APPRAISALS
Jewelry appraisals are carefully researched and typewritten documents used for insurance or tax purposes. Our appraisals are prepared by in-house experts and gemologists who charge by the hour for their services.
We carefully consider the many value components of each item, including:
- Provenance, brand, artist or maker
- Quality of manufacture
- Metals and gems: kind, quality, size and value
- Rarity
- Condition
- Region
We recommend that you carry the most appropriate amount of insurance for your valuables, following your insurer’s guidelines and your own preferences, and we will discuss these variables with you.
Appraisals for tax purposes, donations, and estates are rigorous evaluations, required at `fair market value’. These appraisals must take into account recent sales comparisons, generally determined by auction results, as well as the value components already mentioned: provenance, brand, condition, quality of manufacture, metals and gems, rarity, and region.
From a recent story on appraising in Rapaport Magazine, the diamond industry bible, “Given her 40-year history as a retailer of studio jewelry, Patricia Faber says ‘If this is a maker I am familiar with, I can look at sales records to establish a price. But I also must take into account the current value of materials. Could the piece be remade toady?’ Depending on the year in which a piece was made, that same amount of gold would have cost $600 an ounce, $1,000 an ounce or $1000 an ounce. Today it is around $1300 an ounce. The appraisal document must give today’s value. This reinforces the need to have appraisals updated regularly to truly reflect replacement values.”
