What can I expect during the appraisal process?

A conscientious appraiser will clean your gemstones before appraising them. You should also have jewelry repaired before having it appraised.

Bring the appraiser copies of any sales receipts or other documentation you have about the items being appraised. An appraiser will inspect your jewelry; the gemstones will be measured, graded, tested for authenticity and plotted. Especially if the item is not new, research may be done on the style and type of jewelry and the marketplace.

Do you have prior documentation on the item to be appraised?

If you have a grading report from an independent lab such as GIA-GTL, EGL or AGS, this means that your gemstone was graded outside of the mounting in a controlled environment. This information should be recorded in the report along with the certificate number. Grading in the mounting is limited by the mounting (e.g., yellow color of the gold, prongs hiding an inclusion, etc.) This kind of documentation allows the appraiser to match the item (such as a diamond) to the previous description to make sure they are one in the same and check to make sure there is no change (damage) to the item. Also, was the diamond (or gemstone) weighed outside of the mounting and was the actual weight of the gemstone recorded? This is important because recorded weight for mounted stones is based on a formula.

Jewelry appraisers charge by the hour—never work with anyone who charges a percentage of the item’s worth. It is usually more cost effective to bring in a number of pieces at once, rather than appraising them individually. Once you have an appraisal, it is very cost effective to have the appraisal updated every few years.