Jewelry Appraisals

Protecting your valuable jewelry with insurance is important, but, to insure your jewelry you need to have it appraised by a qualified appraiser. 

At Images Jewelers we are trained appraisers and members of the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. (NAJA)

We perform 3 types of appraisals for clients.

Fair Market Value

The Fair Market Value is essentially how much your item would be worth in its current condition should it be sold in the general market. The FMV is not necessarily the amount that you paid for the piece. Instead, imagine your jewelry is a car and you have standard insurance. If you get into an accident, the insurance company will typically pay out the current value of a similar car on the market (same make and model, similar mileage, same year, etc.).

Replacement Value

The Replacement Value reflects the cost to reproduce your piece using new materials. This value may be higher than the FMV since it takes into account the cost of labor to recreate the lost item and the retail fees associated with new pieces. This is the most common appraisal for jewelry insurance purposes, but the premium may be higher than it would be using the FMV.

Liquidation Value

This is fairly rare for formal appraisals, but you've likely encountered it if you've ever approached a jeweler about selling your jewelry. The Liquidation Value is the closeout sale amount for your jewelry - how much you could get for it if you needed to sell RIGHT NOW. Usually it reflects the melt value of the metals and the wholesale cost of any gemstones and does not factor in the goldsmith labor or retail overhead.

To find out how we can help with your appraisal needs, please contact us 574-264-2040.