ASA Releases New Edition of Popular Jewelry Appraisal Handbook

RESTON, Va. - June 2, 2015 - PRLog -- The Gems and Jewelry discipline of the American Society of Appraisers has announced that the eighth edition of the Jewelry Appraisal Handbook is now available for the first time for online purchase in both PDF and hard-copy versions.

An indispensible reference work for the practicing gems and jewelry appraiser, the Handbook brings together essential information drawn from the most authoritative sources. It will also help gemologists and jewelry store personnel identify, categorize and describe gems and jewelry.

Among the many valuable features included in its 50 pages are field-tested tables for estimating weights of the various shapes of mounted melée diamonds by their measurements. These were developed by the Handbook’s founder, the late Kirk Root over more than fifteen years, with the help of other members of the ASA Gems and Jewelry discipline.

Proceeds go to benefit the Master Gemologist Appraiser® program and other work of the Gems and Jewelry discipline, whose members become designated as Accredited Members or Accredited Senior Appraisers. Mr. Root was among the original MGA title holders when that program was absorbed by ASA from the Accredited Gemologists Association in 1987. He passed away in January 2014 at the age of 52.

“Kirk was a visionary who was dedicated heart and soul to the field of gems and jewelry appraising. He began the Jewelry Appraisal Handbook as an early-day wiki-guide for everyone who describes and appraises jewelry. After many years of using and refining it among ourselves, the members of the Gems and Jewelry discipline of the American Society of Appraisers are proud and excited to offer this legacy to the gems and jewelry industry at large, where we know it will become as indispensible as it has been for us,” said Scott Gordon, ASA, MGA.

The Gemological Institute of America assisted the discipline with several pages containing the most current information about their diamond cut grading system and plotting symbols. Other topics in their current curriculum have also been updated with GIA’s help.

The Handbook also includes a seven-tier scheme Mr. Root devised for describing jewelry condition; ASA’s Descriptive Elements for Gems and Jewelry; and a means for calculating retail mark-ups from gross profit margins based on the Jewelers of America’s Cost of Doing Business Survey.

Other sections address pearls, gold coins, fineness marks, and a list of hundreds of website links useful in pricing research, which are live in the PDF version.

The hard copy, PDF, or both may be purchased by visiting http://www.appraisers.org/marketplace.

American Society of Appraisers

The American Society of Appraisers is a world renowned and respected international organization devoted to the appraisal profession. As the oldest and only major appraisal organization representing all appraisal specialists, ASA is devoted to providing the highest possible standards in all areas of ethics, professionalism, education and designation criteria. For more information about the American Society of Appraisers, the ASA designation program for appraisers or the Society’s free “Find an Appraiser (http://www.appraisers.org/find-an-appraiser)” Referral System, visit www.appraisers.org or call (800) 272-8258.