The Appraisal

 

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Getting Your Diamond Appraised

  We include a full eleven page appraisal with the purchase of a diamond from us whether it is a loose diamond purchase or a diamond engagement ring. The appraisal includes pictures and copies of all the analysis that is on that particular diamonds web page. When it comes time to submit an appraisal to your insurance company we suggest you submit ours because of the great detail it provides about your diamond. If something happens and the insurance company has to replace the diamond, the appraisal is so detailed that they have to replace it like the one you bought from us. (For example, they cannot just give you any 1.50ct H VS1.)

  Another type of appraisal that can be done before a diamond purchase is an "independent appraisal".  That is an appraiser independent from us analyzes the diamond to give you, the customer, peace of mind that the diamond we are selling "is" what we say it is.  We suggest a few appraisers that are reputable. You can see a listing of them here and they are also  mentioned on the "purchasing a diamond form of our website.

  Before you go to an appraiser, check the yellow pages and make a few phone calls.  An appraisal usually costs anywhere from $35-$300 depending on the equipment and credentials of the appraiser. There are some key questions you want to ask over the phone before you trek it out.  Here is a list of those questions and the answers you're looking for.

1. Do you sell diamonds?
   The reason you want to ask this is because if they do, there is the possibility you may get a biased opinion.  See how they fare with the rest of the questions though before you make a decision.  Preferably you want your diamond appraised by someone who doesn't sell diamonds. This usually results in the best non-biased opinion provided the rest of the questions are answered satisfactorily.

2. What do you use to examine the clarity of the diamond with?
   The answer you are looking for is a gemological microscope with dark-field illumination. This is the tool to do the job with.  All pictures of diamonds on this site are taken under these conditions and is the optimal way to view the diamond. If all they're using is a loupe, keep making those calls.  Sometimes even clarity enhancement can not be detected under a loupe.

3. How do you determine the color of the diamond you are appraising?
   Answer: If they don't at least have a master set of color diamonds or cz's scratch em.  Color can not be determined "on the fly" in a ring.  A good guestimate maybe, but when it comes to your purchase you want accurate information.  A colorimeter is a bonus if they have one.

4. Do you have any kind of equipment to grade the cut?
   Now, unless you are having your diamond appraised loose, no appraiser will be able to accurately grade the cut of the stone since this is something that must be done while the diamond is loose.  If the diamond is accompanied with a lab report AND THAT REPORT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION on cut that I've taught you about (ie GIA) GET A SARIN/OGI ANALYSIS OR A TOTAL CUT ANALYSIS OF YOUR DIAMOND!!!  What looks good on some reports may be a real shocker for you when you actually find out what cut grade your diamond is!  If the appraiser has some of the newer optical technologies to examine the actual light return  of the diamond with ... all the better.

5. What is your personal education on the subject and have you taken any courses in the field of appraising?
   If the person is a G.G. (graduate gemologist), etc. this is good as long as he has the proper tools.  If the person isn't a G.G., don't rule this out either as long as they have the proper equipment and experience to do the job.  Now let me say something that you need to know.  A person can be a gemologist and NOT an appraiser.  That's right.  A person can be very diamond smart, but when it comes to actual value and the knowledge of the street, they can be very dumb.  I see it consistently.   Gem Labs such as GIA do not give a value on the stone.  They are diamond smart but they are not appraisers.  I am an Associate Member with ISA (The International Society of Appraisers) and have taken courses on gem appraising and am familiar with the procedures of proper appraising.  I'm not yet a full G.G. yet but I know all the necessary things there is to know about diamonds and I know the market place like the back of my hand.  So far as my education is concerned that's listed on my "Intro" page.

6. How much do you charge?
   If they're only charging $15-35 it's probably because they haven't answered the above questions satisfactorily ;)   You are interested in finding an appraiser who either charges by a.) time or b.) per carat.  The reason you want to know this up front is because there are so-called appraisers out there who charge BY A PERCENTAGE of the appraised value.  DON'T USE AN APPRAISER WHO PRICES HIS APPRAISALS IN THIS MANNER!  Can you figure why?  An appraiser who charges you based on the appraisal value is likely motivated to pump up those numbers. Sure it may make you feel REAL good when you get your diamond appraised but it'll result in a.) ONE EXPENSIVE APPRAISAL  and b.) HIGH INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR YOU!  An appraiser who charges by time or per carat is not motivated by those factors and will give it to you straight.

Something you may want to establish up front with an appraiser is to let him know you are looking at diamonds and considering a purchase and if somehow, you can arrange some kind of a deal where he may be able to look at a couple of stones for you and "help you out", instead of paying a $50 - 100 fee each time you bring him a stone.  Each time you ask?  Sometimes you may find things out about a diamond that you weren't aware of at the purchase. Remember most jewelry stores don't  have microscopes to show you the diamond under.  So if you can develop some kind of acquaintance up front with an appraiser once you've found someone competent, this will be to your advantage.  If you're purchasing over the Internet you'd have to have your head examined to NOT check out www.diamondclearinghouse.com .

IF ALL THE APPRAISER HAS IS A LOUPE TO APPRAISE A DIAMOND WITH, CONTINUE YOUR SEARCH.

You're shelling out enough money for the diamond. Don't be so quick to hand over more money to a fool who truly doesn't know the first thing about what they're looking at.   Believe me, there are plenty of em out there as you will find.

What do I do if my stone doesn't appraise for the quality the salesperson said it was???

Don't have a cow.  Remember, you, (the smart purchaser now since you've read my site), am not going to take anything that isn't backed by a full cash refund for any reason.  So no sweat.   I want to address diamonds accompanied by grading reports first then ones without.

If you are considering a stone that is accompanied with a GIA report, don't show the appraiser this report up front.  Let him do his job.  Now listen carefully.  It is normal for an appraiser, even a gemological appraiser, to be within one grade up or down of the actual grade of the diamond. If this happens there are some very key questions you want to ask the appraiser, before you decide against the stone.  I know your probably scratching your head at this point saying, "Why all this information and knowledge about diamonds if the stone can appraise one grade either way???"  The reason for this is that there are some stones on the market, when graded by honest jewelers/gemologists can fall either way in a given clarity/color grade.  Let me give you an example.

This stone is graded by GIA as an SI2 and the inclusion is eye visible.  There are appraisers who would tend to grade this as SI3 or maybe even some extremists an I1.   The fact of the matter is that it is lab graded an SI2, especially since GIA and some appraisers don't recognize the SI3 clarity grade either.

When you run into a situation like this and the appraiser calls the stone a grade lower than what it was sold to you as, ask him, is there the possibility that this stone could appraise either way SI2/SI3 depending on the gemologist and his equipment? The reason I'm saying this is because, say you went through all the trouble of finding a good jeweler who truly was giving you an honest shake for your money. DON'T DROP THIS HONEST ONE BECAUSE OF ONE CLARITY DIFFERENCE IN A STONE THAT COULD FALL EITHER WAY!  This can be especially true with diamonds that are traded in the SI3 range.  Because this is a fairly new clarity grade to the market, a lot of old timers are very rigid and give no slack, not being familiar or accustomed to the price differences that are on the market for stones that are traded in this grade.  I, as an active buyer see many stones that have GIA reports of SI2 and I1 that I (and every other jeweler) typically buy at the SI3 price as long as it's not certified.  So, if you were purchasing the diamond above and 2 GG gemologists appraise the diamond as an SI3 and the stone is lab graded as an SI2 the two questions you  have to answer in your own mind is..

• Am I happy with this diamond?

• Did I, after all the smoke is clear, pay a good price for it?

If any of the above answers are "no", and you're not happy with the purchase for any reason, ask the jeweler to get you another stone. That's all.  Now if the stone does not fall within one grade either way, then you know you're probably dealing with a shark and I'd recommend buying elsewhere.

Some personal experiences

Here are some real life things I see happen all the time and it would be good if I familiarize you with what goes on out here in this business.

Case #1

This happens to me quite often and when I lose a client over it, it's a real heart breaker because not only do I lose a sale but the client gets taken to the bank for not heeding sound wisdom.

I'll be showing someone a diamond. Say a 1.01ct, G color, SI2 with a cut grade of 2.   A NY street price on a stone like this is easily in the mid 4k range.  After I've taken the time and taught my client the things you've read on this site, he then goes out into the jungle (it's literally a jungle out there) and is told by another jeweler that he can buy the same exact thing for $3000.  I know 99.9% of the time it is total bull and I advise the client, that if he thinks I'm being unfair with him, or if it's the deal of the century, just to satisfy his own conscience to purchase the stone with a full cash refund for any reason (and buy me a dozen while he's at it). Then to bring it in and we'll put it under the scope and against the flat white background (& colorimeter) and on the proportion analyzer and see if this other jeweler is for real.  BTW, I've never seen it happen when it was but there are usually 2 different outcomes.

The person buys the stone, ends up getting an "L" color with strong florescence (which looks "blue white" under the jewelers halogen bulbs) and then finds out after the fact that he can't get his money back, and/or bought a "clarity enhanced" diamond and wasn't told (which is being done hand over fist in the NY area). 
End result:  This poor guy ended up spending years of his hard earned money on something he never would have bought had he know the truth. If he would have stuck with me, (or even another honest jeweler at least) he would have gotten a great buy and of course great service years on end afterwards.  I hate when this happens.

Here's a different outcome and this happens quite a bit as well. :)

Case #2

Just recently a customer was looking at diamonds with me along the same lines as the stone above. Customer was spending in the mid 4k range but wanted to stay closer to $4k.   Some schmuck says he's going to make me look stupid and offers to give him a 1.42ct H color SI2 for $4k.  I told Peter, go for it, with one stipulation.  FULL CASH REFUND FOR ANY REASON.  Well, Pete bought the stone and we put it under the microscope right up on the screen.  Here's what that jewelers SI2 looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See all this stuff up here at the top of the stone?  This stone trades for no less than an I2.  3 clarity grades difference than what the jeweler said.  He must have though Pete was an idiot and was bringing it to the typical appraiser who uses nothing more than a loupe.

That's all Pete had to see and THANK GOD, he did get his money back.  He is now a very happy client here :)