The Association of the Independent Jewellery Valuers, or AIJV, has announced a striking move to drop its membership fees going forward. A networking and business development association for independent jewelry valuers, AIJV formed in October 2010 out of a need for an association that supported appraisers that do not buy or sell jewelry. The association has since grown internationally with a strong presence in ten countries, including: England, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Spain, France, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the USA.
With no joining or ongoing membership fees, the Association of Independent Jewelry Valuers, is one of few-if not the only- jewelry trade organizations worldwide that does not charge for membership. Members of the organization are the jewelry appraisal and valuation businesses themselves, which must be run independently, be unbiased, and must prove that all unsupervised appraisers hold reliable gemological qualifications from a list of qualifying organizations and qualifying memberships of other appraisal associations. Membership requirements are visible on the AIJV website.
The primary objectives of AIJV are: to provide a visible resource of truly independent jewelry appraisers worldwide via their website, promote the use of the their website by retail jewelers, the public, the insurance industry, legal professions and government agencies, and promote the benefits of using an independent appraiser, while also defining ‘independent valuer’ to consumers. Adrian Smith, Founder of AIJV, says about the new move,” One of our intentions is to make the AIJV the primary resource for anyone seeking the services of a highly qualified, truly Independent Jewelry Valuer. By removing one of the barriers to joining us, we hope to continue increasing the size and diversity of this resource.”
One of the unique benefits to being a part of AIJV, is that members draw on the experiences and views of other members from other cultures, bringing fresh ideas and better ways of working. The international network centers on business development, and the association has a reputation for being very friendly and open, with members open to sharing their experiences via social media, the AIJV blog and through their closed email-forum.
Smith Says, “We are very aware that some countries do not have their own association for jewelry valuers. The AIJV provides a focus and point of contact for them. Something magical happens when enthusiastic professionals from differing cultures come together for the purpose of sharing and learning from each other’s experiences. Our intention is to make these experiences as diverse as possible by expanding further into additional countries."
