Yes, we do appraise watches. However, we take every watch to a watch expert (horologist) within that same building as ours. He opens the back of the case and examines the watch to make sure everything is authentic. After he confirms with us his findings he will also provide us with the model and serial number of the watch. From there we will take the watch back tour office and move forward with completing the appraisal for the watch. There is an extra cost for watch appraisals and watch appraisals do take longer than the standard appraisals as well.

The process to getting an appraisal done is very simple! You must bring in the actual item you want to appraised to our lab, along with any prior documentation you have for it. You are welcome to wait and watch or come back as you please while the appraisal is being completed. Once complete we will go over the findings of our appraisal with you and answer any questions or concerns you might have at that time.

We are strictly an independent company and are not affiliated whatsoever with any jewellers, jewellery stores and any other appraisal companies.

Depends on the piece but an engagement ring appraisal for example would take no longer than 20 minutes to half hour. Watches, however would need to be left with us. See the following question and answer as to why.

Besides the item you need appraised or certified, it’s always good to bring prior appraisals or any record of the item. This helps us cross reference our findings and come up with a more precise appraisal or certification. Especially if it’s a diamond for example that’s already set in a ring.

Yes, we do have a charge for our appraisal service and other services as well such as laser inscriptions on diamonds.

There are few types of appraisals we can provide for you depending on why you needed the appraisal. The most common appraisal for insurance would be “Retail Replacement Value (New)”. We can also provide: Liquidation Value appraisal Fair Market Value appraisal Wholesale Value appraisal Estate Value appraisal.

An appraisal can be used for a few functions. It is primarily used to insure the item with an insurance company to protect against theft, loss or damage. An appraisal can also be used for verification purposes against your purchase, traveling purposes and also if the owner wanted to re-sell the item the appraisal would be an excellent way to show the buyer what they would potentially be purchasing.

An appraisal can be used for many purposes as mentioned above and can also be used as a travel document as well. However, a travel document cannot be used as an appraisal and is a very brief explanation of the jewellery item along with a picture of the item which is signed and dated before travel. Multiple items can be added on one travel document which eliminates the need to bring each individual appraisal of the item you might want to bring on the trip with you. It is a good idea to have proof of ownership of all your items while traveling in case of loss or to present to customs if you are asked where it was purchased on your re-entry.

We do a lot of appraisals for people who have multiple items, have inherited jewellery, estates and divorce cases. In some cases the client does not know what is real, what’s not, what’s worth appraising and what’s not worth appraising. We would encourage you to bring anything in that you are curious about, we would take a look and separate the items we deem to be worth appraising from the items we deem not worth appraising. At that point it is up to the client as to which or how many items they would like to get appraised. The items we deem not to be worth appraising we would not charge for that service.

Yes, you may watch and wait while the appraisal is being done in most instances. Sometimes however especially for coloured gem stones the gemologist might need to keep the item for further testing, at that point it’s your decision to leave the item with us so that we can do a thorough identification.

No, we cannot or do not conduct any appraisals over the phone or through email without having the item to be appraised in our possession at our office.

Since our establishment in 2003, all of our appraisals have been and are accepted by insurance companies. We have not had any issues or heard of any issues in which our appraisals were not accepted. In fact, some insurance companies recommend our company to their clients when they need to get appraisals done on their items.

No, we only provide the appraisal which breaks down the specifications of your piece of jewellery, the current value and picture(s). It is up to you then to take that appraisal provided to you and to call any insurance company you prefer and negotiate your insurance coverage for that piece of jewellery. The insurance company will ask you to email or fax the appraisal to them and base your coverage according to the information provided on the appraisal.

Yes, you definitely can ship an item to us and once the appraisal is completed we can ship the item along with the appraisal back to you. We would ask that before you do ship anything please let us know through phone or email so that we can expect your shipment. However, we do not take responsibility for any lost items while the item is being shipped to or from our office. We prefer using FedEx and have never had any issues with anything missing during shipment but once again this is ultimately the client’s decision to make.