Looking to get a jewelry appraisal in Santa Barbara, CA? If you are a fan of TV shows like Storage Wars, you might have been misled about the value of your Santa Barbara estate jewelry.
You probably have seen someone on TV stumble upon an old jewelry box and are shocked to find a large carat diamond ring. They then quickly head to a diamond appraiser to see just how much the jewelry is worth. After the commercial, we see the jewelry appraiser tell them that the replacement value of their diamond ring is $30,000!
Viewers at home say to themselves, “Wow! What a jackpot” And the show plays along and encourages this illusion of a huge cash windfall. Why is it an illusion? Because in reality, the previously-owned diamond ring is worth only a fraction of that $30k price tag.
In this Santa Barbara Jewelry Buyer article, we will explain the true value and help you get the Santa Barbara jewelry appraisal that you need.
Santa Barbara Jewelry Appraisers Offer 2 Two Types of Appraisals
What the television show doesn’t tell Santa Barbara viewers is that fine jewelry appraisers offer two types of jewelry appraisals: one involving replacement value; the other involving resale (or market) value.
A replacement value jewelry appraisal in Santa Barbara reveals the cost of the estate jewelry if you were to walk into a jewelry store today and buy the item new.
A market value jewelry appraisal in Santa Barbara reveals the price that item would fetch if you were to try to resell your estate jewelry to another person or business, such as an Santa Barbara Jewelry Buyer.
When a Santa Barbara jewelry appraiser conducts a market value appraisal, they must take into account factors such as current fashion trends; market demand in Santa Barbara (and nationwide); condition of the fine jewelry, and most importantly the mark-ups that occurred as the fine jewelry was taken from a low manufacturing wholesale price to a high retail price tag (i.e. the replacement value). After all these things are taken into consideration, it is easy to understand why a Santa Barbara market appraisal is going to be much lower than a replacement appraisal.
In the case of our reality show star with the diamond ring appraised at $30,000, the reality is that they might only get around $7,500 for it when trying to sell it to another buyer in Santa Barbara, CA.
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Why Would a Santa Barbara Jewelry Appraiser Mislead Us?
Santa Barbara jewelry appraisers don’t intentionally provide misleading appraisals. When it comes to television appraisals, the jewelry appraisers have undoubtedly been asked by the show’s producers to provide a replacement value appraisal. They do this simply because it makes for better television.
However, if you are not careful, you could inadvertently receive a wrong type of Santa Barbara jewelry appraisal. When that happens, it can be crushing to discover that something you thought was worth tens of thousands of dollars is only worth a fraction of that amount on the Santa Barbara resale market.
Be aware that upwards of 90% of Santa Barbara jewelry appraisals are for insurance purposes. When Santa Barbara jewelry appraisers provide appraisals for homeowner’s insurance, for instance, they always give the replacement value. This is because Santa Barbara insurance companies need to know how much your piece of estate jewelry will cost to replace in event of a robbery, a fire, etc.
How to Choose a Santa Barbara Jewelry Appraiser
While it is important to understand the difference between replacement and market value jewelry appraisals, you should also know how to go about getting an accurate market value appraisal in Santa Barbara.
When choosing a Santa Barbara jewelry appraiser for your fine jewelry, you want to be sure you deal with someone who is a both a qualified gemologist & and an experienced fine jeweler.
There are basically two types of qualified gemologists among Santa Barbara jewelry appraisers: the first is someone who has graduated from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This person is referred to as a “Graduate Gemologist” (or “G.G.”) and is credited as having developed a high level of proficiency.
The second type of qualified gemologist is an experienced Santa Barbara estate jeweler who has acquired the same knowledge through many years of hands-on experience as a dealer of diamonds, gemstones, and fine jewelry. Besides these credentials, you also want to check the Santa Barbara jewelry appraiser’s experience and their reputation to be certain that they have a mastery of not only diamonds, precious gemstones, and fine jewelry, but also of the current resale market.
Once you have found a Santa Barbara jewelry appraiser whom you trust, it is important that you communicate very clearly the type of jewelry appraisal you wish to receive. As mentioned, Santa Barbara jewelry appraisals for insurance purposes are the dominant type, so you could receive a replacement value appraisal when your actual intentions are to try and sell your Santa Barbara estate jewelry.
Clear communication can make all difference in understanding your jewelry’s true worth in Santa Barbara, CA.
If you would like to sell jewelry in Santa Barbara for cash or obtain a free market appraisal, our Santa Barbara jewelry appraisers provide immediate and generous cash offers on all types of gold and platinum estate jewelry. The quick and confidential process begins with a complimentary verbal jewelry appraisal, with no obligations to sell your item(s) to us.
