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Went to see an appraiser today...

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Amethyste

Amethyste

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2003
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2,201
Remember my 5.13Ct lemony pear diamond?
I made an apt today to drop off my ring to get appraised tomorrow ( Monday ).
I meet with the appraiser. I gave her the cert and the bill of sale.
She was dumbfounded that I got this ring for such a low price. the deal of the
century as she calls it. She starts looking at my ring and she gave me a
conservative appraisal quote of $75,000 - $80,000

The thing is I want to wear my ring daily, I want to enjoy this purchase
daily. but yikes. That means that if my ring appraises around $80K, it will be
close to $1000 a year to wear my ring!

What is your take on insuring your rings? My tenant policy is NOT interested
in insuring my ring. I am stuck, really, I don''t k now what I should do....
The appraiser will not give me an appraisal for less than what market value is.
and what I want is "agreed cash value".

"HELP" lol
 
Oh goodness! I don''t have any advice, but good luck! I''ll keep my eye on this thread to see what happens.
 
well you can either take insurance on what you paid on the ring, or go by the appraisal amount (that was what my insurance agent asked me). I would insure on a separate policy jmho from renters's or home owner's insurance. what are the difference in premiums if you bought one with a higher deductible? Is your insurance going to be a cash out policy (usually higher premiums) or a replacement policy?
 
We''ve got a similar issue. But it seems the norm is to over-appraise by about 15-20% of purchase price. Although none of us anticipate losing or having our pieces stolen, we''ll all sure appreciate the over-appraisal then. Maybe try another appraiser??? Not sure...
 
You always have the option to insure for your purchase price, I believe, if you submit your reciept.
 
This is the hidden cost of a "the deal of the century". Remember that saying -- there''s no free lunch. You pay one way or you pay another. If you can afford to lose it, then don''t insure. But the risk is yours to take. Who knows, maybe you''ll come across another deal like this next century?
3.gif
 
Unfortunately, I called Jewelers Mutual and they will only insure to appraised value.
There is no option for Agreed value / cash value. Only Replacement value.
Now, i could maybe try to get with Chubb who does offer an ACV option. I still
have to provide an appraisal. The appraiser I went to was very competent. She was
kind to tell me that since its a high cost item, a lot of insurance companies will NOT
take an appraisal from an appraiser, but from a Gemmologist only. She didnt want
to have me spend the money for her appraisal if they were requiring something else.
She will call Jewelers mutual to see if she can talk with them and see what they
exactly needs and she will let me know.

I am wearing my ring in the meantime, but it is a little nerve wrecking to know
that it is not insured. I travel a lot for work and pleasure and I feel that I
should take a policy to cover this beautiful invetsment, but I don''t want to be
overly insured either and pay the premium. At $1,000 a year, after 22 years i will
have paid in premium what it has cost me to purchase my ring. This insurance thing
is stressing me out more than buying the ring...

I''ll post more as I find out... I apprecite the input and comments. THank you.
 
try touchstone insurance. I know I''ve asked them if they can insure something for just the price I paid and they said yes.
 
i insure my my ring --through Chubb) for the purchase price (I used the sales receipt)--no inusrer can force you to insure for more. my ring's replacement value is around $150,000 today and its insured for slightly over half of that
 
First off, I have to say wow at the great deal that you did get on the ring. I bet this was not something you even considered when you bought the ring huh? I would say to get the insurance, as I know that I would not want to lose a ring of that amount, but if you can''t afford it, then you can''t afford it!

I would definiely try Chubb and see if you can insure for what you paid for the ring.
 
Bgray - THank you for the advice. I will call Chubb today and see what they can offer. And what i need to do/provide. I need to see picture of your ring!! :)

CravingDiamonds - You nailed it right on the head! When I purchased the ring, I was telling myself that it was too good to be true and I would need to return the ring because I wouldnt like it or something would be wrong with it. When I received it, I was blown away. i took it to my jeweler and after I heard the "beeeeeeeeeeep" from the diamond tester, he said "Yep, its a real one!" i freaked out! I didn''t think I would find such beauty on Ebay of all places...

Yes, the insurance price is really something I didnt expect. Well, I didnt expect my ring to appriase in the $80,000 either. So, I will have to pay what it is to insure it. I am not worried about me loosing my ring. I am mostly concerned about the diamond falling off the setting, eventhough I don''t clean my house with the ring on so it doesnt take abuse, and I am concerned about travelling. I should leave it home perhaps, but I''d rather have it with me than left at home. An Armed robbery is not something i''d like to experience again ( got robbed in a convenience store that I was the manager at ).

Thank you all for your input, I''ll call Chubb and post more info here :) you are all a bunch of great people filled with useul information. :)
 
We have a similar situation right now, and I will be interested to see what you decide. As the dealer told me, ''a stone is worth what the market will bear.'' The stones you and I purchased were seen by other potential buyers who did not feel the same way about the stones.

The financial situation has created many ''deal of the century'' situations, in real estate, for example. Maybe an independent insurance agent who represents many companies can help you find an insurance company who will insure for purchase price only.

Also, this is subjective, so feel free to disagree, but you state you travel a great deal and want to travel with the ring.
Perhaps you will want to rethink that in time, even though the stone is insured.
 
my mother had her engagement ring stolen - insurance covered

my friend lost hers off her finger the week she got it -- they found it in the driveway (fell off when closing the car trunk), but could have been bad (wasn't yet insured)

1000 a year - sucks. but it's worht it, i think...

anyway--you know - murphy's rule :)
 
Date: 6/28/2009 9:06:10 PM
Author:Amethyste
Remember my 5.13Ct lemony pear diamond?
I made an apt today to drop off my ring to get appraised tomorrow ( Monday ).
I meet with the appraiser. I gave her the cert and the bill of sale.
She was dumbfounded that I got this ring for such a low price. the deal of the
century as she calls it. She starts looking at my ring and she gave me a
conservative appraisal quote of $75,000 - $80,000

The thing is I want to wear my ring daily, I want to enjoy this purchase
daily. but yikes. That means that if my ring appraises around $80K, it will be
close to $1000 a year to wear my ring!

What is your take on insuring your rings? My tenant policy is NOT interested
in insuring my ring. I am stuck, really, I don''t k now what I should do....
The appraiser will not give me an appraisal for less than what market value is.
and what I want is ''agreed cash value''.

''HELP'' lol
Click to expand...
I would have though that the correct market value was actually what you did pay for it!!!!!
 
Appraisers tend to be optimistic in values since being lower than you actual cost is very upsetting to everyone. I suggest you ask for a "Discount Retail Replacement Appraisal" based on actual researched "Comparables", not a published price list based, standard appraisal. Such a researched appraisal will cost a bit more and probaly save you a small fortune on insurance. Prices on many things are high on asking price and much more reasonable today on actual transaction price. We are in a mini-depression and you can have your appraiser give you a truly realistic report rather than a safer, feel good report. You may find your diamond was not the deal of the century, but it is likely an excellent value compared to what is being asked since asking prices and actual prices are widely separated.

However, a lower value means that you will have to watch market changes as time goes on very closely or you may become under-insured. Prices may rise and it is up to you to get a new appraisal.
 
Umm, ‘market value’ is usually defined as the amount that the item would be expected to bring in a particular marketplace between a willing buyer and a willing seller. Since you just bought it in just such a transaction, you already have a pretty good stab a the market value, at least for that marketplace on that day. The same thing can have a different price in different marketplaces and she’s telling you that the one you bought in is not the appropriate one for the appraisal assignment. I’m guessing that the value she’s trying to describe is what it would cost to replace it with another new one like it in the local retail market. This would be usually described as ‘replacement value’. This sort of thing is would be very difficult to replace and I’m sure it would be costly if you needed to do so.

Agreed value is the way the insurers deal with fine art, historical artifacts and similar items that simply can’t be replaced at any budget. Given a covered loss occurs, they agree to pay a fixed amount. This seems more appropriate for your situation than the traditional replacement style of insurance. Talk to the insurers. Chubb, Firemans Fund and others offer this sort of coverage for jewelry. Ralph at Touchstone insurance would be a good call for more information (he’s a Chubb agent but he’s a great resource for this sort of information even if you end up with another company).

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
Well,
I have found great coverage terms with "GemShield" to insure my Lemony pear.
All they need is the appraisal and if i want to insure to an "agreed value" i can do that as well.
It will be nice to have this ring covered now, so i can start wearing my beautiful ring without worrying!

AMEN
 
Sweet! Beauties like that are meant to be worn & enjoyed.
 
Amethyste- I''m loathe to criticize someone''s work "sight unseen"- but IMO, based on what you''ve written, this "appraiser" is not serving you.

IMO, if they are unfamiliar with the market for a particular item ( the value assigned proves this person is not familiar with such stones) they should either bow out of the job, or call a dealer or another appraiser they trust to get an accurate market price. It''s true that market prices may vary- and widely- but the market for a W-X is far more limited than say a Fancy Intense Yellow. It''s possible a seller might offer a Fancy Intense Yellow at a price that''s 1/2 of Cartier or Tiffany- but such stores do not carry W-X color diamonds making a $75,000 price a fairy tale.

As a dealer known to carry such stones, we get many calls from appraisers to check values as the prices of U-V, W-X, and Y-Z diamonds. These are not on lists, and are generally not well known in the market. That''s why the responsible thing to do is for the appraiser to check.

I''d ask for a refund- and get an appraiser that will work with you for the purpose you need the appraisal.

Without question, I believe you did get a nice bargain- however the stone is replaceable for $35k or less today.
Based on current market conditions, the stone can likely be replaced at under $30k.

Just based on seeing the GIA report, and hearing your opinion, I''ll assume it''s a lovely stone with no visual issues. As such, I''d suggest a value in the low ''30''s as a reasonable replacement value.


Given that we have two extremely competent appraisers looking on, I''d welcome any corrections if I''m mistaken in my assessment.
 
Thank you David for your input... :)
I understand the position on a low color diamond as it is nearly impossible to find information on these stones..
The good thing is, I can set an "agreed" value on which I would like to get compensated.
most likely, i''ll end up requesting around 45-50K for the ring in my policy.
I like the fact that I can set the value myself.
 
You''re so very welcome A!!!

One word of caution: It''s most likely that whatever value you choose for the insurance, the compensation in the event of a loss is going to be replacement- NOT a monetary payment.
SO_-you can end up buying a $45,000 policy to then have the insurance company buy a stone for $30K ( or less) if it needs to be replaced. They won;t give you back the difference....
It''s your money, but I''d hate to see you give any more of it to an insurance company than necessary.
 
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