Appraisal Services

A jewelry appraisal is an assessment of a single piece of jewelry, providing a description, gemstone identities, measurements and weight estimations, diamond grading information, photos, and an estimated value. The type of value differs depending on the intended use of the appraisal.

It’s important to remember that these gemstone details are estimations and may not be exact due to the limitations of the mounting.

At Maejean Vintage, we appraise jewelry for three main purposes:

Insurance Replacement- This appraisal value is used by insurance companies to determine your premium, ensuring your piece is covered for up to the estimated value.

Fair Market Value For IRS Tax Purposes- This appraisal value is used in the case of a deceased individual’s estate settlement requirements.

Fair Market Value For Equitable Distribution Purposes - This appraisal value is used in cases where an individual wants to know values of their jewelry in order to equally “divvy” out their pieces to loved ones.

Yes. It is recommended to update your appraisal every 3 to 5 years. With the fluctuations in the gold market and the influence of lab grown diamonds in the diamond industry, among other factors, it’s very important to keep your appraisals up-to-date.

When we perform an appraisal on an item purchased at Maejean Vintage, the value listed represents the cost to purchase something similar specifically from MJV, rather than researching the broader secondary market, as would be done for other vintage items. Both report types contain the same detailed information about the item being appraised.

There are multiple options of companies to insure your jewelry. It’s always most beneficial to use a company that understands jewelry appraisals and diamond grading language. You can check with your homeowner’s insurance company and / or Jeweler’s Mutual.

For insurance replacement, we recommend appraising items valued at $1,000 and up. This is a personal preference based upon how much you are willing to pay out of pocket to replace it.

No. We do appraise jewelry from out-of-state, but only if brought to us in-person. We do not appraise jewelry from outside the United States. Please contact us (kristanwinand@maejeanvintage.com) if you wish to mail items for appraisal, so that the appraiser can contact you with further information.

Typically, an appraisal is not for resale purposes. Many times, your buyer will be a business who purchases jewelry for resale on the secondary retail market or for scrap purposes. The amount of money you will get for it is significantly less than what was originally paid, even from what that item is currently selling for new. The cost of an appraisal will greatly reduce the amount you will make on your sale. The amount the buyer is willing to pay is up to them, making the value on an appraisal obsolete. The best suggestion is to take your jewelry to multiple reputable buyers to get quotes to compare for consideration.

Currently, we offer appointments to bring in your jewelry. In most cases, we get all of the information we need to write your appraisal while you are here with us. At this time, our turnaround time on the final report for up to 3 pieces of jewelry is 2 to 3 weeks. If you're coming from out of town, we can ship the appraisal report to you upon completion. For more than 3 pieces, please email kristanwinand@maejeanvintage.com to make special arrangements.