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Can anyone tell me how much it cost to have a piece of jewelry appraised? This may seem like a dumb question, not even sure if I'm in the right forum, but I can't seem to get any advice on the topic? I have called some jewelers and I was told $75 and up for an appraisal. Does this seem right? It seems so expensive. It's an antique ring that I want to have appraised. Please, if anyone has any advice or knows where I can get a cheaper appraisal, I would be most grateful. (I live in Phoenix). Thanks!
Auction houses may appraise at no cost. I know I had an inherited piece or two, and had them appraised at Sotheby's--at their expense. It was 19thc and they are always interested in seeing pieces they might pick up for a sale. I'm fairly certain there is more than one auction house is in Phoenix.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie30
Can anyone tell me how much it cost to have a piece of jewelry appraised? This may seem like a dumb question, not even sure if I'm in the right forum, but I can't seem to get any advice on the topic? I have called some jewelers and I was told $75 and up for an appraisal. Does this seem right? It seems so expensive. It's an antique ring that I want to have appraised. Please, if anyone has any advice or knows where I can get a cheaper appraisal, I would be most grateful. (I live in Phoenix). Thanks!
There may be a difference in an appraisal which is written out for insurance and such and in a valuation which could be a verbal thing. You may want to ask.
All's I knows is cut, color, clarity, and carat. Beyond that, they're just pretty rocks. A steel band and a hunk of granite would work if they were polished just right.
All's I knows is cut, color, clarity, and carat. Beyond that, they're just pretty rocks. A steel band and a hunk of granite would work if they were polished just right.
Interesting someone started this thread as I was going to. My mother wants me to sell her wedding ring for her and I don't really know how to go about getting the best price.
To answer the OP's question I was told $79.95 for an apprasial today at Freidman's.
Can anyone tell me how much it cost to have a piece of jewelry appraised? This may seem like a dumb question, not even sure if I'm in the right forum, but I can't seem to get any advice on the topic? I have called some jewelers and I was told $75 and up for an appraisal. Does this seem right? It seems so expensive. It's an antique ring that I want to have appraised. Please, if anyone has any advice or knows where I can get a cheaper appraisal, I would be most grateful. (I live in Phoenix). Thanks!
It sounds expensive for sure, but that's about the price average I'd say. It's even more for multiple pieces. There's quite a bit of work usually involved in assessing a piece and often times antique rings are set with synthetic or glass stones which everyone believed to be real for decades.
If it's diamond, then the stone is usually measured for diameter and depth and a carat weight is calculated. If the stone is a modern brilliant, it's easy, if it's an old mine-cut or European-cut, it's more difficult because the top of the stone that slopes upward to the flat top (the crown) is often steeper and the pavilion (the bottom part of the stone that begins at the girdle (where the prongs clutch the stone) ends at the point at the bottom and the older stones are steeper in both which means they can be the same width and diameter as a modern brilliant, but contain more diamond weight because of the cut...so it gets tricky. Then you have to measure color which is difficult without removing the stone. It's an educated guess if the stone must remain set.
If it's a colored stone, then there are all kinds of tests you can do to determine what the stone actually is. High magnification to look for characteristic inclusions is one way, also a refractive index test which measures the speed at which light goes through the stone which is different for each gem species.
Glass stones are among the easiest to ID under magnification because they usually have small chips and the chipped areas always have swirly breaks. Synthetic rubies and sapphires are relatively easy to spot under high magnification as well because they are grown as "boules" which look like corndogs of gem material in the laboratory. The growth is like a tree and you get layers which are curved as the boule is round. Under magnification, you can often see the curved growth lines which would never be possible in a natural ruby or sapphire.
Synthetic stones (the same chemical make-up as their genuine counterpart) have slightly different readings than the naturals.
So a gemologist/appraiser is trained to use all kinds of special tools to determine what the stone is, measure its weight, evaluate its quality, determine if genuine or not, and then in comparison to current price charts, he or she can determine a fair market value for the piece.
Don't forget also that the metal has to be tested to make sure the stamp inside the ring matches it's true composition.
It's not a five minute process. I'd say the price you were quoted was fair.
(fyi...if you have what you think are real pearls, if you rub one against your teeth and it feels gritty and rough...it's real. If it feels smooth, it's fake...and...that's true!)
Not single, just not romantically inclined. re: my reply to men's fall classes. If SWMBO wants jewelry, She can buy it Her own darn self, because every piece I ever bought wound up in a pawn shop for Her gambling habit.
I used to do metal work as a hobby, and sometimes people would ask me, as a favor, to fix their "gold" jewelry...I'd throw it in the pickling acid, preparatory to soldering it, and more than once, it started to dissolve. Fake, totally.
I began to be a little cautious about who I'd do this for, because once the person wanted to blame me!
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