Uncomfortable taking your jewelry to the mall for a fine jewelry appraisal?
Or, sending your fine jewelry or antique pieces out for appraisal only to receive them weeks or months later?
Look To Copeland Jewelers For Fine Jewelry Appraisals
We provide these services by appointment for both contemporary and vintage jewelry and watches. Austinites have been entrusting us to perform detailed fine jewelry appraisals for them for over 40 years.
At Copeland Jewelers we are:
- Quick
- Local
- Convenient
- Trusted for over 40 years
We take the utmost care in supplying you with a written appraisal that meets the strict requirements of insurance companies. You can take our jewelry appraisal to the bank, an insurance company, or your estate professional.
Jewelry Appraisal Pricing
We appraise single items or entire collections.
For most items, our fee begins at $150 for the first appraised item and $75 for each additional item.
However, more complicated pieces, like those with lots of different stones of different shapes and sizes, will be quoted a fee before the work is done.
Not Sure If Some of Your Items Are Genuine or Worth Appraising?
- Our verbal appraisal fee is $150 per hour. Bring in a whole box or just one item and we will pro-rate the hourly fee.
- Get quick advice on whether your items are valuable enough to pay for appraisal services.
- Find out what kind of stones you have and if they’re genuine.
- We can tell you what kind of metals you have.
- We may even be able to tell you some history about the jewelry designer or the era it came from.
What Are the Most Common Types of Appraisals?
The most common is the Insurance or Replacement Value Appraisals used for insurance purposes.
With this type of appraisal, we will provide you with a written appraisal with a copy for you and one for your insurance company. Based on this appraisal, your insurance company will cover your fine jewelry for the amounts listed.
An over-inflated appraisal does you no favors. If your appraisal is too high you will be overpaying on your insurance premiums. If your appraisal is too low you will find it difficult to replace your lost or stolen items.
When Do You Need an Estate/Fair Market Value Appraisal?
You want to sell your jewelry to another individual.
Required for charitable donations above $5000.
When you have an estate to endow to others. When bestowing jewelry to heirs you’ll likely need to know the value of the pieces. Now you’ll have factual knowledge of the amount you’re gifting to each person. And, they’ll know better how to handle the jewelry gifted to them. Plus, if it’s valuable enough to insure they’ll already have an appraised insurance value.
With this service we provide you with a written appraisal suitable for legal purposes.
Do You Need a Rider?
Do you need a Rider added to your policy to cover individual items with an appraisal for each item? Depending on your insurance policy and the cost of your fine jewelry, you may be required to consider this option. Talking with your insurance representative fills in details about when you need to get a Rider. It’s usually based on dollar amounts.
We Appraise More Than Just Diamonds
If you love those special colored gemstones as much as we do, then we are the folks for your appraisal needs. As a fine jewelry boutique for over 40 years we’ve been specializing in colored gemstones from the beginning. For that reason, we are more capable of appraising your favorite tourmaline, tsavorite or special sapphire. For us, it’s about so much more than just diamonds!
Grading Scales and Calculations
All of our diamond and color clarity grades are per the GIA, Gemological Institute of America, the most trusted in the country.
- COLOR & CLARITY grades and STONE WEIGHTS will be approximate because …
- Per industry standard, we grade stones while mounted in their settings unless otherwise stated. Consequently, it is possible for settings to hide inclusions that affect clarity and also make color judgment very difficult.
- Unless otherwise stated, all stone WEIGHTS are calculated by measurement and formula while stones are mounted in their settings, making it difficult to provide exact weights.
You run the risk of damaging a stone every time you remove or set it. So, even though it may be difficult, appraisers normally grade stones in their settings. We both take a risk when removing and re-setting a stone and it’s not a decision to be made lightly. Therefore, we charge a removal and setting fee for this service.
Because natural pearls are so uncommon these days, all pearls appraised are considered cultured unless otherwise stated. Freshwater pearls on their own are usually not valuable enough to warrant appraisal.
Current Replacement Costs
Unless otherwise stated, all replacement appraisal estimates reflect current replacement cost of the item or items, in new condition, within the Austin, Texas area on the date of the estimate. That’s one reason it’s important to update your appraisal about every five years for current replacement values.
*Be aware, that while gemology is a science, appraising is an informed opinion based on the knowledge, experience, and expertise of the appraiser. Prices may vary a bit from one appraiser to another depending on their knowledge of the marketplace and the database used in making a replacement estimate.