SERVICES WE PROVIDE
We will do our best to be flexible to your needs and comfort level.
- WHILE YOU WAIT SERVICE: You never have to leave your jewelry. An appointment is required for while you wait services.
- DROP OFF SERVICE: No appointment is necessary. We will schedule to return the items in a timely fashion. You will receive a complete itemized list of the items you leave. For your confidence and peace of mind your items will be secured and locked in a safe with 24 hr. security.
- MAINTAIN DOCUMENTATION: In addition to your formal appraisal, we maintain all information in our database for up to ten years. This will be helpful should you lose your information, need an update.
- YOUR APPRAISAL PAPERS: We will produce one original report and supply you with a full set of copies. The report takes approximately one week to complete from the day we finish retrieving the information for the appraisal.
When you bring your items of jewelry to our lab, we will perform the following procedures:
- Thorough cleaning and inspection. If any repairs are needed you will be notified. Most Insurance companies require the jewelry to be in sound condition and if repairs are needed your insurance company will most likely require you to have the jewelry repaired before the item is insured.
- Mounted stones: are measured and an estimated weight is given. They are not removed from the mounting.
- Loose stones are weighed.
- Diamonds: grade stones for color, clarity and cutting. Stones that are 0.50 or more we plot inclusions in order to re-identify in future (finger-printing).
- Colored stones: Color description, estimated weight. On larger stones we do a Gem Identification to determine the physical properties of the stone and whether it is natural or synthetic and if treated when possible.
- Acid testing on mountings to determine fineness of gold or platinum only when needed or if the marking are questionable.
- Determine value (retail replacement, resale, and liquidation)
- Color photographs for identification
- Explain anything pertaining to the item that a client might not understand.
When grading your jewelry, we make use of the following equipment:
- Binocular Microscope (10x-105x)
- 10x Loupe
- Leveridge Gauge
- Refractometer
- Non destructive Acid test for gold finess and AuRacle AGT3
- Polariscope
- Dichroscope
- Ultra-Violet lamps to test for fluorescence
- Electronic carat scale
- Fiber-Optic Light
- GIA gem set for color stone analysis.
- Gemdialogue color charts
- GIA master diamonds and Austron machine for grading color of diamonds.
- Table Gauge
- Digital camera
- Digital calipers
- Electronic gram/dwt/oz scale
- GIA iD100 diamond tester
- other equipment is available through off sight network