Frequently Asked Questions

I do not buy jewelry outright. But, I do provide brokering and consignment services for clients who want to rehome their jewelry. It is no charge to bring your items in to talk about consignment/brokering. It may take longer to consign and there are no promises that the items will sell, but at least we are not melting the items! You can send pictures via the CONTACT US section on our home page.  Please note: I do not consign lab-grown diamond jewelry. 

I cannot give you "street value" for you to sell your jewelry. I can provide an estimate of retail replacement or real market value. Both tend to be a higher value than what you can realize as an individual seller. I am always happy to provide services for my fees listed in the link above. But, I also don't want to charge you money that would eat into any "profit" you might make from selling your items. 

To get a real sense of what your things are "worth" to sell, I recommend taking it to a few jewelry buyers or pawn shops to see what they will offer you. This does not cost you anything except time and some travel money, and you do not have to say 'yes' to any offers.

When you first come to the appointment, I will do a quick examination of each piece to assess whether there is any damage or maintenance needed. Then the items are lightly cleaned if the materials allow for it. On standard items, it takes me about 45 minutes per piece to get the information I need for an appraisal (measurements, pictures, and other details). You are allowed to hang out while I do the work. Most people will drop items off, get coffee or run an errand and pick them up a bit later. You are also welcome to leave items with me and come back another day. 

If you really want more than 2-3 items back the same day, I would like to say 'yes', but it depends on the work load I have that day/week. Contact me and we can discuss a good day to get your items back to you same-day.

Reports are usually done within a week. Appraisals may take longer, depending on the amount of items and complexity of each piece. 

I can get items back to you the same day, but because of my work load, I cannot guarantee a finished appraisal the same day. 

For 2-3 items, I can take the information I need and get the items back to you the same day. Reports are usually done within a week. Appraisals reports may take longer, depending on the amount of items and complexity of each piece. 

Yes.

I do appraisals for the purpose of insurance coverage (I do not provide insurance). I also do estate appraisals for the purposes of equitable distribution or probate/estate tax. I do not do appraisals for dissolution/divorce, or disputes. 

I also provide sorting services, billed as Verbal Evaluation, for estates or inherited jewelry without official paperwork. These services are most common for people that are preparing their estate and want to divide items equally or they have inherited items and are not sure what is real/costume or just want to know more about the items. 

Fees for these services can be found in the Services Price List.

I cannot:

• Evaluate anything other than jewelry or gemstones
• Identify/evaluate rough or uncut gems and minerals/rocks
• Determine certain gemstone treatments that require large and expensive equipment found at labs like the Gemological Institute of America
• Tell you what to sell your items for or what they are worth at "street value"
• Source jewelry or gemstones for you
• Repair jewelry, replace or recut gems, replace batteries in or repair watches
• BUT - I may have a recommendation for these things, so feel free to contact me and ask!

Please reach out via text or the Contact Us form on the home page! 

Jewelry is a mystery that I love helping people solve! So, don't hesitate to contact me. I understand that appraisal and/or valuation needs can be complex and varied. So, reach out and we will see if I can help in any way. I look forward to meeting you and your jewelry!