A store that sold you your jewelry should not appraise your jewelry.

Quite a few stores offer their customers free appraisals with their purchase. In some cases the person doing the appraisal is really a salesperson and is only transferring the stock information to a general appraisal form. A salesperson can have tendencies of inflating the expense to justify the buyers sale and make them feel good about the purchase.

Even though Heritage Appraisers operates their service inside several retail locations they are not the retail sellers. Any information and values are obtained from independent resources.

Appraisers which have not accomplished an accredited Graduate Gemologist Course.

In contrast to other appraisers, jewelry appraisers are usually not federally or nationally regulated, so any individual who wishes to hang a shingle and open for business can. These are usually people who believe because they have been doing business for some period of time, they possess the knowledge to offer credible appraisals

Heritage Appraisers are all members of The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. To be a member each appraiser must provide proof of their Graduate Gemologist degree from an accredited gemology program and three appraisals to be reviewed before becoming a member.

Avoid appraisers that charge by the measurement of your diamond

Some appraisers will tell you the size of the diamond being appraised justifies a higher fee. A client with a 2.00 carat diamond is likely to pay more than a customer with a smaller diamond.

There is no additional task required to perform the appraisal on the bigger diamond. Heritage Appraisers charges one fee regardless of the sizing of your diamond. There is no more effort involved to assess a 1.00 ct diamond than a 3.00 ct. diamond. Appraisers that charge by size are basing their prices on how much they feel you paid for the item and not the actual work required.

Steer clear of appraisers that inflate the cost of your jewelry

Ask your appraiser how he reaches the values he attaches to your appraisal.

Heritage Appraisers uses current trade information along with multiple years of experience in sales, manufacturing and repair to determine the value. Values for gemstones and diamonds are obtained from regular monthly and quarterly price lists.

Antique jewelry entails more analysis, where recent auction or hammer price could be used to help establish the value. If your appraiser is not using these methods he won't be able to present you with an correct appraisal.