Rotarian Joel Hassler, from Von Hasle Jewelers, spoke at our meeting today on Appraisals and Estate work. Von Hasle Jewelers is a full service private jeweler located in Racine, WI. He shared with us appraisal & jewelry myths. He has over 25 years of experience and has travel all over the US as an appraiser and educator due to his expertise and credentials in the industry. He is a Certified Gemologist Appraiser (AGS) and Advanced Personal Property Appraiser (JEF). Gemologists are NOT appraisers, they may tell you they are but do not have the certification. Gemologists specialty is in knowing "what it is" and appraisers specialty is "what it is worth". Appraisals are very different depending on what it is for - Full Market Value for an estate is different than retail replacement value for security/insurance. There are no regulations or training required to be an appraiser of jewelry or personal items, so anyone can call themself an appraiser w/o any education. It is important to ask lots of questions and check credentials.