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Tales from the Treasure Detective Posted: December 19th, 2007 By: Zach Heller Category: Career Corner, CLE Programming, SHOWCASE CORNER, Videos
There are many times when lawyers who deal with estate planning and taxes will need to use an appraiser for different types of personal property. Lee Drexler, president of Esquire Appraisals, Inc. of New York City and Westchester, is an experienced appraiser of fine arts, furniture and jewelry and has seen many unique pieces throughout her career. We spoke with Lee recently and asked if she could share with us some of the more interesting things that she has seen over the years.
One such story that she shares in the video below is of a woman who wanted her to appraise her engagement ring. It appears the woman had take the ring in to be reset earlier and had never been fully satisfied with the look and feel of the ring afterwards. Well, as you might suspect, it didn’t take Ms. Drexler long to discover that in fact the ring she was given back was fake. Both the diamond and the gold that it was set in were no longer real. An awful fact to find out so many years later, but as Lee says, she is brought in to reveal an ugly truth a lot of times.
Lee Drexler recently filmed a presentation with James Cohen on the legal aspects of appraisals for CLE credit on Lawline.com. The program covers the issue from both sides, the attorney and the appraiser. Lee has also written a book called Treasure Detective, where she shares stories like this about finding valuable pieces that nobody even knew existed.
To contact Lee Drexler, call 212-889-2580. Please enjoy the short video below, and look for the CLE lecture soon.
Comments
The same thing had happened to my wife's ring. I had gotten it from a place that I though was trustworthy. But then when i went to get it appraised, it turned out to be worthless. So everybody should always be careful with what and from where they buy jewelry. Comment By: Matthew H. - December 24, 2007
Matthew, next time you buy some kind of jewlery i suggest you buy it from a place that has some sort or guarantee in place. That way even if you do end up getting cheated, you can be certain that you would get your money back. Comment By: Kerry J. - December 24, 2007
Yea from now on I'm going to be very careful. Do you happen to have any suggestions on places though? Comment By: Matthew H. - December 24, 2007
I would suggest trying Zales. I've always had a good experience with them. Comment By: Kerry J. - December 24, 2007
