If this is the case in this instance, the jeweler PROBABLY just paid for the scrap gold content of the ring. Many pawn shops will not buy colored stone rings for this reason.
You should actually read the story. 
The ring was platinum, not
gold, and the stones were diamonds.
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
What's the difference who valued it? With diamonds in a platinum setting, surely its value is substantially more than $140.
I put it to you thereâs a very real difference. Is this valuation
from an impartial seasoned expert or is it the claim of a victim who
smells money? Or something else entirely? You donât suppose the
following scenario is at all possibleâŚresident hires Maid Services
company, customer complains ring is missing during time maid was in
house. Company says theyâll make good. Customer says off the top of
her head ring was â$42K and Iâd like cash pleaseâ. Maid company says
ânot so fast we have to file a police report and submit a claim to
insuranceâ. When pressed by police customer recants, maybe she was
wrong and its a lot less money(hence the lack of felony arrest),
sheâd be happy to just get the ring back, which eventually it is
returned. BUT the website has picked up the story and decides the 42
makes a better headline because it sets up an emotional response in
the reader.
Iâm not saying the previous IS the scenario, just thatâs its
plausible and changes the context of the jewelerâs payment of $140.
I mean just look at some of the other headlines thereâŚ
âMan Shoots Prostitute In Back Because She Got Tiredâ
âUnderwear Chicken Dare Puts Man In Hospitalâ
âCourt Detains Preacher With 86 Wivesâ
Yessiree Bob, you betcha, thatâs hi grade professional journalism
there doncha knowâŚ
So whatâs your point neil? My point is the website is
sensationalist, its quite obvious if one takes a moment to look
around, and therefor the on it is suspect at best. My
point is that before someone gets publicly condemned(at the cost of
his livelihood perhaps) its wise to remember some basic social and
legal principles. Like, âwe donât lynch people anymoreâ. My point is
that public response on this is Pavlovian. Jeweler automatically to
blame. Based on whatâŚan unsubstantiated claim of value. The website
is designed to promote angry responses, thatâs the money making
schtik. Its not news, its entertainment. If the headline was, âWoman
stole $4,200 Ring, sold it for $140â it wouldnât have quite the same
impact, would it? Wouldnât sell the advertising, would it?
I donât know if this jeweler is engaged in the business of stolen
property or not. If this fellow is crooked by all means let him
suffer the consequences. I think its shameful that so many people are
all too eager to pillory him before they even determine the facts. If
they base their judgement solely on a questionable source(I didnât
see any backup in the article such as âappraised atâ or even
âcustomer stated valueââŚnothing)âŚwhat the hell does that says
about their judgement?
Seems to me that the jeweler is every bit as guilty as the (other) thief. I completely agree..... Too bad they didn't publicize his name and the name of his store.
Exactly why I didnât post the link to the jewelers website(in
reference to his CZ oriented business). Iâm not going to contribute
to the potential damage. Hey, I found his company name and his
website and Iâm really technology challenged, so could anybody. Could
there be a reason his name was NOT published?
If untrue, the we were only discussing a probable situation.
Except that this a real guy somewhere who may suffer seriously from
the way the article is presented. Thereâs no, âand no charges were
filed against the jewelerâ or âjeweler was arrestedâ⌠its just left
hanging, open to an emotional interpretation, which is what the
website wants. Suppose this was about YOU? ( a very generic you, not
you in particular, although that too). Suppose you had a situation
and it was tried in the court of public opinion? You may or may not
clear your name in court but your reputation has been damaged by
insinuation and conjecture.
Iâm not saying he is innocent, only that the article doesnât give
enough info for a fair minded person to judge it.
Amery -
After 22 years in business, my boss knows that there can be
âsellerâs regretâ, AND there is some requirement of state law that
demands the âholding timeâ. I donâ[t think the state law requires 30
days, though [different requirement for licensed jewelers vs
pawnbrokers]- I think he does it out of his sense of customer
relations. [Sometimes boyfriends sell girlfriendâs jewelry, and
girlfriends want to buy it backâŚthere are some social/legal shady
areas, and he tries to accomodate that.] Every purchase of 'estateâ
jewelry requires the recording of a drivers license and sellerâs
phone number.
In our area, there are extended families, where the majority are,
um, not respectable, but one or two are. Itâs not always easy to tell
what is truly theft, and what is a family matter. When a girl with no
job and a tatooed boyfriend comes in twice a week with gold jewelry
to sell, and they hide the vehicle they arrive inâŚthatâs the packet
that my boss may hold for a year, waiting for the police or a
straight-arrow relative to show up asking about it. (The sister came
in to buy back motherâs ring and earrings.) Then thereâs the
common-law couple who have occasional fallings-outâŚis it theft when
one comes in to sell a ring or necklace?
In one case this month, he called the police about a sale he thought
was âhotâ. Yes, it was. The police took his statement, got a DVD of
the video camera recordings, and called the victim in to identify her
jewelry. But the woman would not press charges against her
granddaughter. No charges, therefore no âtheftâ.
None of the above involved diamonds and platinum, however. But if it
doesnât sit right with my boss, he will not send off the rings for
scrap. And in the buying mode of high-value items, he gently gives
the seller the 3rd degree, to evaluate how their story matches up
with the circumstantial evidence.
Besides, who in the jewelry business would be so stupid as to not
realize that the scrap purchase value of a platinum ring with
diamonds is only worth $140? [Do the math on the spot price of
platinum in a standard ring, and the value of even an eye-clean
diamond(s)âŚitâs much more than $140, even with a substantial
buyerâs discountâŚwhatâs that tell you about the jeweler?]
I have never understood an "Insurance replacement appraisal" as opposed to a Regular true appraisal. That is out and out Insurance fraud. It's alright to steel as long as it's from an Insurance Co. In the end, we all pay.
For those that do not know or understand appraisal practices, please
go to www.americangemregistry.com and find the heading appraisal
services at the bottom, then on the left side, types of appraisals:
insurance replacement or fair market value.I am not sure what a
Regular true appraisal is. The purpose of an insurance replacement
appraisal is to protect the insured so they are made whole if and
when they suffer a loss. There is a standard for documenting so there
is no doubt as to what the jewelry item is comprised of so a monetary
value can be assigned.
Richard Hart G.G.
Jewelers Gallery
Denver, Co.
I have never understood an "Insurance replacement appraisal" as opposed to a Regular true appraisal.
Well, see every appraisal report should be written, and is written
for a different market. A customer might go to an independent
appraiser and say, Iâm thinking of selling this at auction, how much
might I get for them?
Then the appraiser does that type of appraisal.
And for insurance, people have home owners, where most jewelry is
covered (unless itâs very expensive), and they might have insurance
replacement - new, or insurance replacement - used.
So your DVD player is stolen, will your insurance company give you a
new one or a used one? Or a check for the amount equal to that.
Some people are quite disappointed to find they have the used type
of coverage and didnât realize it. An appraisal should always state
the purpose of the report, as well as the market used in the
valuation. A dollar amount is meaningless without knowing what market
is being talked about.
You should actually read the story. ;-) The ring was platinum, not gold, and the stones were diamonds.
Ah but who says itâs either?
The hack who wrote the story? The Police chief who wouldnât know
silver from white gold from platinum or a chunk of CZ from a diamond?
The insurance appraiser who will put anything in an appraisal?
Or what if this is truly the case⌠The owner who was told that this
fine heirloom Jewelry was a platinum ring with diamonds her
grandfather bought her grandmother? And saw one just like it in a
catalog for only 42K, but didnât know the old boy was conned into
buying a Gold alloy that just happened to be white with a Herkimer
Diamond⌠Who is to say that YOU are not the person behind the
counter and an individual comes into the store and wants to sell
it⌠what is itâs value? Basically scrap goldâŚ
None of us here has anywhere near enough to call anyone
an idiot or thief⌠(Although I have serious doubts about the
person who wrote this stealing the title of journalistâŚ
Neilthejeweler, very well said. We all need to look at things from
every angle before jumping to conclusions. Good investigating on your
part. Thanks for the insight.
Linda Lankford
I have never understood an "Insurance replacement appraisal" as opposed to a Regular true appraisal. That is out and out Insurance fraud.
Iâm not a certified appraiser, but many people misunderstand what an
appraisal means - most people, maybe. The fact that appraisers are
licensed is so that there is recourse against someone insuring
something that doesnât exist - insuring a million dollar ring that
you donât really have, claiming it lost, and collecting on it. Some
of the same reasons as why contractors are licensed. Then, when an
insurance appraisal is made for a piece, that appraisal is not the
value of the piece. It is a budget for replacement, almost always
with inflation built into it. Without some cushion, youâd have to
redo the appraisal every year. Then you pay premiums based on that
amount, and then if you do file a claim the insurance company will
replace the item at the best price it can find. They will NOT cut
you a check for a million dollars - if they can find the same thing
for 1/2 the price, thatâs what theyâll do.
A while back I had some involvement with a client working for a
woman who took off her ring to put lotion on her hands, putting the
ring in her lap. Then she got up and walked away⌠It was an 11
carat diamond insured for $600k. Insurance said, âYou go find a
ring, and weâll pay for it.â She found something she liked more than
the original, for around 30-40% less than the appraisal, and thatâs
what she got, and thatâs what insurance paid. Plus she never saw the
money - they paid the seller directly. There IS insurance fraud, but
theyâre not stupid, either.
John,
The fact that appraisers are licensed is so that there is recourse against someone insuring something that doesn't exist
Iâm not sure what the laws are in California but there are no
licensing requirements where I am for jewelry appraisers. For that
matter I havenât read about any jewelry appraisers having to be
licensed anywhere (but maybe CA is different).
Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
Ah but who says it's either?
The hack who wrote the story?
Thereâs been a kind of undercurrent on this thread, and a couple
have said it outright, that the story was posted on a âtwo-headed
catâ website, which it was. If you look at the posting, though, it
says, âSee the whole story here.â Which link goes to the local
newspaperâs website - a bona fide reporter and a bone fide newspaper.
It doesnât come from the hack site, they just reprinted it. Further
research also finds that the citation issued is not just a traffic
ticket, and that a warrant was issued for the thiefâs arrest - I
donât remember the trail I followed to find those things, but I did,
the other day. Nothing I could find about the jewelry store and their
legal situation, but this is not a national story, either.
You should actually read the story.
gold, and the stones were diamonds.
Ah but who says it's either?
I stand by my comment. The message I replied to said explicitly that
it was gold and colored stones. I donât mind betting that he hadnât
read the story.
This entire discussion is in context of the report, because no other
context is known to us at this time.
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
I'm not sure what the laws are in California but there are no licensing requirements where I am for jewelry appraisers.
Daniel, Iâm not an appraiser, thought we will write up something we
made ourselves. But yes, here in California there is a certification
process. I donât know the details because I havenât done itâŚ