$$ amounts. You have “replacement retail” which includes taxes and shop mark up etc (ie the $$ needed to go into a shop and get the same) , then “insurance value” which is what you’ll pay your insurance premium on (which is generally inflated to cover the fact that insurance companies demand a wholesale price replacement item) and “estate valuation” this is for probate and generally is based on “market price” ie what the estate will get, after any selling fees, at auction or similar. At the end of the day, the appraisal needs to accurately and fully describe your item. Most people are very happy to get an appraisal with big $$$ but anyone will tell you, don’t expect to get anywhere near that if you try and sell it!

 

[LLJsmom]

I’ve had appraisals from the seller or the craftsman who made my setting. The values are always close to the purchase price of he stone plus the cost of the setting. As long as the GIA/AGS report referenced is correct, and the language specified the maker of the setting (which is my personal. Requirement) it is sufficient for replacement purposes. THat so all I need.

 

[rockysalamander]

I'm not really sure what you mean by "reliable." Reliable for what...replacement value, insurance value, proper description...? In my experience, the appraisal that came with every ring I've bought has perfectly described the piece, down to the weight of metal and stone, and all other details. I usually am quite clear that I want them to list the replacement value using my actual paid costs of any stones (or competitive values if I bought at a low cost/inherited) + setting + workmanship. If it comes with a silly value, I insure is for what I believe is reasonable.

I tend only to get appraisals for rings that are beyond my replacement comfort limit (i.e., what I'd be unhappy to pay out of pocket to replace). I will often get any designer pieces appraised..the appraisal is often necessary to offset the value between the weight of the stones/metal and the value of the "designer name".

In the Boston area, you could try https://www.negemappraisals.com/.

 

[tyty333]

I didnt get an appraisal with my stone and paid for an independent appraisal. I now know that it was more of a feel-good appraisal (so it was
unreliable). This was about 20 years ago. Live and learn.

 

[denverappraiser]

Reliable for what?

There are a lot of reasons people want appraisals on new things, but the biggest usually has to do with insurance. Some company is going to agree to replace the item with like kind and quality in the case of a covered loss and the appraisal serves as both the definition of ‘kind and quality’ and it’s a path to set the premiums. The replacement must meet or exceed the specs in the document. That largely has to do with the descriptions, grades, photographs and so on. Whether or not the seller provides paperwork that’s sufficient for this varies wildly. Some do and some don’t. Basically, read the report and ask yourself these two questions:

#1 If they replace with the cheapest thing they can find that meets this description, am I likely to be happy with the result?

#2 Is the value conclusion likely to be appropriate to fund such a replacement?

Another big reason for appraising new things is people want to use the report to decide if it was a bargain. This is a bit more dicey. Usually sellers say it is. Usually appraisers say it is too. Obviously there’s a conflict of interest here and if the heart of the question is whether the seller misrepresented something, hiring them, or their contractor, to give you a report doesn’t help much. In most cases, this is NOT the question being asked in appraisals and, specifically, it's not the same as the above insurance question.

Often it’s a matter of a quality control step. Are they the correct stones and are they undamaged? Is it of appropriate craftsmanship and are the other materials as stated? It’s best to complain about such things early on if they’re going to be issues. Again, this is a mixed sort of deal and if this is a ‘trust but verify’ type of situation, obviously a report written by the seller isn’t all that useful. On the other hand, the manufacturer knows better than anyone about the techniques use, the weights of those side stones, what techniques were used and so on. Their reports often contain useful information, even in cases where you're looking for a 3rd party inspection.

Another common issue is thoroughness. Most people don't do their best work for free, and seller written documents that are included in the packing materials are often severely abbreviated. They don't give the details like the count of stones, the grades on the melee, the type of metal, the method of manufacture, metal weights, photographs, name of the manufacturer, etc. That leads back to the first question above. How can they possibly do a reasonable job of replacement without this information?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Sales receipt shows what the current replacement value is. I use the sales receipt and GIA or AGS grading report for insurance. For valuable second hand or perhaps inherited items, I'd get an independent appraisal, but I'd be checking diamond comps myself to be sure they aren't inflating the value. Inflated value just causes one to overpay insurance premiums.