Wedding Etiquette Forum

WR (sort of): How much did your appraisal cost?

I'm a terrible slacker and my wedding set isn't insured yet.  I know, I know.  When I went in to get my settings checked last month, the saleslady asked if I wanted to come in and get an appraisal.  I signed up.  I figured at most the appraisal would cost $50.  Went in today, and they said it would start at $200, and the better my center stone was, the higher the price would go!  I didn't have $200 to spare today so I canceled my appointment.

Is this policy normal?  How much did you spend to have your rings appraised?  I know a lot of times appraisals are included in the cost of the rings.  My center stone is an old family stone from H's family, and my wedding band is my great-grandmother's, so neither of those came with an appraisal, unfortunately.  If it really does cost $200, I'll make an appointment (with another store, probably the one where I bought H's wedding band), but I wanted to hear from other people before I bite that bullet.  TIA!
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Re: WR (sort of): How much did your appraisal cost?

  • I'm pretty sure my appraisal was included in the cost of the ring.  I know that's no help.  I haven't bothered to insure my rings.  My ring is worth about $3,000 I think, but the two diamonds were my great-grandmother's so to me it's kind of pointless to insure it because they're irreplaceable.  The emerald is worth about $1,500, and I feel like we would just end up paying more for the insurance over time.  I think it's kind of expensive here (I can't just add it to my homeowner's).  Plus my jeweler is a local guy, so if anything looked loose or whatever I'd just make him fix it. 

    So there's a wall of text that does not help you at all.  You're welcome.
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  • Hahaha, Adamar!

    I sort of feel the same way about mine, especially the diamonds in the wedding band.  That was my great-grandmother's, she died before I was born, and it's just...irreplaceable.  But H has been pushing me to get them insured, and I feel like I should.
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  • I'm not much help either, the insurance people just took the receipt from the jewelry store as proof for the value of the engagement ring.  My wedding ring is very plain and was less than $200 so I'm not bothering to insure it.  We got a separate plan for the ring, though - $30 a year with no deductible.  If we'd added a rider to the home policy it would have been subject to the (I think) $500 deductible I have on that policy. 

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  • Honestly I do not know the costs because we have a 'family' jeweler who does it for me for free.   But $200 seems a little steep.

    We have insurance.  I might not make a claim if I lost my wedding band because it might not be worth it. Now if we were robbed I would not want to have to replace thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. Its amazing how quickly the cost of earrings, rings, watch, etc can add up when you think of them collectively and not individually.






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  • AdeleDazeemAdeleDazeem member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited February 2012
    I was reamed awhile back for saying that my grandmother's engagement ring, which is now mine, was not insured because I feel it is irreplacable. It's nice to hear that others feel the same. I still do! Good luck, Bay! Edit: posting from my phone is so hard! Yikes.
  • baystateapplebaystateapple member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment First Anniversary
    edited February 2012
    Okay, I just called the (independent) store where I purchased H's wedding band, and she said that they would do an appraisal of both of my rings for $95.  H's ring appraisal is free because I bought the band there.  $95 for two rings sounds way better than $200 for one.  I'm wondering if the first store's prices were higher because they are a chain?
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  • starting at $200 seems steep?  But maybe it depends on the region.  I'm pretty sure the place I worked at once upon a time started around 80-100$
  • Mine was $40.  It think $200 is a lot. 
    Also I don't think it should depend on the value of the ring as this would be cause for them to bump up the appraisal value.  I payed a flat fee.


  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-sort-of-how-much-did-your-appraisal-cost?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c8330e16-eea5-4a0e-8c5f-d8f113719927Post:b9908099-454f-43a7-9a1d-4cf7ddf5f6aa">Re: WR (sort of): How much did your appraisal cost?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Okay, I just called the (independent) store where I purchased H's wedding band, and she said that they would do an appraisal of both of my rings for $95.  H's ring appraisal is free because I bought the band there.  $95 for two rings sounds way better than $200 for one.  I'm wondering if the first store's prices were higher because they are a chain?
    Posted by baystateapple[/QUOTE]

    <div>Probably.</div><div>
    </div><div>Chains love to advertise how much cheaper they are than the mom and pop places, but i've found the reverse to be true.</div>
  • The store that I talked to just now says that they start their appraisals at $75, and it would cost $95 for the two, so I thought that was a pretty good deal. 

    H made me laugh, I texted him to tell him we were going to have his ring appraised.  He sent back "So wait.  I have to take it off?"  He's never taken his ring off (even to shower) since we got married, he refuses to.  I told him that they'll probably be able to tell which ring it was that they sold him by looking at him, so maybe he won't have to take it off.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_wr-sort-of-how-much-did-your-appraisal-cost?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:c8330e16-eea5-4a0e-8c5f-d8f113719927Post:83ce5381-0bfe-4d7d-aaad-fb27bf5fd30f">Re: WR (sort of): How much did your appraisal cost?</a>:
    [QUOTE]The store that I talked to just now says that they start their appraisals at $75, and it would cost $95 for the two, so I thought that was a pretty good deal.  H made me laugh, I texted him to tell him we were going to have his ring appraised.  He sent back "So wait.  I have to take it off ?"  He's never taken his ring off (even to shower) since we got married, he refuses to.  I told him that they'll probably be able to tell which ring it was that they sold him by looking at him, so maybe he won't have to take it off.
    Posted by baystateapple[/QUOTE]

    That is really sweet.  I just had a plain band for my first marriage and never took it off for the first 5 years.  Then we separated and I had 2 little girls and a phone bill to pay - jeweler bought it back for about 10 cents on the dollar.
  • Thanks everyone for checking in for me!  I appreciate all the input!  And I'm really, really glad I didn't get suckered in to paying over $200 for the appraisal.  Next time, I'll stick with the independent.
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  • My appraisal was $75 for both the engagement ring and the wedding band. It also depends on how many carats  the ring is. 
  • We just got ours done yesterday.  It was $200 for my engagement ring, my wedding band and his wedding band (which has a few diamonds). 
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  • I paid $50 for mine in NYC, but it was just a visual appraisal. When I asked another store in PA how much an appraisal costs I was told $150 PLUS it takes a couple of weeks?! Apparently there they take the stone out of the setting, weigh it, put it back in, etc. My guy here just gave a size estimate by looking at it in the setting. So maybe the $200 was from a place that actually takes the ring apart?
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  • The appraisal came from the jeweler who made the ring.  and again when he went back to buy the wedding ring as well.

    I've only gone to jewelers I know and use to get an appraisal when I need one.
  • Be very careful to use a jeweler you have 100% conficence in to do the appraisals. I would never use a chain jeweler for this. You mention this is a family stone which makes it \even more valuable to you.

    I assume you're getting the appraisal for insurance purposes.  Always insure for
    "replacement value".

    If you doubt this, look at the prices of precious metals and stones over the past 10 years.  You can't lose hedging your bet here.
  • My ring appraisal was included in the cost, but I had to have a few other pieces of jewelry appraised (went ahead and insured everything with our rings).  Those pieces were about $50 each.  I got a discount by going through the jeweler that my insurance recommended.  
  • My insurance on my ering cost me 40 bucks at the store. You're getting ripped off.
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  • My rings were appraised when we purchased them.
  • My appraisal is exactly like what CMG described.  My diamond was "mapped" and we have a copy of the results in our safe.  We took the ring to an independent jeweler who is a certified gemologist.  We were there with the ring the whole time - it wasn't sent out anywhere.  Albeit this was 15 years ago so we didn't pay too awfully much by today's standards, but I can prove to any insurance company what my diamond is really worth and its' exact quality, no questions asked. 

    My aunt who raised me had a truly gaudy creation from all of her wedding rings that she put together (her collection of husbands netted quite a collection of diamonds).  She went to a jeweler where you had to be buzzed in and out of the store and she never left her gaudy ring alone.  Eachs stone was mapped and insured.  It was so gaudy that she has been gone now since 1991 and we are still trying to figure out what to do with it because no one wants it!
  • My appraisal came with my ring (sorry to not be of much help there..) but I know a friend who only had to pay $50 (at a chain store, but in Canada - perhaps that's the difference) to get her's appraised.

    I have insurance with JM since I don't own a house (therefore no homeowner's insurance!), and pay $50/year no deductible. My ring is valued at $2400, so I don't feel like it's a bad insurance rate. I just know if I lost it or it was stolen that there's no way we could afford to replace it right now (I'm a student, then we've got this whole wedding thing going on Wink ) so i feel like it is worth it!

    I'm glad you found a place offering you a better price than the original thieves!
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  • My appraisal was $25. And whoever it was on here that said it should appriase at the "replacement" cost is right. My ring appraised at $6,000 MORE than FI paid.
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  • I got my engagement ring appraised for replacement cost by a certified gemologist at a bridal show (in Canada) for $20. (I basically stood over his shoulder while he worked because I was paranoid.)

    The chain stores at the mall in my town wanted at least $100 for appraisals because they send rings out to be appraised and it took into account insuring the ring during shipment.
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