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NAJA’s 56th Annual ACE©It Mid-Year Conference, Sept. 25-26, Stays Virtual September 08, 2021 (0 comments)
Rego Park, NY—The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers’ “Not The August Virtual Conference” has been announced for Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26, livestreamed from noon to 4:00 pm eastern time on both days. Topics to be discussed include reading varied gem lab reports, supply shortages and gem prices, demystifying cash value, and much more.
The conference cost is $75 per day for NAJA members and $125 per day for non-members. Below is a summary of the full session schedule. Click here for registration and more detail.
Saturday, September 25, 2021:
12:00 Noon: Pearls in the Time of Pandemic, with pearl dealer Betty Sue King. The demand for pearls continues to rise, accelerating the chain of production, processing, supply, and distribution. Explore the depths of pearl inventories and investigate pearl products, styles, price changes and peer through the looking glass toward the holiday season and Tucson 2022.
1:00 PM: How to Really Read Gem Lab Reports, with Cigdem Lule, FGA, GIA GG. Gemological laboratories’ reports for gem identification and grading can vary greatly in terms of market position and apparent objectivity or include market based terminology that directly influences the perceived value of the stone. Dr. Lule will discuss how to read modern lab reports from an appraiser’s perspective to better reach an independent value conclusion.
2:00 PM: Noble Metal Testing 101 or "What's it Made of Anyhow?" with Gary Smith, GIA GG. How to test the karat gold in items to be appraised and its effect on value. The testing procedures: An overview from simple acid testing to sophisticated xray spectrophotometer. Participants will receive an FTC Precious Metal Tolerance Chart.
3:00 PM: Stressed: How Supply Shortages Have Fundamentally Changed Gem Prices, with Stuart Robinson, GIA GG. The influence of COVID on the distribution channel and price structure of colored stones and diamonds has had unexpected consequences: shortages of popular goods, major international shows reduced to regional events, and low supplies driving prices very high relative to 2019 levels. Increasingly likely that the market will not return to 2019 supply or pricing levels soon, examine how appraisers face price vs value.
Sunday, September 26, 2021:
12:00 Noon: Research: Practices and Pitfalls, with Deborah Finleon, GIA GG. Accurate and thorough research is essential to appraisal methodology. What constitutes “research” and what doesn’t? What constitutes a “comparable” and what doesn’t? When must comparables be included in a report? What resources are available and what they tell us—or not—about value? How to use the vast amount of information available in everyday practice.
1:00 PM: Appraisals of Giant Gem Materials: Being Vigilant About Your Reputation and Establishing Your Limits. Also, a Short, Second Look at the GemPen for Diamond Screening & Identification, with Dave Atlas, GIA GG. What can you properly defend as an opinion of the value when it comes to a large specimen of rough material? Where are the problems? What are the consequences of venturing too deeply into unfamiliar territory?
2:00 PM: Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out: Style and Influential Jewelers in the 1960s and 1970s, with Duncan Parker FGA. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of change with a growing interest in craft, handmade clothing, and accessories, and one-of-a kind jewels. The sexual revolution and increased political awareness created a unique youth culture counterbalanced by an elegant orderliness in other quarters. Explore both sides of this era with a focus on the influences and the jewelers who defined the period.
3:00 PM: Actual Cash Value Demystified, with Bill Hoefer, GIA GG. Appraisals are legal documents. To properly determine value in an insurance appraisal, the gemologist-appraiser must know the assignment (obtaining insurance or reporting a value for casualty loss) and the required value. But for the casualty loss requirements, it is not just a matter of stating that it is actual cash value (ACV) but to realize that ACV is defined differently in different jurisdictions. Learn the different definitions, their required elements and how jurisdictions embrace those definitions.