5 replies to this topic

[emeraldz]

I randomly found the ring I am looking for at in an "estate case" at the last jewelers store I visited. The ring - emarald solitaire - EGL cert. H-I, VS2, 1.16crt. in a platinum cathedral setting. The price 6900 with an appraisal they will stand by for 9300 or very close.

What is the origin of this stuff in estate cases and doesnt new stuff almost always get appraised for much less than the sale price (forgive my ignorance)???

The ring looks great though and would seem to be priced well under what it would cost to piece together. The jeweler also claimed GIA to have lost their reputation and "sold-out" to compete with grading of others to keep up with sight unseen internet sales. But thats another story.

thank you SO MUCH for any help, I thought car shopping was complicated!

[Feydakin]

Estate case generally means "used" or "pre-worn" merchandise.. It just looks so much better than saying "used"

Paper appraisals from some retail dealers are vastly out of line with real values.. Consider this, if something is "worth" $10,000, why would I sell it to you for $4,000??

The GIA scandal was significant, but applied to just a couple of graders at a very high level on a very few stones.. It really had / has little effect on the daily operations other than to possibly improve things.. Most people would still trust GIA over EGL, especially EGL not in the US..

No comment on the price though.. Sorry..

[brianknox]

I agree with what Steve said.

Furthermore, the price is no bargain, especially for an EGL diamond.

[denverappraiser]

Steve stated it nicely but I have to ask - What do they mean by 'stand by' an appraisal of $9,300?

Neil

[emeraldz]

Thank you for replies to my inquiry.

My first thoughts on "in-store" appraising by the retailer was that it was rediculous and now I know that I was right. I asked one jeweler how he felt about 3rd party appraisal and he quickly retorted he was saving me money by doing the appraisal. yah right!


My head is spinning and I am a bit angry after going to 3 diff. jewelers and having 3 diff opinions. I just want honesty. Seems the best I can ask for is authentic GIA report. Jareds has been the only retailer capable of producing that. 2 jewelers didnt not even have certs on the diamonds, but they did look nice, therefore is a 3rd party appraisal the only way to approach a non-cert. diamond??

And the one guy claimed the estate ring was new and simply purchased from another store they bought out. Fat chance.

I'm a little disgusted but this site helps alot. Thanks again.

Rob

[Feydakin]

I wouldn't give up entirely.. There are a lot of very good stand alone stores out there.. The problem you have run into is that of three different stories, one of them could be completly honest, you just have no way of knowing which one at this point..

Also, non-certed stones can be very good purchases, but can also be pigs.. One way of resolving the issue is to say this...

Send the diamonds to GIA for a lab report. If it comes back as you say it is, then I buy the stone and pay for the report.. If it comes back as anything else, I don't buy the stone and you pay for the report.. Of course this may add more than a few weeks to the process, but it can tell you very quickly a lot about the diamond just by the reaction you get..