Appraisals V.S. Evaluations: What's Your Jewelry Actually Worth?

Have you ever wondered how jewelry buyers determine the value of jewelry and how much they offer for it? At Puyallup Diamond & Gold buyers, we've got you covered! We will provide you with a general overview of jewelry appraisal and evaluation for gems, diamonds, gold, and silver. It's a common misconception that jewelry buyers make up the value of jewelry or attempt to mislead people. In this blog, you will learn the truth behind jewelry appraisal and what to expect when selling your jewelry.

Let's start with understanding the difference between jewelry appraisal and jewelry evaluation.

What To Know About Jewelry Appraisal?

Jewelry appraisal can be quite complex, and there are a few important things to keep in mind. To begin with, it's crucial to understand the difference between an appraisal and an evaluation. While an appraisal is done by a certified appraiser outside of a jewelry buyer's store, an evaluation is performed by a jewelry buying professional at their shop. Customers looking to sell their jewelry will typically have their items evaluated, not appraised. One key aspect to keep in mind is that the price a customer initially paid for an item is generally not what a jewelry buyer will offer them. Fair market value appraisals are often skewed for insurance purposes, and jewelry can lose a significant amount of its value when it's purchased new. This is why jewelers typically won't buy jewelry back at the price a customer paid for it.

However, at Puyallup Diamond & Gold Buyers, we are happy to help our customers get cash for their jewelry. It's important to note that evaluations are at the sole discretion of the jewelry professional.

How Is A Evaluation Different Than An Appraisal?

So, what’s the difference between an evaluation and a jewelry appraisal? This is a frequently asked question, so let’s break it down!

An appraisal is often for insurance purposes, performed outside of a jewelry store by a certified appraiser, whereas an evaluation is what a jewelry buyer will offer a customer when they attempt to sell jewelry.

So, what’s an appraisal exactly? It's an expert’s estimate of the value of something. Appraisals usually accompany a piece of jewelry when bought at the store. They are used to get an insurance plan in the event jewelry gets damaged, lost, or stolen. Appraisals are often inflated, sometimes two times the purchasing price.

Additionally, a certified appraiser cannot provide an accurate evaluation as they do not look at the same data points jewelry buyers do. It might seem confusing. But remember, an appraisal is just an estimate, often for an insurance plan.

On the other hand, an evaluation is the resale value– what a jewelry buyer believes it can sell the merchandise for to a willing buyer. This is based on the market value of the diamonds and precious metals that make up the jewelry piece. This does not include the type of jeweler who made it, the amount of labor that went into it, or the retail markup. The market generally doesn’t recognize these attributes, so a second-hand jewelry shop cannot increase the evaluation price based on these factors. Evaluations mostly depend upon demand for said item. The greater the demand, the higher the resale value.

Once a jewelry buyer determines the resale value, they will offer a price taking into consideration the factors in the above paragraph. Therefore, when comparing jewelry appraisal vs. evaluations, customers can expect the evaluation of their jewelry to be significantly less.

The Evaluation Process

During the evaluation process, we will consider a handful of data points and industry trends. It’s also important to note that demand fluctuates and directly influences the price of jewelry.

When a customer brings gems or diamonds to get evaluated, there are numerous things a good jewelry buyer must consider:

• Carat weight – measures a diamond’s weight

• Color – refers to how colorless the diamonds clarity is

• Clarity – assesses small imperfections within a diamond

• Cut – measures how well-proportioned a diamond’s dimensions are including the balance and brilliance of its facets

Jewelry buyers will provide a detailed description of the jewelry and an equivalent valuation based on the “4 Cs” above: carat, color, clarity, and cut.

When a diamond professional looks at gold or silver, these are the characteristics that they look for:

• Weight – price is mostly determined by weight

• Purity – most gold jewelry has a “stamp” on it indicating how many karats it is: 10k, 14k, 24k

It’s important to repeat that markets fluctuate, and current values affect evaluations.

Now You Know

To sum it up, jewelry appraisal and evaluations are two entirely different things. An appraisal is mostly for insurance purposes whereas an evaluation is what a jewelry buyer will offer a customer when they attempt to sell jewelry. Generally speaking, customers have already had their jewelry appraised at the original retail store on the date of purchase.

The main advantage of selling jewelry to a local jewelry buyer is walking out with cash in hand. Customers don’t have to worry about reselling the item back to the original place they purchased it from (who are unlikely to take it) or posting it to an online marketplace and potentially getting scammed. Visit us today to get a free evaluation!

We are near the following cities in Washington State: South Hill, Puyallup, Tacoma, Spanaway, Lakewood, Kent, University Place, Federal Way, Seattle, Yelm, Enumclaw, Elk Plain, Bonney Lake, Auburn, Parkland, University Place, Edgewood, Covington, and Sumner.