Who Can do a appraisal?

[Daisyma02]

I have a question. I am not a Jeweler but have a Great interest in Diamonds and have been buying a few diamonds here and there. I do have a question about who can do appraisal or what qualifications you have to Have to write one up? The reason I am asking is because I took a Diamond to a local Jewelers to have the diamond appraised and the owner appraised it and he is not even a Gemologist. I was a bit confused, I thought you had to be a gemologist to do a appraisal.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

An appraisal is an opinion, and currently with the regulations which we have in the jewelry appraisal industry (none), anyone who feels he is qualified and willing to take on the legal liability can issue their opinion.

Whether or not that opinion is going to be taken as credible appraisal is the big question. The majority of insurance companies have gotten to the point where they will not accept an appraisal from anyone other than a gemologist. This is a good (baby) step in the right direction.

There are many excellent and knowledgeable jewelers out there, but in my opinion a person shouldn't be issuing appraisals unless they've taken the basic foundational step of becoming a gemologist. If I were in a position of licensing appraisers, I would require a gemologist's diploma and minimum five years concurrent experience within the trade. An appraiser without a foundational gemological education and practical experience can be deadly.

I just saw two appraisals last week which made me shudder. One was an appraisal identifying a 1.75 carat stone as a valuable $14,000 diamond, when in fact it was a moissanite. The other was an appraisal identifying a red glass bead strand as a "valuable $5,700 strand of red coral".

Both of these mistakes would have been easily avoided by an experienced gemologist appraiser. Because these two were not, they made a fundamental mistake in their appraisal, not properly identifying the gem.