conflicting valuations - am I alone?

[loveloveloveit]

okay, so i have recently had my engagement & wedding rings remodelled and I they are ready for collection. my problem is that the valuation on the centre diamond is somewhat different to my other two valuations on that diamond, which I have had in two settings previously. the most recent setting though is the one my jeweller has taken it out of and the valuation I got at the time (only 12 months ago - I hated the setting) matched the original one done when the er was originally made. the difference is quite a bit I feel. It has been said to be a G/H colour VS2 for the first two valuations, but now I am told it''s a K colour VVS2.

the options are from what I can work out:

either the diamond has somehow been switched somewhere along the way although I don''t think this really has happened as it is with a very reputable jeweller now in Melbourne
perhaps the valuer at the current jeweller remodelling is much better than the valuer who has done it the same two times previously?
the other valuations were for "insurance" purposes and therefore not a very good indication anyway - could it be for replacement value now rather than insurance?
or finally, does the economy explain this difference in value even though it doesn''t explain the difference in colour/clarity?

any thoughts? my issue is that 7 years ago the er was valued at $9500 for a princess cut solitaire. NOW it is a solitaire plus two very small pink diamonds and it is only being valued at $6500 (both of these are Australian dollars by the way). the other thing is that the small princess cuts I have in the wedder which were purchased to match the main stone are F colour apparently which doesn''t make sense if it''s truly a K stone.

sorry for the long post - I am having a serious "mind clean" issue now! When the stone was originally purchased it was through a jeweller who chose it as a result of insurance rather than having specifically been chosen by me, which unfortunately has left a bit of room for uncertainty. I never had a grading valuation for the stone itself, only the ring valuations.

I have just spent almost $3000 (AUD) on getting the rings remodelled - I feel as though it''s a complete waste if the diamond isn''t worth much and would I be better off with a top quality coloured stone rather than a poor quality diamond? or, am I reading too much into it??? I am really so over being disappointed by the ER and maybe the setting hasn''t been the issue all along, perhaps it was the diamond???

has anyone else had a similar issue?

thanks

 

[denverappraiser]

Talk to your appraiser about the difference in grading. It’s extremely unlikely that a G-H/vs2 would be switched for a similarly sized K/VVS2 of similar size but this is a question to ask them straight up. It's certainly possible that one (or both) of the appraisals is in error but I would concentrate on the current one. G-K is a considerable range and it's entirely appropriate to talk with them abut it and to make sure they're confident in their grading. This grading difference is probably responsible for the bulk of the difference in value conclusion and it's important to get it as accurate as possible.

An insurance replacement valuation is generally designed to provide appropriate funding to replace the item with another new one of like kind and quality and in the customary market in the case of a loss. It’s common for appraisers, especially if the appraisal is prepared in conjunction with a new purchase to inflate the value conclusion in order to make the selling jeweler look like a bargain. In the case of a relatively new purchase of a custom piece, you actually have a fairly good idea what it would cost to replace since you just did it so the first question is to decide if you believe the value conclusion. If not, again discuss the matter with your appraiser and tell them why you believe they’ve made an error. They, in turn, should be happy to make their case about how they came to the conclusion they did.

It’s usually pretty easy to tell the difference between an F and a K that are right next to one another, even in a mounting. Are they different?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[loveloveloveit]

Thanks Neil, the rings have been collected today along with valuations but I don''t ahve them as yet. I suspect the original two valuations (both by the same person/company) might be misleading. I say this because the second of the two didn''t even accurately report the colour of gold (Iit was rose not yellow but was said to be yellow) so I do wonder whether maybe they did it without actually seeing the ring. it wasn''t done by a reputable store jeweller with a name to uphold whereas in this case it has been done by a store with a very good name (you see their owner on this forum all the time) so I tend to think ti''s probably right and I am just very surprised this is the conclusion they''ve come to. I might get another appraisal done for comparison ... I will post pics once I have them in my hot little hand. I have posted photos of what the ring looked like before being remodelled which may show an expert what colour to expect, but I can''t attach them from this laptop. thanks again for your comments.