Why is my insurance appraisal so much higher than what I can sell my jewelry for?

An insurance appraisal is usually done at full retail price. It is an estimate of the replacement value if you had to re-purchase the item after theft or loss. Some companies will even give you an insurance appraisal that is well over the usual retail price just to make your purchase seem more like a great bargain. This gives a false impression of worth and can give one quite a shock when setting out to sell the item back.