Should I do an independent appraisal?

[goradiant]

Just a quick question. I have ordered a 2ct diamond engagement ring from James Allen and I was thinking of having it appraised by an independent appraiser. Is this overkill? I know they provide one with the ring and I know I'm buying from a highly reputable company, but part of me says a confirmation by an independent authority could be wise. On the other hand, it seems like an appraisal from one of the recommended appraisers on this site could be around $200 here in New York. I don't want to throw away $200 bucks being overly cautious. Any opinions?

PS - Thanks to all the folks posting on this site. You have helped me tremendously.

 

[yssie]

I always recommend an appraisal of the finished piece just to have independent confirmation that the setting is well-made, the stone is well-set, no damage during setting, etc. I don't *expect* bad news but it's peace of mind, and they can show you the unique features of your stone which is always nifty.

In terms of practical value if you're planning to insure it it's probably worth it as the appraisal/verification letter/whatever it's called from JA will be painfully inflated and you don't want to be paying unnecessary premiums - especially if the inflated value takes you up over a premium jump! Prices were skyrocketing for several months and at that time there likely *was* benefit to insuring at an inflated value because that'd be a realistic replacement value in a few months anyway, but it seems pricing has reached some sort of steady state.

 

[goradiant]

That's a good point. I checked with my insurance company (I live in NJ) by the way and they quoted me $1.64/per $100 of appraised value over $5000. That was higher than I was expecting, which really makes your point well-taken.

 

[yssie]

Have you tried the free quote thingy on the JM site to find the premium jumps? Mine is through JM too, and they're absurdly expensive in some areas - we moved to NY recently and it shot up half again for the same coverage - but they cover owner stupidity and loose stones for setting so I'm hesitant to switch...

 

[goradiant]

I got my appraisal done today and I'm glad I did. I thought I got a really good stone at a good price and the appraiser confirmed that. I hated to spend the money, but I like having the peace of mind. By the way, I used a recommended firm from this site (Travis Lejman - Gemological Appraisal Laboratory of America). I had a 2ct ring with .30 sidestones and the appraisal cost me $175.

 

[mnovosel]

I got my appraisal done today and I'm glad I did. I thought I got a really good stone at a good price and the appraiser confirmed that. I hated to spend the money, but I like having the peace of mind. By the way, I used a recommended firm from this site (Travis Lejman - Gemological Appraisal Laboratory of America). I had a 2ct ring with .30 sidestones and the appraisal cost me $175.

Did you bring in the ring all put together or stone and setting separate?

 

[goradiant]

The diamond was already set when I brought it in. The appraiser verified the diamond against the GIA cert. He went over the color, the inclusions, cut, etc. He took a picture of the ring and gave me my printout. I wasn't expecting any problems to arise, but what surprised me was how positive his feedback was on the stone. Ironically, his comments on what made this a really well cut radiant were exactly why I sent back the first stone I got and selected this one instead.

 

[goradiant]

There is one detail that I forgot to mention in this post. From everything I read, I was expecting the independent appraiser quote to come in less than what James Allen was giving me. It actually ended up being more 15% more and that's after he gave me the lower end of the spectrum for the insurance company. I understand appraisals can have a variance of 25%, but I just wasn't expecting the independent to be higher.

 

[JulieN]

And where are the pics of this beauty?