The services of an independent appraiser are increasingly of importance in today’s complex market environment. As consumers have grown in sophistication and education, diamonds have gotten more costly, and many previously unheard of treatments and ethical issues have arisen, as well. One used to fear that a diamond might be misrepresented as to color or it’s clarity…the degree to which a diamond is free from blemishes / inclusions. Clarity is graded on a scale from Flawless (FL) to Imperfect or weight. Now the list of reasonable questions is nearly endless:

1. Has the stone had some temporary or permanent treatment applied?
2. Is the stone a real diamond, a man-made diamond, a color altered diamond, loaded with filler, or totally phony?
3. Will the dealer sell me one stone and deliver another?
4. Is the information on the grading document accurate?
5. Is the stone damaged?
6. Are the grading documents genuine and unaltered?
7. Does the diamond match the grading document?

The cut (make) of a diamond refers to the proportions given to the polished diamond by the diamond cutter. The cut is the most important of the 4Cs (cut, color, clarity, carat) in determining the diamond’s overall beauty.
This just covers the major issues. You can see right away that there are many opportunities and reasons to use third party advisory services in these transactions that potentially will cost you thousands of dollars. The only other thing most folks ever buy that is similarly expensive that has no manufacturers “list price” like a new car, is a house. That is why so many appraisers are equally required and needed to confirm real estate transactions.

This information is provided by Pricescope.com

If you don’t know where to go to get jewelry appraised…read your local jewelry appraiser reviews. Also, if your purpose is to sell diamond jewelry, a current jewelry appraisal will help you decide a better selling price.