Appraisal Value

rrkenney

I brought my engagement ring in to be appraised and came away shocked and confused. We gave the jeweler the diamond from my grandmother's ring and designed a new handmade setting with her. My fiancé paid $1,500 to have the ring made.

I took the ring in to be appraised and they valued it at only $1,550. This would mean that the diamond only added $50 of value to the ring. The paperwork did say that everything was real and good quality, and I understand that the handmade aspect brought up the price of the ring, but I was expecting it to come in at at least a few hundret more than what we paid.

I called the jeweler who made the ring to ask her about it. She said that jewelry is always appraised at about half of retail value.

So what is going on? Do appraisals come in at half of retail value? Did the jeweler take us for a ride (this would be a bummer because we already put down the deposit for the wedding bands)? Is it possible that the appraiser took us for a ride (I don't think he was happy with me but that's another story)? What should my next steps be?

katieanne85

My wedding band will be custom made and the value of the ring itself, as in the materials and such, will be less than what he paid for it since it was a custom design, if he had the ring specially made he may have had to pay fees and such that wouldnt matter for the appraisal. Im not an expert tho.

kd.joseph

As in everything else in this world as much as we love things, and think thery're worth more sometimes they are not. I liken it to a car, as soon as you drive it off the lot it depreciates in value. Jewelry is no different. 

Maybe take it to another appraiser, it sounds like you weren't happy with this one anyway. Good luck.

jodylynn78

I'm not sure what goes in to figuring the appraisal. My e-ring and wedding band were appraised for insurance purposes and came back about $3000 more than what my fiance paid for them.

jeanna85

my engagement ring came back appraised $5000 more than FI paid for it. I asked people I knew about it, and they said almost all of the jewelry they have appriased for almost twice of what they paid for it. I would go somewhere else and have it appraised there too so you can feel confident that it was appraised correctly.

flamingtwig72

Mine appraised at about $4,000 more than he paid. I'd definitely get a second opinion. There's no way a diamond is worth only $50 unless maybe it's just a diamond chip (less than 1/10 carat) and is very poor quality, which I assume yours is not.

rrkenney

Wow, now I'm even more confused. I will have to find another appraiser but I'm sick of putting money into appraisals! That's why the appraiser wasn't happy with me, I had a pearl bracelet/earings/necklace set done at the same time. He said he was going to charge me once for the three item set but when the bill came he charged me twice. When I asked him about it and told him he might want to be clearer with his customers he got defensive even though I didn't ask him to change the price. This, of course, was before I got the paperwork with the values.

mynameskatie

I worked in jewelry and it is pretty typical for appraisals to come back much higher than what was paid for them. The markup in jewelry is pretty high so appraisals usually take that into account. Mass made pieces are often discounted when you buy them, and then appraised at their marked up value. 

What size/color/clarity is your center stone? Are there diamonds or any other features in the setting? Did your FI negotiate with the jeweler who did the design on your custom piece or did he just pay him the first price he was offered? Did you guys shop around to see how much the custom work was elsewhere? 

Chances are from appraiser to appraiser the value of the ring isn't going to change a whole lot. If you're getting it appraised for insurance purposes and don't feel that 1550 would allow you replace the ring (the parts, not the sentimental value) then ask your appraiser to explain how he came to the conclusion that he did.