James Allen Appraisal

[l_alyssa7]

I ordered an engagement ring off of James Allen and received it a couple of weeks ago. Prior to my purchase, I spent about a month researching online about choosing a diamond and then searched through the loose diamonds on James Allen. My priority was an excellent cut and I used very specific filters based on my research (before this I knew absolutely nothing about diamonds or jewelry, but the diamond I received, in my opinion, has excellent sparkle and fire!). The diamond I ended up choosing is a Round Brilliant, .82 carat, G, SI1 (eyeclean), triple excellent, no fluorescence. The ring came with an appraisal, but it only lists the carat, color, clarity, and the appraised price. I paid $4900 (the setting was on sale for 25% off - without the discount the price would have been $5340). James Allen appraised the ring for $6675.

I want to get insurance, and am leaning towards Jewelers Mutual because of their relationship with James Allen. What I am unsure of is whether or not I should obtain an independent appraisal. Jewelers Mutual told me that if obtain my quote with them through my order on the James Allen website, that they will receive all of the information of my ring including the appraisal, SKU, and GIA certificate, and that they would definitely be able to refer to the GIA certificate should something ever happen.

In this situation, is an independent appraisal recommended? I know that Jewelers Mutual told me that what I have is sufficient for their coverage, but I don't want to take a shortcut if it would be better to get an independent appraisal done (although I really don't want to if I don't have to). Is there any benefit to an independent appraisal in this case? I spent days reading through past posts on here, but still haven't come to a definite conclusion... I did also look into Lavalier for insurance, but spoke with them and know that I would definitely need an independent appraisal done if I were to go with them.

 

[KKJohnson]

I probably wouldn’t get a new appraisal since you just purchased the ring, get it insured for what you paid instead of the inflated amount JA gave you. In a few years if diamond prices increased then get a new appraisal. You just want to pay the premium on what it would cost to replace the ring

 

[ringo865]

I probably wouldn’t get a new appraisal since you just purchased the ring, get it insured for what you paid instead of the inflated amount JA gave you. In a few years if diamond prices increased then get a new appraisal. You just want to pay the premium on what it would cost to replace the ring

Meaning $4900

 

[crbl999]

I probably wouldn’t get a new appraisal since you just purchased the ring, get it insured for what you paid instead of the inflated amount JA gave you. In a few years if diamond prices increased then get a new appraisal. You just want to pay the premium on what it would cost to replace the ring

If you don't plan on keeping up with diamond prices or think it may go out of sight out of mind I would insure for the inflated amount. I had my wife's ring appraised by Neil Beaty when I bought it. He appraised it for a reasonably inflated amount. This was done to offset any increase in diamond prices. I didn't keep track of diamond prices the last couple of years. I'm glad it was insured for a reasonably inflated amount otherwise I wouldn't have been able to replace her stone with a similar stone.

 

[flyingpig]

You don't need another appraisal. The one from JA is sufficient.
Regarding paying inflated amount, three years ago, I was able to find a well cut 1.0 I VS2 and 1.0 H VS2 for 5.0k and 5.8k respectively. Now, you need to spend 10%~15%+ for the same specs and quality. Finding well cut stones from online vendors have become increasingly difficult, especially from JA and BN. I used to enjoy finding well cut stones for other members from virtual inventory. I have given up on this.

In my case, I bought a AGS 0.9 J VS1 for $3400 three years ago. I challenge anyone to find a similar AGS stone at the price. There is none.
Having some buffer is not a bad idea.

 

[l_alyssa7]

As much as I would love to save the $30 a year on insurance (I would pay $111 based on the appraisal amount; $81 based on the price I paid) I haven’t been able to find another diamond with the same specs with a comparable looking image for the same price, wish makes me nervous to base the insurance coverage off of what I paid. That’s also partially why I was questioning whether I needed a new appraisal - I thought maybe it would provide more detail that may make it easier should I ever need to replace it, but I’m relieved to hear that isn’t necessary.

I looked on James Allen again last night just to be sure, and I don’t see anything right now that I would be 100% happy with for the same price I paid. Again, I’m new to this, so maybe I put too my weight into this factor, but something I prioritized was the distinct arrow pattern, which I didn’t see a lot of when looking yesterday. Here’s a link below to the one I purchased.

https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...g-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-5209036

I will say I did not do a lot of comparison shopping in person, so I’m much more familiar at this point viewing the diamonds online zoomed in vs what they look like in real life. I did try to compare at the mall a few times, but it didn’t work out so well. At one store, they would not even tell me the cut, they said “all of our diamonds are good, very good, excellent”.... okay lol. It was a pretty easy decision to stick with JA at that point.

 

[denverappraiser]

It’s likely your insurance company will be happy with the documentation included in the packing materials. You can just send them a scan of it. Most insurers have very low standards for this.

Whether or not that meets YOUR requirements will depend on your objectives. The insurer is not the client, you are.

For example:

Is it the same stone as what is described on the report?
Is it set securely and undamaged?
Are the other materials and details as described?
Is it of acceptable craftsmanship?
Are there sufficient details in the report to allow the insurer to replace the item in the case of a loss? Does it include weights, counts, grades, karatage, dimensions, photographs, hallmarks, etc.

Fundamentally, it’s not a second opinion if it comes from the same source as the first.

 

[MamaBee]

My insurance company USAA doesn’t give you a check for the amount of coverage..They replace the diamond. I’m very careful with my ring and especially my studs because I know it will be hard to get the same quality in a replacement stone from them. I did, however, let them insure my studs for a little above what I paid for them as a buffer..I would HATE for an insurance company to pick out my replacement stones but that’s the way mine work. I did hear that if you fight and know what you’re doing and keep rejecting their stones they’ll cut a check. I don’t want to find out.