Buyers often encounter written jewelry appraisals when looking at fine jewelry on ebay or in stores.  It's hard to find a good explanation of the elements of an appraisal, so I decided to share basic information about things that jewelry appraisals typically show.  If you find this guide helpful, I'd appreciate your rating it (requires one click at the bottom of this page).

Who is the appraiser?  Any appraisal should show the name, address, and credentials of the appraiser.  Most professional jewelry appraisals will show the initials G.G. after the appraiser's name.  This stands for Graduate Gemologist and indicates that the appraiser has taken and passed all courses and examinations required by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA); the GIA course of study usually requires about 2 years to complete.  The appraiser may also show membership in one of several appraisal organizations.  Professional appraisal organizations usually offer continuing education and often have requirements for a minimum number of hours of classes per year and may require examinations to qualify for continuing membership.
     
Who does the appraiser work for?  Large jewelry stores sometimes have an in-house appraiser, while smaller stores and individual dealers buy appraisals from a gemological laboratory or other independent appraiser.  Although in-house appraisals may be very accurate, there is obviously the potential for a conflict of interest when an appraiser works for the person who writes his paycheck.  I recommend caution in relying on in-house appraisals.  If an appraisal doesn't say whether the appraiser works for the seller, it is perfectly appropriate to ask for that information.

For what purpose was the appraisal prepared?  Most appraisals will say whether the value shown is retail replacement value or insurance value.  When an appraiser prepares a retail replacement appraisal, he adds up the values of the components (metal and stones) to arrive at the value.  In most cases, little or nothing is added for quality of workmanship, design, or antique value.

A insurance appraisal is prepared to provide the owner of property with information on value to be used in case of an insurance claim.  Since a claim may not be made for a number of years, an appraiser often adds 20% - 30% to the current value to allow for inflation.  Insurance appraisals aren't very helpful in establishing the current replacement value as you cannot usually tell how much has been added to cover inflation.

What information should you look for in a jewelry appraisal?

• Metal - The appraisal should identify the metal (gold, silver, platinum) and the purity (10K, 14K, 18K, etc.).  It will also give the weight in either pennyweights or grams.  There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce and 20 pennyweight in a troy ounce.  (Pennyweight is abbreviated dwt on appraisals.)  A troy ounce is  about 10% heavier than a "kitchen" ounce.
• Diamonds - The cut, clarity, color, and carat weight will be shown (see separate guide for details).
• Colored stones - Appraisals often show shape and millimeter dimensions and sometimes show carat weight.  Because the density of colored stones varies from one gemstone to another, computing weight is much more difficult for colored stones than for diamonds, and many appraisals do NOT include carat weight for colored stones.  The appraisal will show whether the colored stones are natural or synthetic and will often show whether a color enhancement treatment has been used.
• Brief description of piece
• Occasionally, additional information about origin or date of manufacture
• Disclaimer - Most appraisals state that the stones are graded in their mountings and that grades and weights are estimations.  Most also contain a statement saying that the value assigned is not exact.
• Value - The appraisal will show the appraiser's estimate of the value of the item and will show whether this is retail replacement value or insurance value.