Need some advise

[jake23]

I recently bought a Tiffany Ruby three stone ring. It cam in the velvet ring box, and the blue outer box. I took it in to a local jeweler to see if I got a good deal on it, and he appraised the ring at $6200. He had the price broken down something like this. Platinum ring: $1900. Natural Ruby approx 1ct: $2600. 2 VS1 clarity G color diamonds: $1500. 6 small diamonds: $200. The ring did not come with any Tiffany paperwork, and I paid $3450 for the ring.

My question is this. Should I have Tiffany do a valuation on the ring? Would their valuation be a higher price? Any info would certainly help. Thanks in Advance.

Jake

 

[partgypsy]

What is the purpoe of the valuation? Was the appraisal done by an independent appraiser?
Since you paid significantly less than the estimated appraisal cost, I can't imagine another, higher valuation would be more accurate. If its for insurance purposes it is for replacement value.
Maybe someone else can chime in. If you have a piece of Tiffany's (or some other designer piece) do you insure for what the piece would cost new (from Tiffany's) or by the appraisal price? Tiffany's prices ARE sold second hand and while they may sell at a slight premium, they are still not being resold for 100% of the original purchase value, unless there is something extraordinary about it.

 

[T L]

Also, without knowing full treatment on the rubies and/or if they're original to the ring, that might also be an issue.

If it's valuable, I would get two reports, one from AGL to evaulate the rubies and all treatment, and one from Tiffany, to ensure it is truly their ring.

You may want to start with Tiffany first, because if it isn't a real Tiffany, you might want to get your money back. If both check out, then the replacement value is easier to figure out by a truly competent appraiser, or Tiffany can tell you how much the ring originally sold for. I'm not sure if they can identify if the rubies are original to the piece though. Stones are often removed from vintage pieces and replaced with lesser quality, or highly treated gems.

 

[jake23]

I originally planned on sending it in to Tiffany to ensure it is a Tiffany piece. The Jeweler that i took it to has a lot of Tiffany pieces and said that he saw nothing that would make him think it was anything other than authentic. Would it be possible that someone would make a knock-off and make it with quality stones and platinum? I want to get it insured and I know that if I were to try and buy this ring from Tiffany right now it would cost a lot more than $6200.

 

[jake23]

Oh, how would i go about getting an AGL report? How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

 

[T L]

Oh, how would i go about getting an AGL report? How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

The gem brief is the least expensive report, and it takes around ten business days, and sometimes longer if the treatment is harder to determine using basic diagnostic equipment. I would email them with further questions.

http://www.aglgemlab.com/services/

Check it out with Tiff&Co first though before you go that route.

 

[jake23]

The purpose of the appraisal was to see if the ring was worth what i paid for it, since i have no clue when it comes to these things. And, secondly to make sure it wasn't a fake. The ring is really a beautiful ring and it appears very well made. I am very happy with it. I wanted to propose to my girlfriend in the middle of July and don't really want to wait for the ring to come back from Tiffany to do that. So, i guess i was wondering if it would be worth my while to wait to propose and send the ring in to Tiffany, or just skip having Tiffany look at it since it appraised for $6200

 

[Coco914]

I'm not 100 percent certain on this, but I've heard that Tiffany & Company will not validate items purchased outside of their store are authentic pieces. Could be wrong, but that's what I've heard.

 

[chrono]

Forget the appraisal for now. In almost all cases, appraisals are over-inflated and not a realistic price. If you ever tried to sell at the appraisal price, you'll never get a buyer or much less an inquiry.

Your first order of business is to find out if the piece is authetic or a rip-off which they are aplenty. I doubt regular jewellers can tell you if it is a real piece or a reproduced Tiffany ring. A reproduction will sell for at least 1/2 the price of an authentic piece or perhaps even less.

Next up is to find out the treatment of the ruby. Natural only means that it is real and not a synthetic or simulant. It says nothing about it being unheated, heated, diffused, coated, lead glass filled, composite or anything else. Your paperwork also made no mention of the colour quality of the ruby. Colour quality and treatment makes a huge price difference where it can be worth anywhere from $100 to $10K.

ETA
Tiffany does not openly disclose treatment of their gems either.

 

[T L]

I'm not 100 percent certain on this, but I've heard that Tiffany & Company will not validate items purchased outside of their store are authentic pieces. Could be wrong, but that's what I've heard.

They will, but they charge a fee to do so.

 

[T L]

I originally planned on sending it in to Tiffany to ensure it is a Tiffany piece. The Jeweler that i took it to has a lot of Tiffany pieces and said that he saw nothing that would make him think it was anything other than authentic. Would it be possible that someone would make a knock-off and make it with quality stones and platinum? I want to get it insured and I know that if I were to try and buy this ring from Tiffany right now it would cost a lot more than $6200.

Sure, it happens all the time, unfortunately.

 

[jake23]

So I took the ring into Tiffany yesterday. Cost me $200 and they said I should have it back in 4 weeks. Thanks for all the help

 

[Coco914]

Jake23 - Good luck! Hope your ring is everything you want it to be and that your gf loves it!

TL - Good to know they'll authenticate, even if there's a fee.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Jake can you please post pics of the ring? I don't have any advice but would love to see it. Thanks!

 

[jake23]

I will post some pics as soon as i can. They are on my phone, just have to get off work first.

 

[chrono]

4 weeks is a long time. Wouldn't your return period be over? Not only that, you still have to add more time to get the stone sent out for treatment verification.

 

[jake23]

The jeweler i bought it from said that if Tiffany didn't authenticate it, they would accept a full return. They are aware it takes 4 weeks for Tiffany to do the eval. As far as the ruby goes..... I love the way it looks and it has a bright fluorescence in natural light. The grading of the stone would only be for my curiosity only. Does this make sense?

 

[chrono]

If you truly want to know if you paid a good price, you need to know what treatment the ruby has undergone. A lead glass filled ruby is not worth much and Tiffany sells rubies and other gemstone jewellery without disclosing treatment.

 

[jake23]

I was planning on getting a report on the ruby from agl. Just not sure I would send the ring back if I found out it was treated. Could I upgrade the ruby at a later date? Is that something that can be done? I really have limited knowledge in this area. I really appreciate all the help everyone has given

 

[jake23]

Here is a pic of the ring. Kind of blurry. My phone does not take a good close up.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Even though the pics are blurry the ring looks pretty and the ruby glows. Keep us posted!

 

[jake23]

So I got a phone call from Tiffany on Friday, they said that they are unable to give me a valuation report because they don't sell those kind of rubies anymore. She said the Ruby would not be able to be replaced by Tiffany in the event that something happened to it. So, they are just cleaning it and sending it back this week. Has anyone else had an experience like this with getting a valuation report for an older ruby ring from Tiffany?

 

[T L]

So does this mean they can't authenticate it as a real Tiffany?

 

[jake23]

They didn't say that that is wasn't authentic. They said that since it was a ruby from Burma that they don't sell those anymore and can't replace it. From what she was saying it sounded like they looked up the info on the ring from when it was purchased. Not sure though. If there is something I should ask I can call them with questions if you think of anything. From what I understand they won't authenticate a piece, but they wont perform a valuation on a fake. I expect that I would be getting some sort of report from them when I get the ring back. Not sure though. Any ideas as to where I should go from here?

 

[T L]

They didn't say that that is wasn't authentic. They said that since it was a ruby from Burma that they don't sell those anymore and can't replace it. From what she was saying it sounded like they looked up the info on the ring from when it was purchased. Not sure though. If there is something I should ask I can call them with questions if you think of anything. From what I understand they won't authenticate a piece, but they wont perform a valuation on a fake. I expect that I would be getting some sort of report from them when I get the ring back. Not sure though. Any ideas as to where I should go from here?

I would double check with them about whether they can at least authenticate it, without giving a replacement value. It sounds like you didn't get all your questions answered, and you're not even sure if they were able to at least look up info on the ring for when it was purchased.

 

[jake23]

So I called them back just now and asked if I could have any info on the ring. They said they were able to look it up, that is how they know they can't replace it. Kind sucks that I wont get a valuation done from them. But I guess I know that is a Tiffany ring. I guess now I need to send it in to AGL and have the stone looked at. Just to make sure it wasn't swapped out with a piece of junk. The Ruby looks really nice to me, but I have never even seen a Ruby in person until I bought this ring. Thank you so much for your help. If you have any other advise I would appreciate it.

 

[T L]

So I called them back just now and asked if I could have any info on the ring. They said they were able to look it up, that is how they know they can't replace it. Kind sucks that I wont get a valuation done from them. But I guess I know that is a Tiffany ring. I guess now I need to send it in to AGL and have the stone looked at. Just to make sure it wasn't swapped out with a piece of junk. The Ruby looks really nice to me, but I have never even seen a Ruby in person until I bought this ring. Thank you so much for your help. If you have any other advise I would appreciate it.

Can they at least provide a piece of paper or something "official" indicating it is a Tiffany piece?

I do suggest you send it off to AGL, but pack it carefully, and use registered mail or highly insured first class priority mail.