Jewelry appraisal is anything but simple, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be stressful. At Travis Jewelers, we have a team of expert jewelers who work every day to make the world of jewelry appraisal a little less daunting. We pride ourselves on helping our clients make the right choices when it comes to their jewelry, and that starts with education. 

Let’s Start With The Basics

How Does Jewelry Appraisal Work?

An appraisal is when an expert jeweler (like us) inspects a piece of jewelry or a precious stone to determine its value and authenticity. Once the piece has been appraised, it’s value has been professionally secured. Even if you already had a rough idea of how much it was worth, the security that comes with this professional guarantee is very important. In fact, it can even boost the value of your piece! 

Appraisals are essential for insurance purposes, for the sale of a piece of a high-value jewelry, and for the involvement of this piece in a legal proceeding. The creation of wills is perhaps the most common legal document that demands an air-tight valuation take place. 

After the appraisal process is over, you will receive documents to verify your appraisal. These documents are valid for a period of 3 years and are very important in the event that you decide to sell your piece. However, the value of your piece is a function of the market value of the materials that compose it, and markets fluctuate. Commodity markets for precious metals have been known for their volatility, so it is best that you get your valuable pieces appraised every 3 years. 

What Is GIA?

The Gemological Institute of America is the foremost authority on diamonds and gemstones. They serve to ensure the public trust in the gemstones and diamonds by upholding rigorous codes of integrity and professionalism in their work. An appraisal from GIA’s laboratories for diamond and gem certification is 100% secure, making it very valuable. 

Unfortunately, individual owners of diamonds, gems, or other valuable pieces of jewelry cannot bring their stones directly to GIA for an appraisal. That’s where we come in… 

We have GIA-Certified graduate gemologists working on-site as staff members. That means that, when you come to Travis Jewelers, there should be no question that you are working with industry experts. We have the facilities, the training, skills, and experience to provide you with an appraisal that you can take to the bank.

Some stones, such as colored diamonds, may require additional testing. We have an inside line to the gem labs at GIA, and we would be happy to employ their expertise to help ensure that your diamond or stone receives the best possible valuation. You can expect 100% reliability, and fully insured shipping as your piece passes from our hands to GIA, and back again. In all our decades on the job, we have never once misplaced a stone.

When Would I Need A GIA Appraisal?

At Travis Jewelers, our appraisal services are completely reliable and very much sought-after, but in some cases, we may recommend that our clients opt for an official GIA evaluation. Doing so comes with an additional fee, but it can only help you. 

In particular, if your gem or diamond is tinted with certain color, we will recommend that you have your stone appraised by GIA. If the technicians working in the GIA laboratories “officially” label it as being that color, the value of your stone can increase by a factor of 10 overnight. 

Our Appraisal Process

Travis Jewelers runs on trust and transparency. We are here to ensure that you understand exactly what your piece is worth, and that you take the necessary steps to protect that worth. 

We can perform first-time appraisals, or we can update existing appraisals; this will not affect the price. When updating existing appraisals, we go by the “trust but verify” policy. This way, when you leave our shop, you can have absolute peace of mind.