I have never had jewelry appraised before, so I am not sure how unique the experience was, but it was very interesting and educational. Martin walks you through the entire process of what he's looking for, what he sees, and how your jewelry becomes appraised at the value that he assigns. I did not do a lot of research on the cost in this area for this service so I don't have a good comparison, but for me it was worth feeling comfortable that I was getting real information that was certified and would hold up for my insurance company should anything ever happen. In the mean time, I learned about my jewelry and also learned of a jewelry care provider near me based on his recommendation.