Scott Gordon had already been working in his family's jewelry store for eight years before his professional career in gems and jewelry appraising began in 1985, with core courses from the International Society of Appraisers at Indiana University. Since then, he has provided hundreds of appraisals and consultations (most of them for local area businesses and residents), for all kinds of uses.
Scott Gordon's institutional clients have included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs, U.S. Marshal's Office, U.S. Secret Service, banks, charitable institutions, and law firms. He has appeared as an expert witness in Oklahoma County District Court and U.S. District Court.
The pace of change in the gemological world today is unprecedented. Technology demands that competent practitioners never stop learning. We see new synthetics, which duplicate the chemical and physical properties of natural gemstones; new treatments, which can improve gemstones' appearance in ways that have profound impact on value compared with their untreated counterparts; and new gem materials from new finds, as older mines play out, sometimes presenting new appearances, or, once in a while, a new gemstone species. The marketplace changes all the time.
In the world of jewelry arts, as in other artistic fields, the appraiser must be a detective and a connoisseur. To know if an item is completely hand-made or merely hand-assembled, if it is truly old or a skillful reproduction, if it is correct for a particular maker or a forgery — because any of these can mean thousands of dollars, they are all the responsibility of the careful practitioner.
Scott Gordon meets these challenges by studying trade literature and traveling to seminars and conferences with the world's leading gemologists and appraisers, and is in constant dialogue on-line in words and pictures with this worldwide community. He also attends the country's largest trade shows. These activities are essential to give gemologists the tools of due diligence they need to protect themselves and their clients, and to make sure wholesale pricing information is current.
Scott Gordon keeps a fully equipped gemological laboratory in his office and a portable laboratory that enables him to perform assignments in the field. His color vision is tested periodically and has been found to be normal. His library includes the most important industry periodicals and pricing guides through the past thirty years. He has access to trade-only Internet resources for wholesale pricing research, and stays in touch with the ever-growing availability of retail and re-sale pricing data on-line, furthering his practice of gemstone and jewelry appraising at the highest level.
Charges are as follows: $90 minimum for the first item; $70 minimum for the second, and $50 minimum for each additional. Plot diagrams for diamonds weighing 0.50 carat or more are at $45 minimum. Photographs are $15 per image.
The fee is set when the item or items are inspected. The most common reason for needing appraisals is to obtain insurance coverage, but there are many other reasons as well. Your need is established in a preliminary discussion by telephone or email, at no cost to you.
The fee is based on an estimate of the time necessary to render the assignment with credible results. The goal is to produce the most thorough, accurate appraisals available anywhere in the field of gems and jewelry. His professional standard is to be fair and impartial; provide thorough and accurate descriptions and values; and write clear, meaningful reports.