Can a Diamond ring appraisal go down in value?

Question

Appraisal went down by $1,500 within 3 years. Can diamonds go down in value? or should we get a second opinion? The person that appraised the ring is a GIA member. We don't want to insure a ring with a lower value.

Answer 1

Virtually any item of personal property may go up OR down in value depending on demand for that item in the marketplace, it's availability, what most people assume is that all things of value....jewelry, real estate, collectibles, antiques, etc will always appreciate in value.

This is a common misconception.

If the ring now appraises for less, it will cost you less to insure it as a scheduled item on your policy.

It's a good practice to have highly valued items reappraised every 5 years or so, depending on just how valuable it is.

If you have an item insured for say $5,000 because that's what your appraisal states, & now say...10 years later the item is worth $8,000....you will only get $5,000 from the insurance company because that is what you insured it for.

Answer 2

I definitely agree with insurance lady. I sold high-end jewelry for 6 years, and "inflation" of appraisal value was something that we saw a lot. Some independent jewelers do appraisals, and sometimes that is the one that you get at the time of purchase because the jewelry stores can manipulate the appraiser. There are also companies like EGL (European Gem Labs), IGI and many more, some of which can be "told" by the jewelry company what ratings they want their diamond to receive. The quality rating is essentially what the jewelry stores use to mark their prices. Doesn't sound very ethical, right? Well, it's absolutely not ethical. Fortunately, every jewelry store does not do this.

GIA is a good company to go through for an appraisal, and is in the top two most reputable diamond graders. The only problem with GIA is that they give descriptive terms like "Good polish" or "Excellent symmetry" rather than rating using a strict scale. Some reports give ranges rather than one specific value. Probably the best would be AGS, who rates cut, color and clarity on a number scale (they give one specific value, like "3" rather than "2-5"), which reduces the opportunity for subjectivity.

My point is that you should try to get as accurate an appraisal of quality that you can get, then go from there to appraise the replacement value. If you get an accurate report now, the value should only increase from here. Good luck!

Answer 3

Jewelry appraisal is more art than science. Unfortunately, not only can the appraisal go down, but you'll also have to check your coverage carefully. A dear aunt of mine had a beautiful, large and *expensive* ring appraised, and then bought insurance. The unimaginable happened and she lost the ring. When she went to put in a claim on her policy, they only paid her a portion of the ring's value, claiming "depreciation". So, whatever coverage you buy, read the fine print carefully.

Be aware -- if you decide to buy insurance that will pay you "replacement" value of the ring, it will be more expensive than "regular" coverage (which assumes depreciation).

Answer 4

It's pretty unusual for it to go DOWN in value, but wouldn't surprise me at all if the first appraisal was overly inflated (like, maybe you paid $5,000 for the ring, and they wrote the appraisal for $10,000 to make you feel you weren't getting ripped off?).

I would DEFINATELY get a second opinion.

Answer 5

they only can give you at most 10% more than the price you buy. normally, they should give you the same price!

Answer 6

SURE A RING CAN GO DOWN...OR UP...