The fam has some gold and diamond jewelry that we would like appraised, but all the certified gemologists around here charge quite a chunk per item or a big chunk per hour to perform their services.
Would a jewelry store in a mall be any better?What do you consider to be “a big chunk?” We charge $40/item. For a competent appraisal, we’re on the low end of the scale.
why do you need it appraised? Insurance? Makes a big difference.
The ones around here charge much more than that, more like $75 or more per item, or $150 for half an hour…maybe that would be doable if they could assess all the items in that amount of time. I’ll have to think about it.
It is just in case we want to sell this jewelry some time. Not an insurance matter.
Your major problem will be that a typical appraisal is for “insurance replacement.” What you could sell the item for is quite often 15-25% of that figure.
I wonder now if I should just wait for one of those jewelry-buying companies to come around to the local hotels, as they do every few months for a few days (like a conference) and take the items to them instead.