Appraisal Information

There are several types of appraisals exists on the market. The general classifications by type are as follows:

A. Retail Replacement Appraisals

  1. Insurance Appraisals are required by insurance companies before they will insure jewelry items against damage, loss, or theft with the appraisal reflecting the retail cost of a jewelry item of equal quality and kind.
  2. Comparison Appraisal is verification of the identity and/or quality of jewelry or gemstone as claimed by the third party and to justify the price being asked. Comparison appraisals usually reflect the jewelry at their most common retail replacement price: however, this type of appraisal can also reflect comparisons in action, wholesale or broker market.


B. Fair Market Value Appraisals

  1. Estate Appraisal
    “Estate” as seen by the law denotes property owned by an individual or company. The term is used to describe numerous markets in the jewelry industry. Since appraisals involving estates are utilized under different circumstances, it is well to identify the action (divorce, etc.) when the label estate is used.
    • Divorce Settlement/ Dissolution of Marriage Appraisals are often requested ether by the parities involved or their attorneys to determine the value of the jewelry.
    • Probate or Tax Liability Appraisals are made in the course of administrating an estate for estate settlement.
    • Donation Appraisals are undertaken when jewelry or gemstones are donated to a charity, museum or other public institution.
    • Casualty Loss Appraisals – The IRS will allow an income tax deduction for lost items not recoverable by insurance, based on documentation which establishes values for the lost possessions.


C. Liquidation Value Appraisals

  1. Liquidation Appraisals are requested by an owner who whishes to convert jewelry items into immediate cash. The function of the liquidation could be for distress sale (now), forced sale (soon), quick liquidation (2 months), orderly liquidation (6 months, or regulated liquidation by the IRS (30 days) or FDIC (90 days).
  2.  Collateral Appraisals are made for a bank or other institution loaning money against property.

 

D. Researched Retail Value Appraisals

  1. Researched Retail Value Appraisals are requested by a seller to provide prospective buyers an objective description and retail valuation in advance of purchase.