How Often Should You Have Your Jewelry Appraised?

People bring us appraisals from 2004 expecting them to still hold up. Some do. Most don't. Gold and diamond prices move, insurance policies get rewritten, and a piece that was appraised for a wedding twenty years ago has usually changed hands, changed condition, or just quietly become worth a different number than what's typed on that old certificate.

Our own recommendation is simple: get a piece reappraised every five years. Not because we're trying to sell you a service you don't need. Because five years is roughly how long it takes for a market shift, a policy renewal, or a change in a piece's condition to make an old document unreliable.

Why five years, specifically

Metal and stone values don't sit still. Gold in particular can move a meaningful amount over a five-year stretch, and an appraisal written for insurance is only useful if the number on it reflects what it would actually cost to replace the piece today. If your policy pays out based on a decade-old figure, you're underinsured and you won't find that out until you need the claim.

There's also the piece itself. Prongs wear down. Clasps loosen. A stone that was eye-clean five years ago might have picked up a small chip nobody noticed. An appraisal records condition as well as value, and condition changes with wear whether or not anyone's paying attention.

What we actually appraise

People assume an appraisal only covers rings and necklaces. It's broader than that. We appraise jewelry, diamonds and gemstones on their own, and we also appraise sterling flatware and watches. If you inherited a set of sterling silver along with the jewelry, it's worth having both looked at at the same time rather than treating the silver as an afterthought.

It isn't only about insurance

Insurance is the reason most people come in, but it's not the only one. We write appraisals for estate tax evaluation, when a piece needs a documented value for settling an estate. We write them for value comparison, when someone wants to know if what they were told at the time of purchase still holds up. We write them for casualty loss, after a fire or a theft, when a value needs to be established for a claim or a tax deduction.

We also write them for dissolution of marriage, where jewelry often needs a neutral, documented value before it can be divided. And we write them when a piece is being used as collateral, or as part of a barter or trade, where both sides need a number they can trust came from someone with no stake in the outcome.

• Insurance coverage
• Estate tax evaluation
• Value comparison
• Casualty loss
• Dissolution of marriage
• Collateral
• Barter

What actually happens when you bring a piece in

We look at the piece in person. Stones get examined, metal gets weighed and tested, and any distinguishing marks or wear get noted. You walk out with something in writing that a jeweler, an insurer, or a court would all recognize as a real appraisal, not a guess written on a receipt.

If you're not sure whether your last appraisal is still good, the easiest way to find out is to bring the piece and the old paperwork in together. We'll tell you honestly whether it needs updating or whether it's still fine. Sometimes it is. We'd rather tell you that than write a new one you didn't need.

We've been doing this for four generations now, and appraising accurately isn't something we take lightly. It's the kind of work where getting it wrong costs someone real money years later, whether that's an insurance shortfall, a family disagreement over an estate, or a trade that didn't reflect what a piece was actually worth. We'd rather spend the extra few minutes getting a description right than hand back a document that only looks official.

You can reach us at (805) 925-1678, or stop by the shop on Clark Ave in Orcutt Tuesday through Saturday. If you have a quick question first, we take texts at the same number.