How does it all work? Payment, Insurance, Appraisal, etc?

[GBlu05]

I have a few questions about the process about buying an engagement ring and working with multiple parties. If I want to work with one vendor to get the stone and another to create and/or place it in a setting at what point do you get the independent appraisal? I''m assuming you pay for the stone and then have sent to you to get the appraisal and then have placed in a setting? Is that the correct order?

Also at what point in the process should it be insured? Does the stone only get insured after its been properly appraised and before its placed in a setting? Does the process and timing for the getting the appraisal and insurance differ if you want to actually possess and see the stone prior to having it set?

If I''ve left out a few steps someone, anyone please chime in!

Thanks!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 2/8/2010 8:40:37 AM
Author:GBlu05
I have a few questions about the process about buying an engagement ring and working with multiple parties. If I want to work with one vendor to get the stone and another to create and/or place it in a setting at what point do you get the independent appraisal? I''m assuming you pay for the stone and then have sent to you to get the appraisal and then have placed in a setting? Is that the correct order?

Also at what point in the process should it be insured? Does the stone only get insured after its been properly appraised and before its placed in a setting? Does the process and timing for the getting the appraisal and insurance differ if you want to actually possess and see the stone prior to having it set?

If I''ve left out a few steps someone, anyone please chime in!

Thanks!

It is always a good idea to get an appraisal of the loose diamond and of the mounting as it is going to be and have the whole item insured by a company such as Jewelers Mutual who will insure it before the diamond is set. That way, if the unlikely happens, you will be protected.

Since I also believe that you can never fully appreciate what your diamond is going to look like before you see it and experience it for yourself, I think it is VERY wise to see the diamond before you have it mounted, even though that is going to increase your cost by the postage and insurance to get it to you and back to the vendor.

There are several good appraisers on this forum that can help you with the details. Perhaps one of them will see this thread and respond. If not, you can look them up in the resources area and contact one that way. You might also ask your diamond vendor who they recommend as being qualified to do the work properly. If their recommendation is one of the Pricescope recognized appraisers you can be very comfortable with that recommendation.

Wink

 

[denverappraiser]

It depends on your purpose in getting the appraisal.

For most shoppers there are several objectives at once:

1) To confirm what the dealer has told you in the sales presentation is both complete and correct while you’re still within the dealers return period.
2) To serve as a quality control step between suppliers and at the end.
3) To provide documentation for use in replacement should the occasion ever arise.
4) To establish a basis for setting insurance premiums.
5) To establish the condition as of a particular date (usually the start date of your insurance).
6) To confirm or refute a ‘good deal’.

If the plan includes #1, you MUST get it appraised while it’s still loose. Setting the stone is likely to void your return privilege and damaging it is guaranteed to. Your appraiser can tell you far more about the stone if it’s unmounted than after it’s set.

If your plan includes #2, you MUST get it appraised after the job is complete as well as before it goes to the setter. The most likely quality control issues have to do with the setting process and the second most likely are in the manufacturing of the setting. Obviously the appraiser can’t address these if they never see the completed piece.

Most insurers will not insure an unmounted diamond and JewelersMutual (www.insuremyjewelry.com) is something of an exception. If you give them paperwork on the stone and the mounting separately, they’ll insure it as a single item that still requires assembly. This is important because the setting process is one of the times that your stone can be damaged and quite a few setters will not assume breakage liability on stones that they didn’t sell. I strongly recommend doing this by the way, especially if your stone supplier, the setting supplier and the setting labor are coming from different suppliers. It's amazing how often the fingerpointing starts if a problem comes up and the issue becomes one of deciding who is at fault (defective mounting, crappy craftsmanship, defective diamond).

If the diamond dealer didn’t provide complete documentation you will need an appraisal to do this but often a lab report and a receipt is sufficient to bind a policy if you have no other concerns about the stone. Ask your insurer for details about their specific documentation requirements.

Whether you decide to get an appraisal one (at the end), twice (once when the stone is loose and once at the end), or not at all depends on what sorts of paperwork your jeweler and diamond dealer provide and your trust in the sellers, their staffs and their suppliers.

My recommended path is to first look at it yourself. Second show it to your friends and trusted advisers, which may include an appraiser. Third, show it to the setter and confirm that it will work in the mounting they have in mind and that they have no problems with pre-existing damage or durability. Decide if you are prepared to proceed and, if so, use the dealers receipt, the lab report and the ring description from the jeweler to bind an insurance policy. If it fails any of the above, send it back and start over. Then give it back to the setter to be set. After the setting, get a full and independent appraisal of the completed piece and submit this entire report as an 'update' to your insurer.

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

 

[raindog101]

These guys have already nailed it. I just wanted to add that if the jeweler you're buying the loose diamond from isn't offering a lab report, you should be sure to ask them to get one for you. Any reputable jeweler will should be more than willing to do this for you.

Another option would be to send it in to a lab yourself to get it graded (I know GIA will do this), but your best option is getting the grading report with the diamond when you buy it. You need to get the diamond appraised before you insure it, and a report from a reputable lab like GIA will make that process a whole lot smoother. I know you can use your home-owners or renters insurance to insure the ring, but you will probably need to get a loose diamond insured by a company that specializes in jewelry as the others have said.

 

[puravida]

What about in the case where you buy the stone AND the setting online from the same vendor and the stone is set by the vendor into their setting?

After receiving it, should one have the diamond removed and appraised? And then reset? What if it is not reset properly after the appraisal....the original vendor will not cover this.

I''ve purchased a stone from BGD and would like one of their settings. Once I receive the set stone, what should I do? (Canadian buyer here)

 

[denverappraiser]

If you’re concerned about the details of the stone and are using the appraisal as part of the shopping process, have the dealer sent it to you loose, inspect it yourself, have it appraised, show it to your friends etc. and decide it’s the right stone for you. Then send it back and have them set it. When the final piece arrives, have it appraised for insurance purposes. Shipping is remarkably cheap given the cost budgets being discussed.

For overseas clients, it’s common to have both shipments sent directly from the seller to the appraiser and have the appraiser to deliver the report via email to you. If there’s a problem it can go straight back from the appraiser to the jeweler. This rules out your abililty to inspect it in person before it’s set, which is a serious omission, but it also rules out 2 trips of international shipping which can be a substantial cost and time suck. It’s up to you to decide how important it is and as with the above, the choices are once, twice or none at all.

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

 

[raindog101]

I think it depends on whether or not the diamond has been certified by a grading lab (correct me if I'm wrong). It's my understanding that if it has been graded by an independent third-party lab like GIA, an appraiser can go off of the diamond certificate to appraise your ring. In other words, there would be no need to have a set diamond unmounted for appraisal purposes as long as you have a certified diamond.