Jewelry Appraisal Certification

You can learn to identify and appraise stones like these.

Jewelry owners often can tell if a piece of jewelry is appealing to the eye, but may not be able to tell much else. Certified jewelry appraisers are often hired to give jewelry owners details about their possessions.

Job Description

Jewelry appraisers study many different pieces of jewelry and determine the value of pieces. The jewelry market is widely researched on a regular basis so that economic trends are taken into consideration. Tools such as reference books and auction catalogs are used. Stones are graded by perfection, cut, color, origin and age. Jewelry appraisers also help customers through the jewelry selection process.

Education and Training

All jewelry appraisers have at minimum graduated high school. Many appraisers decide to get a college degree in fine arts before going on to become certified as jewelry appraisers. Another option to set yourself apart is to enroll in a graduate gemologist program.

Costs and Profits

The cost of a graduate gemologist program at an accredited school, such as the Gemologist Institute of America (GIA), will cost anywhere between $8,000 to $17,500. These graduate programs will run about 26 weeks. As of January 2010, jewelry appraisers in America earned an annual salary of $43,000.

References

• Degree Finders: How to Become a Jewelry Appraiser
• GIA: Graduate Gemologist Program