What Is An Appraisal?
An insurance appraisal is an official document prepared by an expert appraiser which details your jewelry and gives an estimate for what it would cost to replace your jewelry if something were to happen to it. This value is normally much higher than the pieces cash value would be if you were to sell it, as it is a retail price which includes any markups you would pay to buy a replacement piece.
How Much Does An Insurance Appraisal Cost?
We charge $100 for your first item and $75 for each additional item for insurance appraisals.
Do I Need An Insurance Appraisal or a Cash Value Appraisal?
An "Insurance Appraisal" is an official document required by insurance companies in order to insure your jewelry. A "Cash Value" appraisal is a far less detailed estimate of what we would be willing to pay you for your jewelry at that moment, based on current metal and gemstone prices. This is normally a much lower quote than an insurance appraisal, as it's more akin to a wholesale price and does not include any retail mark-ups or overhead that would go in to preparing that piece for resale. This is typically what you would have done if you are curious what you could sell your jewelry for, and does not come with documentation.
At Estate Jewelers, cash value appraisals are generally done at no cost for single items, with an hourly fee for lots of jewelry which need individually priced.
What You'll Receive With Your Estate Jewelers Insurance Appraisal
• Your appraisal will be prepared under the eye of our Graduate Gemologist, Diamontologists, Watches Experts and Antique Jewelry Experts
• The insurance replacement value of your jewelry will be accurately calculated using our expert opinions and cutting-edge jewelry appraisal software
• Your appraisal will be emailed to you for convenient printing at any time. We can also print out a professional copy and provide it at your request
• In addition to receiving your insurance appraisal, you'll also have the option to insure your jewelry through our third-party partners based on your appraised value
Why Get Your Appraisal At Estate Jewelers?
Appraisals aren't always simple; They are a mixture of art and science. Online appraisers and Big Box Stores rely on generic formulas and current gold values to pump out a number to represent your jewelry, and if it's a piece they are selling, they may even have dramatically inflated the actual value to justify their price. There is so much more to an appraisal than that, and you want an appraisal that isn't only accurate, but that reflect the value of your jewelry beneath the surface.
An appraisal is the "replacement value" of your piece. It's not what you could sell it for, and it's not just the weight of the things it's made of. It's about how rare the individual components of your piece are, where and how those stones or features could be sourced, the cost of labor that would be involved if your piece had to be recreated from scratch and more. It takes decades of experience and training for an appraiser to be able to not just weigh and test your jewelry, but to understand the true value beneath the surface of that piece.
At Estate Jewelers, the qualified appraisers examining and researching your jewelry aren't just experts; We are jewelry lovers, jewelry collectors, and jewelry enthusiasts. Some of us collect rare watches, some of us take a special interest in vintage designers, and all of us care deeply about learning everything there is to learn when it comes to your beloved jewelry pieces.
At the end of the day, having local appraisers you can meet with face-to-face who truly want to know the history and the details of your jewelry means a more accurate appraisal, and it means we're going to love your jewelry just as much as you do.