MMD CS/Natural Melee E-Ring Appraisal Question

[aisa901]

Hi there,

I'm wondering what people's experiences have been for appraisals for lab-grown e-rings. I read through a lot of previous appraisal posts and understand that appraisals are usually very inflated... sounds like double the purchase price is typical, so I was expecting my MMD e-ring to be appraised higher than we paid, however my e-ring came back at triple what we paid!!! The ring is a MMD centre stone in a white gold setting with 0.5 carats of natural mined melee.

Of course, I was happy to see this even though I know it's just a "feel good" number, but at the same time, I'm wondering why they would value it so extremely high when it's commonly thought that the price of MMD will decline over the years?

Maybe @denverappraiser can help shed some light on this!

Thanks!!

 

[monipod]

My view was that appraisals tended to be on the generous side so that should you need to replace your item through insurance, you've got a good chance of getting something similar bought/made again, taking into account goods and services getting more expensive as the years go on.

Perhaps it's an acknowledgment that lab stones are on the up and it may be hard to source the same one for the same price down the track so it's better to insure for as much as possible.

I'd love to hear a Trade person's take on it though too.

 

[aisa901]

My view was that appraisals tended to be on the generous side so that should you need to replace your item through insurance, you've got a good chance of getting something similar bought/made again, taking into account goods and services getting more expensive as the years go on.

Perhaps it's an acknowledgment that lab stones are on the up and it may be hard to source the same one for the same price down the track so it's better to insure for as much as possible.

I'd love to hear a Trade person's take on it though too.

Thank you for your input, this is along the lines of what the individual who I dealt with at the jewellery store said where I had the setting made, that the appraisal is a "forecasting" of what it would cost to replace the ring in approx. 10 years. However flattering it was, I'm still not 100% sold on that explanation.

 

[denverappraiser]

Most insurance type appraisals are estimating prices to replace the item with another of like kind and quality, at retail, new, and in the usual and customary market, or words to that effect. Like-kind and quality are covered under the description, photographs, quality evaluations, etc. The tricky part when it comes to MMD is deciding what is the usual and customary marketplace. It’s only been a market AT ALL for about 15 years, and there is a lot of variation to where and how people buy them. Internet discounters. Hybrid brick-and-click stores like Brilliant Earth or Lightbox are examples. Walmart even sells them. Some of the big-name designers even sell them. They don’t all charge the same prices.

If you don’t understand the valuation, ask your appraiser. That’s part of what you paid them for. Fundamentally, by the way, inflated appraisal values are doing you no favor. Come replacement time, your insurer is probably able to get the same deal you can. Maybe better. The effect is to raise your premiums without changing their behavior in the case of a loss by one iota. One of the big zingers has to do with custom mountings, not so much the diamond. They won’t be at the hoity-toity designer unless you have a piece by that designer, and maybe not even then.

Another general concept on this issue is that most rings in stores are made in factories in quantity and that results in better prices (which is why they do it). Brands tend to change their designs fairly often, so if you’re replacing a 10 or 20 year old piece, it’s likely that it will require custom work and US labor to replace it. The design has been long discontinued. If the original wasn’t custom in the first place, and it’s been a while, this can account for some significantly higher labor costs at replacement time.

Forecasting is for psychics, not appraisers. Any value given comes with a particular date, and that date should be prominently in the report. Usually, it’s the same as the date of inspection and the date of the report but not always.

 

[DejaWiz]

To add: it never hurts to get a reappraisal every 2-3 years and submit the updated values to one's insurer, because the market fluctuates and can be unpredictable.