Just Engaged and Proposals

Ring appraisals

What is the process of getting a ring appraised? I know my insurance company will do a small jewelry insurance policy and FI and I went shopping together so I do know approximately what it's worth. Do you have to get your ring appraised to get an insurance policy? Have any of you ladies gone through the process? Tips?

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Re: Ring appraisals

  • H and I just went through our jeweler to get the appraisal forms.  Typically rings are appraised for more then they actually cost.  An appraised value is the highest price that it could possibly cost to replace your ring so you want to get your ring insured for the appraised price not the purchase price.

  • A few of the places I've read about ring appraisals on said you should go to a different jewelers for it? How true is that?

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  • A few of the places I've read about ring appraisals on said you should go to a different jewelers for it? How true is that?
    No idea, but H and I had no problem going to the jewelers that we got my rings from.

  • I went to the jeweler FI got the ring from.
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  • I went to a different jeweler than where the ring came from since it was convenient for me (the jeweler who did the appraisal was across the street). They'll give you a form with the cut, color, etc about the ring and stones, then appraise it at the highest value and sign off on it. Make sure it's correct and bring in any information that you got for the original purchase. For example. we didn't have any information on the center stone since it was my mother's and she lost her last appraisal on it but FI had a receipt for the setting which helped him out.

    After that, you can go through your renter's or homeowner's insurance or you can go through an independent insurance company to get the insurance. I use Perfect Circle and pay not that much for a 0-deductible policy. I didn't bother going through my homeowner's for some reason, probably just didn't feel like sitting on the phone on hold.

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  • lilacck28lilacck28 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    edited May 2014
    We used my mother's diamond. We got her ring appraised at a jewelry store near her house ($100)... took two weeks I think. The stores often have particular days when a certified appraiser comes in. I then got her ring insured through perfect circle (I read a few things about how riders on home owners insurance don't always cover the full amount of the ring, or won't always cover losing the ring, or damage, that they will only cover the small amount if it is stolen. That's something you definitely want to research) Perfect circle (formerly Jeweler's Mutual) is well regarded, covers all the above things I mentioned, and was very easy. Complete online process. I was a nervous nelly and called a few times to make sure things worked, and they were very easy to talk to as well. 

    To get insurance, you need a recent appraisal, or sometimes they'll allow just a receipt of what you purchased, but as Maggie said about, its better to do appraisal price. 

    We then went shopping, picked out a new setting, had the ring made. The jeweler that we bought the setting and did the reset gave us a new appraisal with the finished ring. I uploaded the new appraisal to my perfect circle account, paid an extra $10 since the value went up, and I was done. I thought about paying another $100 to get a new appraisal to make sure I got the right diamond back/ the specs were similar to what I was told, but I didn't end up bothering. I think that's why people recommend you get a different jeweler to appraise, to make sure you weren't cheated-- also, the jewelry store you bought the ring at has a vested interest in appraising the ring higher than what you paid so that you are a happy customer (this is assuming they don't use an independent appraiser, which my store did not. They used their in-house person who was GIA certified). But the appraisal the store gave me was close enough to my expectations after a little research that I wasn't too concerned.  

    The whole process was super easy. My grandma had three diamond rings (she was going to give one of them to me, the other two to other grand kids). She ended up losing all of them. Threw them out by accident most likely. No insurance, nothing to be done. Definitely drove home how important insurance is. 
  • Well I'm just going to throw my insurance agent two cents in here: 
    <shpeel>
    A) Most major insurance companies will have a dollar limit for which anything over a certain amount is required to have an appraisal if you want to schedule the jewelry item. Usually the receipt from your jeweler is enough, and if you bought the entire ring from the same place, they should make you one for free. That being said, whether you are required to have an appraisal by your insurance company or not, any piece of jewelry involving diamonds really should be appraised for your records to confirm the four C's, etc.

    B) If you use your homeowner's insurance, like State Farm, Traveler's, Erie, etc. make sure your agent writes you a separate Personal Articles Policy (might also be called a Personal Inland Marine, despite it not having anything to do with a boat).  *If you just add extra jewelry coverage to your regular homeowner's or renter's policy, you will be subject to your deductible, your rate could go up if you file a claim, then the claim is held against you for 3-5 years depending on your state and/or insurance company, plus you won't have coverage for things like lost stones or if your ring disappears down a drain pipe.*  A separate personal articles policy is super broad in coverage, and fairly inexpensive, but check with your agent for specifics. Where I live, the rates are usually about $0.90-$1.00 for every $100 of coverage WITHOUT a deductible. 

    *True Story* I had a customer that was working on her car and had taken off her $20,000+ engagement ring to avoid getting it dirty, but set it on the hood of the car so she wouldn't forget it. Surprise- She forgot it. The company I worked for at the time paid her for it, all of it, because she had it on that separate special policy.

    Once you have one of these policies in place, it's really easy to add on as you acquire more items, like your wedding bands, a nice watch, diamond studs, strand of pearls, etc. Plus a lot of times you can add things like expensive photography equipment, collections, paintings, musical instruments, etc. etc.  

    Just please don't start collecting Hummels. Or Precious Moments figurines. 

    /end shpeel.
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  • An appraisal was included with our paperwork when the ring was purchased along with my diamond certifications. We sent both the appraisals and certifications to the insurance company. I have never heard of an insurance company that will insure your engagement and wedding bands with out a current appraisal.
  • Like some of the other users wrote you can take your ring to the jeweler where you bought it to be appraised. If you don't feel comfortable doing that. You can always go to Yelp to find good reviews for a jeweler in your area. Because your ring is in an investment you may want to get your ring appraised every few years. Because the replacement value of your ring is today, may not be what it will be few years from now. So if your ring gets lost or stolen and you have jewelry insurance on it based on an old appraisal you may not get enough money from your claim to actually cover purchasing a replacement. Once you get an appraisal. I recommend checking out Perfect Circle. Their premiums are really reasonable. Hope this helps! ;)
  • If your ring is a modest one, an appraisal isn't really necessary.  If you have a rock, then you should also have a certified appraisal.  My daughter's solitaire came with the AGS paperwork.  FI took it to a local jeweler and verified that this was the same diamond.  The paperwork is a permanent record and description of the diamond.  It does not need to be redone.  Any jeweler can look at the description and give an estimate of the amount of special insurance needed for coverage.  The insurance company gets a copy of the paperwork. 
    I wouldn't pay to appraise anything worth less than $1000.
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  • We did do an appraisal before we bought my ring because my ring was a vintage estate diamond ring and the jeweler didn't have the proper GIA certification for the diamonds (which my fiance was not about to buy without lol). I believe it cost us about $350 to have it sent to the Gemological Institute and get an official certification report from them. After we received the certification we just mailed a copy to my renter's insurance and had it added. Super easy!
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