Gemstone appraisal: what it is and what it is not

A gemstone appraisal is a signed opinion of what a stone or a piece of jewelry is worth, written for a stated purpose on a stated date. A lab report is a different document: it says what the stone is — natural or laboratory-grown, treated or not, sometimes where it formed — and gives no price at all. Most owners need the report first, then the kind of appraisal that fits the job.

Three different things

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GIA says plainly that it does not certify or appraise anything submitted to it. Its reports describe identity and quality; appraisers use that information to arrive at a value. The same holds for other labs: the report is evidence, not a price.

One stone, several values

The figure an appraiser gives depends on why you are asking, which is why the American Gem Society tells owners to agree the purpose up front. The common ones:

• Insurance (retail replacement) value — what it would cost to replace the piece with a similar one at retail. Usually the highest figure.
• Fair market value — in the IRS's definition, the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on, with neither required to act and both reasonably informed. Estates, donations and family divisions use it. It is usually lower than retail.
• Liquidation value — what the piece would fetch if it had to be sold quickly. Lower again.

A ring can carry all three figures at once without anyone being wrong. Trouble starts when a number made for one purpose is used for another — an insurance figure quoted as a selling price, for example.

What a proper appraisal contains

• The date, your name and the purpose, including which type of value is given.
• A detailed description: species and variety, weight (measured, or estimated if the stone stayed in its mount — and saying which), measurements, shape and cut, color, clarity and any treatment.
• The number, lab and date of any lab report relied on.
• Photographs.
• The value, and the market it refers to.
• Limiting conditions and disclosures — for example, that origin was not tested.
• The appraiser's signature and qualifications.

A one-line price on shop letterhead is not an appraisal anyone else will rely on.

How an appraiser gets to a number

A good appraiser works from evidence, not instinct. For colored stones that usually means recent sales of comparable stones — same variety, similar weight, color, treatment and origin, with reports from comparable labs — adjusted to the market the value refers to: retail for insurance, the open market for fair market value. Where comparable sales are scarce, an honest appraisal says so rather than presenting a guess as a fact. The American Gem Society tells owners to expect a method that fits the appraisal's purpose and answers to their questions; ask how the value was reached.

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Red flags

• The appraisal was written by the shop that sold you the piece, on the day you bought it. The shop is not independent, and a generous number makes its price look like a bargain.
• A value with no real description of the stone. A figure that could be attached to any ruby protects nobody.
• A fee calculated as a percentage of the value.
• The appraiser offers to buy the piece.
• No mention of treatment, or of the lab report the value relies on.

Choosing an appraiser

Look for both halves of the job: gemology and appraisal.

• Gemological training, such as GIA's Graduate Gemologist diploma or Gem-A's diploma, which carries the FGA title. GIA itself points out that it does not certify its graduates, so "GIA certified" is loose wording.
• Appraisal training and a professional body with an ethics code and recertification — for example the American Society of Appraisers' gems and jewelry discipline, the American Gem Society's Certified Gemologist Appraiser title, or, in the UK, the Institute of Registered Valuers of the National Association of Jewellers. In the US, look for an appraiser who works to USPAP, whose Standards 7 and 8 cover personal property.
• Independence. The appraiser should not be buying or selling the stone.
• A fee that isn't tied to the value — flat or hourly, agreed in writing. For US tax appraisals of donated property, a fee based on the appraised value means the appraisal is not a qualified appraisal.

What it costs

Appraisers set their own fees, usually per item or per hour; ask for the price in writing before you hand anything over. Lab fees are published. GIA's colored-stone identification report for a stone under two carats costs $75; for ruby, sapphire, emerald and a few other species, the version with a geographic-origin opinion costs $90 (schedule effective October 1, 2026). Other labs publish their own fees.

Plan to refresh an insurance appraisal. GIA's appraisal guide notes that many appraisers suggest every two to three years, and your insurer may set its own rule.

Free and online appraisals

A photograph cannot show whether a stone is natural, treated or lab-grown, so an online "appraisal" is at best a rough range. A free valuation from someone who wants to buy the stone is an offer, not an appraisal. In tourist markets, Bangkok included, a free "valuation" offered alongside a sale deserves particular caution.

Which document does your situation need?

Whatever the purpose, check a lab report against the issuing lab's own records before anyone builds a value on it — here is how.

What Everystone does about it

Everystone is not an appraiser and doesn't set values. It keeps the documents filed with the stone they describe:

• The passport holds a stone's lab reports, cross-checked against the issuing lab's records, next to its valuation history — so a valuation stays attached to the stone it was made for.
• For stones in custody (Tier 2, $30,000 and up), an annual valuation update is part of the 3.5% yearly subscription, and the insurance is tied to that valuation — see custody.
• For any stone, a Registry record is free. Once its report number is confirmed with the issuing lab, it is labeled "paper cross-checked": the report has been checked, the stone has not been examined.

Every fee is on the pricing page.