Questions about my appraisal

[b52holly]

Hi guys,

Just got the appraisal in the mail from a reputable appraiser in my area. Here''s my story. I got the ring appraised mounted due to a time issue. I was wondering...she had me send a copy of the GIA report-- doesn''t this put some what of a bias without her going in blind? Also...her appraisal doesn''t really tell me anything that my GIA report doesn''t already say...except for where the feathers and inclusions...meaning there is nothing about crown height, angle, pavillion for my princess (is this possible when appraising a stone in the setting?) I mean the setting is very open on the sides (scott kay, 3 stone with no side bars)

And for the inclusions it says [1] feather, [5] pinpoint(cluster)...is that the description of how bad they are on a # scale?

Also...the two smaller side stones are about .33 each and for girdle it says not visible?? whats that mean?

I dont know I just feel like I sent her the GIA report and got it mailed back to me 125 bucks later with a few details added in??

What are youre thoughts on this guys? Sorry for all the questions, thanks again!

 

[denverappraiser]

b52,

There are several reasons that people choose to get independent appraisals on newly purchased items and whether it was worth your expenditure depends on what you wanted to know. Customers usually wish to have the appraiser confirm that the stone is the same one described on the lab report, that the lab report is genuine, that the stone has not been damaged since the lab had the opportunity to examine it and there was no important information about the stone or mounting that was not made available during the sales presentation. In addition, customers frequently want an independent expert to examine the mounting for issues involving the craftsmanship of the mounting itself and the setting of the primary stone. Lastly, they want a document that will enable their insurance company to replace the item with like kind and quality should the need ever require. It’s difficult to tell from your description but f these questions were contemplated and answered to your benefit, you should count this as good news, not bad.

Accurate measurement of the crown and pavilion angles requires that the stone be unmounted during the examination.

The numbers are probably simply a key to the plotting diagram so that you can locate the individual elements. The appraiser should be happy to explain their syntax to you if it’s not included in the body of the appraisal.

My guess is that the two smaller stones are set in a way that prevented the appraiser from directly examining the girdles of the stones.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[newenglandgemlab]

Hello,

One of the reasons to get an independent appraisal is to arrive at a realistic value for appraisal purposes. So many clients are paying on inflated ''appraisal values'' supplied at no charge by the sellers. I had a stone today that should have been very fairly priced at $26,000 but had a $47,000 ''appraisal''. The consumers are the losers with these marketing ''tools''. Why pay premiums on a unrealistic value? Cindy

 

[b52holly]

I dont know I feel like 125 bucks is way too much for her basically to re-write my GIA...I expected at least to get an approximation of the crown height, angle, etc. But there wasn''t any of that. And all she did was describe the setting...with no mention of the quality other than "new". And I feel like she should be able to see the girdle on the stones since there is a complete side view...I dunno

Also I''ve seen a lot of appraisals that have great pics...there are two pics of my ring in black and white. None close up of the diamonds or anything. I just hope I didn''t get ripped off thats all.

Also...I''m curious. We got our stones on the net and had the ring custom made (three stone plat)...overall we paid about 4050...the appraisal value was 6350. I know we searched out a good deal but is the appraisal value a little high??

Thanks for all the help in advance!

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 11/8/2004 8:21:50 PM
Author: b52holly

I dont know I feel like 125 bucks is way too much for her basically to re-write my GIA...I expected at least to get an approximation of the crown height, angle, etc. But there wasn''t any of that. And all she did was describe the setting...with no mention of the quality other than ''new''. And I feel like she should be able to see the girdle on the stones since there is a complete side view...I dunno

Also I''ve seen a lot of appraisals that have great pics...there are two pics of my ring in black and white. None close up of the diamonds or anything. I just hope I didn''t get ripped off thats all.

Also...I''m curious. We got our stones on the net and had the ring custom made (three stone plat)...overall we paid about 4050...the appraisal value was 6350. I know we searched out a good deal but is the appraisal value a little high??

Thanks for all the help in advance!

I''m sorry to hear that you feel you''ve been mistreated.

Your appraisers contact information should be on the report itself and she should be able to answer specific questions about the girdle description and why she described it the way she did.

Your appraiser should have quoted a price prior to beginning work and than charged that price. $125 is a little more than usual for a single item examination but there may have been other issues involved so it''s difficult to comment on whether this was a reasonable fee or not. The photos and description should be sufficient to reproduce the piece based soley on the content of the document. Sometimes this is quite easy and sometimes it requires a fair amount of detail. As with the pricing question, it''s difficult without looking at the document to tell if sufficient information was included for the purpose at hand. This should include all characteristics that affect the value of the ring or that would affect your satisfaction with the replacement. Here are some basic thoughts on how to get the most value out of a jewelry appraiser.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[lmurden]

Look on the bright side the diamond matches the GIA certificate that is the most important thing! Just think if it didn''t match.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

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And for the inclusions it says [1] feather, [5] pinpoint(cluster)...is that the description of how bad they are on a # scale?

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The numbers are probably referring to the amount........one feather & five pinpoints.