5 /5 Carlos A. Greaves: I was exiting the parking lot at Trader Joe’s on Bee Cave Rd in Austin when out of the corner of my eyes I see the sign “Michele’s Estate Jewelry.” Normally it is not the thing that excites this middle-aged man, but it so happens that I had just been appointed Administrator of the Estate of a close family member and not knowing much about jewelry and especially women jewelry this seemed like serendipity. A few days later I called to inquire if they did appraisals and if it would be all right if I just brought my “bags-o-jewelry” since there was just lots of stuff and I had no idea of how to separate the valuable from the fantasy jewelry to minimize what I expected would be a stiff appraisal fee. Lisa was nice, very reassuring and told me to just bring it in and they would charge me $150/hr. and will appraise as many pieces as I wanted, that the fantasy jewelry would just take seconds while the valuable ones is where the time would be spent. As it turns out Phill later told me that the $150/hr. is just to discourage people who have no intention of selling but just want a free appraisal. The appraisals cost me nothing even thought I offered to pay for all time he took checking for marks, looking at the stones, for the rubbing and chemical test of the gold, etc. It took me several visits to get through all the rings, earrings, bracelets, chains, pendants, silverware, etc. His only request was if I could come first thing in the morning or to call before to avoid being there during their busiest time. Overall, I felt the process was straight forward, well explained and Phil answered all my questions. Did I get the best possible price for the estate? I can’t be sure, but my feeling is we did Ok. Micheles Estate Jewelry and Silver is an Austin gem.
