A piece of fine antique is also an artistic beauty. It can enhance any room and represent a part of history you want to preserve. From a beloved family heirloom to a surprise find at yard sales, investing in antique pieces will be beneficial.
However, to know the correct price of an antique piece, valuation and appraisal are essential. It is even required if you are selling an item. A few online antique valuations don’t clearly provide separate documents. But there are slight differences between antique valuation and antique appraisal.
Don’t worry; in this article, we will cover all the differences between antique valuation and antique appraisal.
What’s an online antique valuation?
An online antique valuation isn’t as formal as an appraisal. Valuation is necessary when you want to sell an antique piece of jewellery, painting, watch, art, and other vintage items. A lot of jewellery valuation, in particular, is pretty straightforward. Some of them might not even include paper works or documents – just a verbal estimation.
Although, we would suggest not going for this route. In general, valuation doesn’t have the level of research and detailing as an appraisal. But regardless of that, you should always have documents to support your claims. It can be useful for insurance purposes and selling purposes.
There are certain insurance companies that might not accept an informal valuation. A valuation is considered a first step towards a formal appraisal.
What is an online antique appraisal?
As mentioned above that, some insurance companies often refuse to accept informal valuation. This is why you always need an online antique appraisal. An antique assessment is done by a professional to establish the exact value of your antique piece.
There will be a number of factors to determine the exact value. A formal valuation or appraisal needs to consider:
- The condition of the item
- Whether it has been restored before
- Does it bear the manufacturer’s mark?
- How rare it is?
- Its market value among antique restorers, etc.
Once the expert gets all the details and research, a long, legal document is provided to the customer. This legal document has every detail of the item, the condition, and the best price of the item you are selling. The paper can also be used for taxes and insurance purposes, will planning, etc.
The average charge for a formal appraisal can be higher than an informal valuation. So, people often excuse formal appraisal for pieces they got as family heirlooms. Although antiques should always have a formal appraisal, for some items like a thrift store found furniture or a vintage dress or showpiece, a valuation will do the needful. But for a vintage piece of jewellery or watch, or art, it is better to get a formal appraisal.
What to do for insurance?
This totally depends on the item and the insurance company. Whatever the antique item may be, it is essential to have an idea of its replacement cost.
Antique valuation is the first step towards that. For instance, an Omega watch valuation will help to determine whether to need a formal appraisal or not. You can then talk to your insurance company and its policies. Usually, for furniture and watches, insurance companies often do a rider with an informal valuation. But for rare and valuable pieces like an antique diamond ring will need a formal appraisal.
Where can you find antique appraisals and valuations?
Now that you know that what items you need to get a valuation and appraisal for, the question is how to get one?
Well, in today’s day and age, to find anything, to can go digital. A simple search will give you hundreds of stores to get your antique items valued or appraised.
Although, due to the same ‘digital age,’ things can go downhill quite easily. There are so many unethical and unreliable stores that cannot be trusted. Make sure you find an ethical and trustworthy company for online antique valuation. One of the most dedicated and trusty companies is Prestige Valuation. They have an army full of professional, knowledgeable, and experienced experts ready to help you with antique appraisal or valuation.
