If you sent us a request between 28 July and 5 August, it did not reach us. A fault on our form stopped some messages from coming through. Please call (301) 820-7664 or fill the form again. We're sorry for the inconvenience.
Jewelry appraisals in California for donations, estate tax, divorce, and probate, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises rings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, and earrings across California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT JEWELRY APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, CALIFORNIA COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
.jpeg)
Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsAppraiseItNow appraises jewelry in California for insurance schedules, estate and trust filings, charitable gifts, and divorce. California retail sits in a handful of metropolitan markets with their own resale rooms behind them, and a report names which of those markets the sales it relies on were drawn from. Most pieces are valued from photographs, laboratory reports and measured detail sent to us, and an appraiser looks at the jewelry in person when the assignment warrants it.
Stones and mountings
Two rings of the same weight sit far apart once the identity, color and clarity of the stone are measured. The mounting carries value of its own, and a worn shank, a replaced head or a stone reset out of its original period is read into the figure rather than waved past. Pieces are described in enough detail that a reviewer can tell which sales genuinely compare.
Watches
Wristwatches move on the reference, the movement inside, how original the dial is and whether the box and papers survived. A service history and an over polished case both show up in what collectors will pay, and a watch that has lost its bracelet is a different proposition from one that has not.
Two California assignments we have completed, a line each: the city they came from, what the value was needed for and the standard it was written to. The photographs stand in for the kind of pieces involved, and none of them is a client's own jewelry. Both of these files were written for insurance, where the question is what putting a piece back would cost at retail today.
Insurance coverage
Pearl strands, a men's wristwatch and several diamond pieces, valued at retail replacement so that each one could go on the policy under its own line.
Insurance schedule
A small group of wristwatches valued at retail replacement, with the reference and the condition of each one recorded behind its figure.
Two California rules reach jewelry directly. One governs what a karat stamp is allowed to claim. The other decides how long a piece left at a bench stays its owner's.
Gold quality marks
Trademark required
beside any gold quality mark applied to a piece in California
California's precious metal marking article applies to gold and its alloys. A quality mark is any mark that states or suggests the fineness, quality, quantity, weight or kind of gold in an article, and nothing in the law requires one to be applied at all. If a mark is applied, it must state the number of twenty-fourth parts by weight of pure gold in the piece, its variation from the metal's actual fineness may not exceed the tolerances set by the federal stamping act of 1906, and whoever applies it must also apply a trademark registered to them, or to the jobber or dealer the piece was sold to. An unmarked California piece is not a suspect one, and a marked piece can be measured against what its mark claims.
California Business and Professions Code sections 22175 to 22180
Repair liens
10 days
after the bill comes due, a California bench can start selling the piece
Anyone who makes, alters or repairs an article of personal property at the owner's request holds a lien on it for the balance due and may keep possession until the charges are paid. If that amount goes unpaid for ten days after it falls due, the lienholder may sell the piece at public auction on at least ten and no more than twenty days of published notice. The owner then has twenty days after the sale to redeem it by paying the charges, the costs of sale and interest at twelve percent a year, and whatever is left of the proceeds goes back to the owner. A ring sitting unclaimed at a jeweler's bench is on a clock, so a date of loss or a date of death that falls near one of these sales is worth checking against the repair ticket.
What California clients say we are known for
Across 28 published California appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I contacted AppraiseItNow on a weekend asking for an expedited appraisal needed the following Tuesday, sent pictures as requested and answered a few questions for their team. Not only did the appraisal arrive on Tuesday, Joe waived the expedited fee! I would definitely recommend his services.
Antique Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Claim
I had a great experience with AppraiseItNow. I needed a formal insurance appraisal for a very unusual and difficult-to-value Pokémon collectible, and their team handled the process professionally from start to finish. Communication was responsive and helpful throughout, and I really appreciated that they took the time to understand the rarity, provenance, and unusual nature of the item rather than treating it like a routine appraisal. The final report was thorough, well organized, and clearly explained the methodology and reasoning behind the valuation. I was very happy with both the finished appraisal and the overall experience working with their team. I’d absolutely use AppraiseItNow again for another specialty collectible appraisal and would recommend them to anyone looking for a professional insurance appraisal.
Memorabilia & Collectibles Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
It is a pleasure to work with Joe and his team. They communicate every step along the way and made the process simple for us to have more than 35 firearms appraised. It was all done in a timely manner and the final report is easy to understand. I highly recommend their services.
Gun Appraisal for Probate
This team is so easy to work with. They are very professional and pleasant, and respond quickly to any questions. They are knowledgeable and complete their appraisal quickly. I feel their fee is reasonable for the work they do. They are properly licensed, so I feel they can be trusted, especially after speaking with them. It is clear they know what they are talking about. Their process is easy to follow and complete. I highly recommend the AppraiseItNow team and look forward to working with them again.
Personal Property Appraisal for Estate Distribution
I was skeptical at first, but the company exceeded all of my expectations. The team responded quickly to every question, and the service was excellent. They’re now my go to source for my collection. I’ve used them twice already, and I plan to use them several more times.
Firearms Appraisal for Personal Use
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
Because they measure different things: insurance scheduling uses replacement value, the retail cost to replace the piece with a similar item, while estate and tax work uses fair market value, the price a willing buyer and seller would agree on. Both numbers can be right for their purpose; carrying one into the wrong context is the error.
Jewelry acquired during the marriage is generally community property subject to equal division, with valuation typically tied to the date of separation or trial. A fair market value appraisal supported by gemological detail and current market data gives the court a defensible basis for the split.
No. Metal prices, gemstone markets, and retail markups move significantly over time, so current daily metal rates, up-to-date comparables, and contemporary labor costs drive today's value. We re-establish value as of the effective date the assignment requires rather than adjusting an outdated number.
Calibrated metal and gemstone weights, dimensions of the piece and its significant components, metal type and purity testing, gemstone identification with grading of cut, color, clarity, and proportions, condition including damage and prior repairs, craftsmanship analysis, and clear photographs. Those attributes decide which sales genuinely compare, so a report that omits them cannot be checked by an insurer, a court, or the IRS.
Form 8283 for noncash charitable contributions and Form 706 for estate tax. Donations of jewelry above the IRS thresholds require a qualified appraisal reported on Form 8283, and jewelry included in a decedent’s estate is reported at fair market value on Form 706. Both rest on the fair market value standard rather than the retail replacement figures used for insurance scheduling.
