My appraisals are based on sales data for similar items, which I obtain in several ways. To name some: directly, from appraisal clients' sales receipts and oral statements; by monitoring retail prices shown in print advertisements and on-line; and by researching sales results at national and regional auction houses. Although I pay attention to the pricing patterns I see in my own work as a liquidator, a consignment shop, and a broker of new jewelry, I do not assume they apply to all kinds of items, in all situations for which people need jewelry appraisals. Sometimes, it's relevant to determine an item's current wholesale market cost — such as to serve as a starting point for an item's re-sale value  — and that's often easier to do than to document accomplished retail sales, especially for diamonds, because of the existence of a widely accepted grading standard and trade data bases. For many colored gemstones and items of finished jewelry, talking to dealers who buy and sell and other jewelry appraisers who have seen similar pieces is absolutely essential.
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Credentials aren't everything, but they're something. One thing you'll notice is that jewelry stores don't emphasize appraising anymore. In fact, many of them don't offer it at all, except in the loose sense of providing insurance descriptions for items they sell. First, to be serious about providing professional gemstone and jewelry appraising, one should either be a gemologist or have one on staff. So far, so good — most retail jewelry stores do that. But next, one should dedicate oneself to learning valuation principles, both the methods and the ethics that make it a profession. The best groups do this through university-level education and ongoing education leading to recertification. The only groups that function as societies (offering training and recertification) are the American Gem Society, the American Society of Appraisers, the Appraisers Association of America, the International Society of Appraisers, and the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers.
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Value is only value in a certain place, at a certain time, to particular buyers and sellers. So, why do you need a jewelry appraisal? Is it to insure what you just bought, or to find out if you got a good deal, or to sell the item? Or is it to fairly divide jewelry among heirs? Or pay federal estate tax? Does the situation involve divorce or other kinds of potential litigation? Then there are many possible needs that businesses, charitable groups, law firms, banks and governmental entities can have for jewelry appraisals. In each of these categories, my job is to consider who the usual buyers and sellers are, given the specific situation and any applicable legal definitions of value, for the jewelry under appraisal. That establishes the right market to research. That's the first job to do.

After that, some of the nuts and bolts run like this: clean the jewelry, inspect it for condition, advise about any needed repairs, identify the materials (both gemstones and metals), measure and estimate gemstone weights based on volumetric formulas, grade gemstones using quality scales that are set out in detail for you in the finished report, including information about color, clarity and cutting; determine if any gemstone treatments are present and, if so, how they affect value, and render a plot (that is, a diagram) of the clarity characteristics of diamonds weighing more than 0.50 carat; measure the dimensions of the jewelry, and study and describe how they were made (cast, die-struck or hand-made, for instance), research trademarks, examine items for age and style that would contribute to value (such as Victorian, Edwardian or Art Deco); photograph the jewelry; and finally, write a cover letter that gives a summary of the total situation, including the context of the value, keeping the reason for the appraisal in mind, such as independent retail store, on-line diamond seller, national retail chain, second-hand retail ("antique") store, auction; and explains what effort was made to find out information on which the value conclusion is based.

All this means that my appraisals meet the standards of the American Society of Appraisers. They also conform to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which are promulgated by the Appraisal Foundation, a quasi-governmental entity that was founded in 1989 to enforce compliance with appraisal standards in federally related transactions.
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Yes, my approach is highly personal, and personalized to a degree you will not find anywhere else. For instance, in finding out why you want a jewelry item appraised, I might discover that you don't need an appraisal. You might obtain adequate sales information from a seller to insure an item. You might have several items, some of which are already covered under a general homeowners' policy. Perhaps you are thinking of selling an item or perhaps keeping it. In either of these latter cases, we might turn to consultation, for which I charge $75 per half hour, instead of formal written appraisals. If you do decide to insure your jewelry, I suggest you become familiar with its terms of replacement, so you might decide how irreplaceable items are handled. The most important thing I do is to explain thoroughly how I work, including what it will cost you, before you incur any expense.
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My minimum charges are $90 for the first item, $70 for the second, and $50 for each additional item. But because they are tailored to each person's situation, they will vary according to several things, all of which may increase or decrease cost, based on how much time I must spend to do a competent, credible job. They include: complexity or simplicity of the item, number of items, the nature of the assignment (legal uses are more time-consuming), and rush assignments or those done outside my office. I am happy to appraise your jewelry while you watch. (This must be done by appointment.) When there are several items, clients often choose to leave them, usually for a week or less. In these cases, I take whatever time is necessary to show you some absolutely identifying characteristic about your jewelry under the microscope, and give you the opportunity to view them again when you pick them up.
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