need guidance on appraisal & mounting

[Kristie76]

Hi There,
I''m new to this forum (and diamonds) and need your expert advices.
My boyfriend just bought a loose diamond from EngagementRingDirect.com and I''d like to have it appraised from an independent appraiser within the 14 day return period.
I''d like to be able to sit with the appraiser while he/she is doing the appraising. Is this something that can be done? Or all appraisers work by themself and don''t allow customers to sit next to them? Also, should I have it appraised FIRST and then mount it? How much is the appraisal cost? Can the appraiser gives the $$ value of the rock?

Anyone has any good appraisers that can do the above requests in Houston, Texas? Thank you so much.

 

[neatfreak]

Hi Kristie,

Congrats! Mark at ERD is fantastic, so you shouldn't worry about it too much. He's an upstanding guy. Anyway, on to your question...

If you're keeping the stone regardless and it is GIA or AGS certified and from Mark, I wouldn't worry too much. I would wait to get it appraised until after it's set, but that's just me.

If you want the peace of mind that you got what you paid for before setting it, a good appraiser should let you sit and watch the process. They'll explain things as they find them and should let you look at your diamond too. There is a list of PS appraisers on here somewhere, and you'll be able to see if any are in your area. I'll try and find it for you.

Mark will also send an appraisal with the stone. Again, if it's for your own peace of mind, do it before setting it. Otherwise Mark's appraisal plus the cert should be perfectly fine for insurance purposes.

ETA: HERE is a link to the PS appraiser list as well as questions about getting your stone appraised.

 

[Kristie76]

Thank you neatfreak!

I''m so glad to hear it from you (and also from this forum) that ERD is a great website! I know my boyfriend did research before he decided to buy from Mark and that says a lot. But I just want a piece of mind.
Thanks again!!!

 

[Kristie76]

I also forgot to ask, if it''s possible to sit with a jeweler while he/she is mounting the diamond? I''m a little skeptical about leaving my diamond to them over night or several nights.
Thanks.

 

[kcoursolle]

When I purchased my diamond I looked up appraisers in my area by going to the resources tab here at pricescope, then appraisers, and then the area. Also, I choose to have the stone and the setting appraised, but this is not always necessary. The first appointment, the appraiser looked at my stone, compared all of the specs with the cert to see that it was the same stone and that it was not damaged, etc. I sat right in front of him and watched the whole thing. This appointment took about 40 minutes and costed about $100.

Next, I had the diamond set. Yes, it is sometimes possible to watch a diamond being mounted. Not everyone has in-house jewelers, but if you ask around some do and you can watch. However, this isn''t necessary if you have the jeweler record the cert info from your diamond and then verify before leaving the store that your stone is indeed your stone. You can either do this by looking under a microscope at the laser inscription number or looking at the inclusions and verifying them with the cert if you don''t have an inscription number.

Next, after doing all of this I took my ring in for a second time to the appraiser. This second appointment was called an "updated appraisal." It lasted only about 15 minutes and costed about $20. This time, he verified that the stone was the same and that it was not damaged during the setting process. Then he also checked over the setting to make sure things were made well and that stones were not loose, etc. Finally, he gave a dollar amount for the whole ring and mailed me a formal appraisal for me to use for insurance purposes.

 

[Kristie76]

thanks kcoursolle!!
I think I''m going to follow your steps

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 4/24/2007 5:53:16 PM
Author: Kristie76
thanks kcoursolle!!
I think I''m going to follow your steps

no problem. By the way, you are purchasing from a very reputable place...but I did the same thing when we purchased our stone because we were new to the process and it gave us peace of mind.

 

[Kristie76]

hi All:

I want to give an update on the diamond my bf had bought from ERD.

We took the diamond to get it appraised..and it came out that the value of the diamond he bought is almost $3K more than what he paid for. So, after all, ERD is actually a very great place to buy diamonds.
We are really happy about it. Thanks Mark T. for everything!