Appraisals! Appraisals! Appraisals!
Just what is an appraisal? It's a piece of paper expounding on value (whether that value be determined by Estimated Retail Value or Insurance Replacement Value). It's also, no doubt, a sales tool, which can or should be used by a prospective buyer to come to some kind of determinaton of value on a piece of jewelry.

When you buy a piece of jewelry from a jewelry store, they may offer you an appraisal. If the appraisal was performed by a third party appraisal firm then you may have something of value in your hands. If the appraisal was performed by an "on-site" gemologist employed at the jewelry store, the question of "who's working on who's behalf" comes into question.

Buy a piece of jewelry online and go into any jewelry store and just because you did not buy the item in that specific store, you'll more than likely be told you paid too much.

The Acid Test...
Take your favorite piece of jewelry (a piece you have owned forever) and bring it to that local jewelry store and ask how much it's worth and they'll give you an estimate. Better yet, get it appraised by their "on-site" gemologist. Then ask them if they'll buy the piece from you for the quoted estimate. The answer will be a resounding NO! (unless they can grab it from you for pennies on the dollar).

Take the piece to a pawn shop and they'll offer you some variation of the spot price of gold (if the piece is set in gold) and if the piece has a diamond - what until you hear just how low they can go.

Jewelry is just like any other consumer product. Buy a car, drive it off the showroom floor, bring it back to the dealer a week later to sell it back and see what they offer.

However, jewelry and gems do have one outstanding feature. Insurance companies offer their customers the ability to increase their loss policies (for jewelry) each and every year  upwards by 5%!

The biggest buyer of jewelry a few years back was not a national jewelry store chain or any combination thereof -it was a Major Insurance Carrier!

This may answer the question of what type of an appraisal consumer's should seek! Insurance Replacement Value appraisals are based upon "true" values upon which an insurance carrier will either replace the lost item (at the replacement cost stated within the policy) or their right to replace the item at their own cost (of course discounted to them, which they receive due to the enormous quantity of replacement pieces they purchase each and every year due to loss).

Estimated Retail Value appraisals can be helpful determining "retail value" but if such an appraisal is presented to your insurance carrier, your premiums will be high and if the insurance carrier has the right to replace the item at their cost (and not hand you over a check for value) then you've paid through the nose for extra coverage you did not require.

If the item is so unique that you feel no insurance carrier in the world could replace the item - seek out the most qualified gemologist you can find to determine value.

Quality Assurance Report...
A QAR can be useful in just determining if a piece is authentic. In other words, you just purchased a 3 carat diamond which is set in Platinum. Is it a 3 carat diamond? Is it set in Platinum? The least expensive way to find out is to bring your piece to an independent appraiser and ask for a QAR.

Declasse Emeralds - What are They?

As a jewelry and gem seller, I'm surprised to see that there are those who still insist on hawking declasse gems. They are purchased at gem shows for a few bucks a piece (the huge profit margins are the driving force that keeps them on the market). In fact, they can purchased by the bucket load.

A declasse gem is NOT hard to identify (nor is a smashed glass diamond) however, a picture is worth a thousand words...

Below is a picture of a Declasse Emerald Ring...

Notice that the Emerald has absolutely NO LIFE! The color is flat and the stone is NOT highly polished).

It looks like a mottled piece of stone (which is what it is).  However, there are those who buy these stones (that's really what they are) and set a few nice diamonds around them, set them in 18KT. gold and can use the description - 18KT. 3 Carat Emerald & Diamond Ring.

Okay, here's what an Emerald should look like set with two high quality diamonds....

You can clearly see the difference between both the top and bottom emerald rings. The same applies to rubies and sapphires. If a ruby or sapphire has the same mottled look as the emerald ring (as the declasse emerald - first picture) - then you're getting a declasse stone. Bring the ring to the appraiser and he'll tell you the score (if he or she is honest). 

The argument in the industry is "but, it's still a emerald" and the argument would hold weight (to a degree).

However, what proliferates the sale of these Non-Gems is the use of Gem Cards as a selling tool...

Gem Cards - A Questionable Practice:

What's more disturbing than those selling declasse gems are the labs that are willing to grade them at such high values. Gem Cards seem to be the new wave in selling jewelry and gems. They are usually offered for free and look like a plastic credit card. These cards may have a picture of the item, carat weight and some type of grading information. If it's a diamond and emerald ring, which has been graded and there's a declasse emerald, you'll see the word "Fine" or "Extra Fine" or "A", "AAA" or "AAAA" in the grading of the emerald.

If there are many diamonds in the piece, the piece may be graded as VS-1 to I1. In other words, if it's an Emerald Ring with a pave setting you're being offered (which may contain 5 pointer diamonds) this means that one diamond (out of the entire group) may be VS-1 however, the remaining diamonds may be all I1's.

The Gem Card is the next great selling tool, as this little card can carry a message of "high value".  In the case where the diamonds are graded VS-1 to I1 - the term "VS-1 is what catches the buyer's eye. VS-1 is the grading which "sells" the piece. However, once you receive the item and find crusty white I1 diamonds and one VS-1 diamond with a Declasse Emerald- you'll be sorely disappointed  - as in many cases, the one "good" diamond stands out amongst the crusty white "smashed glass look" of the I1 diamonds.

It's not by accident that a VS-1 diamond is set into the piece. Put in a VS-1 diamond and the seller can use the grading however, it's a slippery slope upon which they sell such goods - as if one diamond is a VS-1 and the remaining diamonds are I1's - the quality of the piece and the high value attached via a Gem Card - becomes questionable.

Gem Cards should NOT be given any weight when purchasing a finished piece of jewelry or loose gem as they set a bad example for the entire industry. They bring into question the validity of value and this has far reaching implications for the entire gemological grading industry.

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