Appraisals


At Jess Jewelers, we strive to offer the best of the best in appraisal and gemstone analysis services available. Therefore, we have two GIA graduate gemologists on staff and in our gemological laboratory.


Appraisals are most commonly requested for insurance, estate purposes, or simply for peace of mind, and on occasion are requested for various other purposes, such as barter, divorce or to determine the actual cash value.

On all of our appraisals, we include High-Def photography of your jewelry and also a High-Def photomicrograph of major center stones, along with an actual plot showing their individual identifying characteristics (their fingerprint).

Which Appraisal is Right for You?

Retail Replacement Value (RRV)

Most insurance companies require a Retail Replacement Value Appraisal before they will insure a piece of jewelry/personal property beyond a certain dollar amount. The value is determined either by the current researched market price of a comparable item, or derived from the research of numerous comparable retail sales in the appraiser’s locale or based on complete reproduction of like kind.

Fair Market Value (FMV)

Defined by the Treasury Regulations as “The price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having a reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.” Generally used for “Estate” purposes or simply for peace of mind. “Estate” is an umbrella term used mostly for inheritance tax appraisals used while administering an estate for tax settlement purposes or for equitable division of property (i.e., Divorce, Barter, Collateral, etc.).

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