Trusted Jewelry Appraisal Services

While it is no small feat to achieve a Graduate Gemologist diploma from the GIA, the GG curriculum does not prepare a gemologist to engage in appraisal methodology, valuation science, report writing, legal research and more that is involved in generating a qualified appraisal report. This is important as well for profiling the various credentials that a jewelry appraiser may publicize.

The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers, for example, requires a certain minimum number of education hours per year in addition to resubmitting two qualified appraisal reports to ensure that the jewelry appraiser remains up to date and compliant. Completing an online appraisal course and paying membership dues may not be sufficient for qualified credentialing.

It goes without saying that the more education one receives, the better. Such is the case with becoming a member with one or more appraisal associations. Doing this helps to ensure that the jewelry appraiser maintains their credentialing as a qualified appraiser, is held to industry ethical standards, and keeps abreast of market changes.

While USPAP standards were developed primarily for real estate appraisers in the late 1980’s, Standards 7 & 8 specifically regard personal property appraising development and reporting. These standards afford a minimum baseline for personal property appraisers in the jewelry industry to adhere to, to ensure their reports are comprehensive, compliant, and legally sound.

The jewelry appraiser is the sole party responsible for discovering and using the proper effective date(s) and including the correct value definition(s) per the jurisdiction of the appraisal assignment. Not adhering to jurisdictional codes/statutes and not including the correct effective date(s) and value definition(s) will likely result in legal action against the appraiser.

It can be tempting to use fair market value for most appraisal report types. But how is fair market value defined? The IRS has one definition for FMV with some slight variations depending on the type of appraisal. Even on a state level, and sometimes county level, there are varied definitions for fair market value depending on the type of appraisal being rendered. It is important that your qualified jewelry appraiser knows and understands which definition applies to the appraisal assignment because using the wrong one could result in legal consequences.