Jewelry Appraisals

Learn about Jewelry Appraisals

At Georgetown Jewelers, we offer various appraisal services on-site so your jewelry never leaves our premises.  We also offer appraisal services by appointment so you can be present while we appraise your pieces. Appraisals are important to keep your jewelry safe and properly insured. Having an up-to-date appraisal is important in the event of a loss or damage to your fine jewelry. We recommend having your jewelry appraised every three to five years to ensure you are fully covered under your insurance policy.

Scott, store owner and on-site appraiser, has been expertly trained through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as a Graduate Gemologist and is qualified to appraise and evaluate jewelry, watches and gemstones with precise tools to give you an accurate cost assessment and valuation. He has been appraising items for decades and would be happy to examine your items for appraisal.

We offer three types of appraisals - formal insurance appraisals, verbal sort-throughs, and estate appraisals.

Formal Insurance Appraisal
Provided with an insurance appraisal will be two copies of the formal printed document that can be submitted to your insurance agent, as well as a photograph of the piece after it has been thoroughly cleaned and polished. An estimated replacement cost and detailed description of the item is included in the appraisal, with all gemstones identified, measured, and graded.

We recommend a formal insurance appraisal for any item valued over $1,000 to ensure the item is properly protected through your insurance policy.

Georgetown Jewelers can also handle your insurance replacement needs. Our expertise in insurance matters has led us to be affiliated with State Farm Insurance as an insurance replacement representative, although we can coordinate replacement efforts with any insurance policy you may carry. See Insurance Replacement for more information.

Appraisal appointments are available for same day service for an additional fee.  Items left with us for a formal appraisal are typically completed within one week of drop-off.

For an appraisal by appointment, please call to schedule time with the Graduate Gemologist.

If you do not wish to be present for the appraisal, items for an insurance appraisal can be dropped off at any time.

Estate Appraisal
An appraisal solely for the purpose of reconciling an estate for tax reasons can also be completed for your items. If you have inherited several items from an estate, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the genuine gemstones and precious metal items from the costume jewelry. To make this task easier, the appraiser can perform a sort-through of your items and give approximate values for the genuine pieces. The estate sort-through is less costly than a complete formal appraisal on each individual item, giving you an informal estimate of the items’ worth.

Estate appraisals are charged by the quarter-hour.  Please call to schedule an appointment with the Graduate Gemologist.

Sort-Through
A box full of jewelry, especially when inherited, can be a collection of jewelry from all occasions and phases of life.  At times, it can be difficult to decipher jewelry with genuine stones and precious metals from costume jewelry.  Our appraiser can help you sort through these items.

Sort-throughs are charged by the quarter-hour. Please call to schedule an appointment with the Graduate Gemologist.

Gem Identification
Identifications of individual gemstones, whether mounted or loose, can also be done. The gemologist will run a full gamut of tests to determine the specific family or species of gemstone, whether a gemstone is synthetic or naturally grown, and if any treatments have been done on the gem. This evaluation will also include an informal approximation of the gem’s value.