San Diego Gemological Lab

Thom was very knowledgeable, patient and thoroughly explained the entire grading process in simple understandable terms. He used external sources to check his valuation to offer the most unbiased opinion. Very reasonable.

Consider me another devoted customer of Thom Underwood. He did two appraisals for me recently, and each time I walked out with a thorough understanding of the jewelry and a firm grasp of what it was worth. I’ve bought a fair amount of jewelry over the years, both for myself and my wife. I’ve had appraisals done before, many of them, in different cities, some of them big jewelry markets like New York and Los Angeles. But I never knew how utterly incomplete and mediocre these appraisals were until I sat down with Thom. You get his compete attention, one on one with you, for an hour, while he performs tests and determines the objective aspects of the piece (s) first. Then comes a detailed market analysis utilizing his own proprietary software, in itself an amazing thing. I recommend him 110% — wouldn’t dream of using anyone else. Thank you Thom!

It’s a drive from north county to get to Thom Underwood’s Old Town office, but it is worth it. Thom appraised some «Burma» ruby earrings for me, and showed me thru the microscope how they were not the excellent quality the seller claimed. I returned them and purchased from a local store, The Collector, earrings of much better quality. Thanks, Thom!

I now know why Thom Underwood’s San Diego Gem Lab consistently receives five stars. I brought in a ring my mother gave me, and I really didn’t know what to expect with the appraisal process. He explained everything he was doing, while giving me a fantastic education on diamonds and what to look for, where to buy, etc. I highly, highly recommend.

My husband and I are planning to sell my engagement ring and our wedding bands in order to donate the money to charity. I called San Diego Gem Lab to find out what kind of appraisal we’d need and presumably to schedule an appointment as well. Thom was incredibly helpful and explained the different routes available so that we could accomplish our goal. After I explained what original documents I had, his recommendation for the best course of action ultimately meant we did not need his services. He continued to explain how this would work out the best for us, which of course meant the charity (as it would bring in the most money). Anytime a professional gives you true counsel that doesn’t involve using their services, you know it’s honest and genuine and that is exactly what Thom did. I would recommend him to anyone and if I ever need such services in the future, I will certainly return to him.

Although I have never participated in a review, I wanted to vouch for Thom’s authenticity. I agree with the many strong reviews that you will see from other happy customers. I engaged Thom’s services after reviewing all of the Unilocal reviews — all 5 stars! I made an appointment to have 4 pieces appraised to update our insurance. He allotted enough time to complete the appraisals without rushing through the process. He allowed for plenty of time to verbalize what he was finding and to answer any questions asked. He is very pleasant, as well! The appraisal of one piece was very on target when compared to its GIA’s appraisal, without having to remove the diamond from its setting.

Thom is such a pleasure to deal with, he is very professional and knowlegable, works while you wait and explains many aspects of the appraisal process, I recommend that you give Thom a try, he is the Best, Thank You Thom

I had the pleasure of meeting with Thom to have some jewelry appraised. I was extremely impressed by Thom’s in-​depth knowledge and his willingness to explain the details of what was going on to me. All around, it was a great experience and Thom is top-​notch!

I went to see Thom today to inspect a loose diamond that will be set in an engagement ring. He did such an extraordinary job and he even made the whole process enjoyable by including me throughout the inspection. I looked at the stone under a microscope and through a UV light source and he explained diamond value and carat weight, etc. I definitely walked out feeling excited and confident about our purchase. We will without a doubt visit him again when the stone is set for insurance purposes. I highly recommend him!!!

What a really great experience! I went to go see Thom Underwood to get my engagement and wedding rings appraised. He is one of the most professional, kind, and friendly person that I’ve met. You can also tell how passionate and knowledgeable he is about his profession if you just take a look at his office as it is entirely filled with his achievement and recognition awards and gemstone books. He also seems to be pretty savvy and up-​to-​date with technology. Not like it matters, but he currently uses a Windows 8.1 desktop as well as Google Wallet or Square as his payment option. Quite impressive for an older gentleman! One other thing that I really like about him is that he is very responsive with his emails. His rate is reasonable to me since he seems to know his stuff inside and out and I feel that he won’t leave any details out in the appraisal. As a tip, it does help if you bring some sort of previous documents if you had your jewelry appraised somewhere else. He is located inside the Leo Hammel building and street parking isn’t that hard to find. I highly, highly recommend his service!

We went to Thom today based on reviews from Unilocal.Even though the reviews were awesome, I couldn’t anticipate the experience we had. He is beyond professional and knowledgable. At the same time, he was just a pleasure to be around. Although it was a little bit of a nervous experience, he immediately felt like a friend and was easy to talk to!
We will definitely come back and recommend him to anyone!

Thom is excellent at what he does! He helped me understand my piece of jewelry and was very upfront with every step of the appraisal process. His service was superb, I highly recommend Thom!

Thom is a true professional and quite knowledgeable. He is the BEST at what he does — don’t waste your time going anywhere else to get your stuff appraised.

Thom provides a great service. I love that you don’t have to leave your jewelry and you walk out of there with knowledge and a full report for a reasonable price. He answered all my questions and was very friendly. His shop is nice and clean. Would highly recommend to my family and friends!

I am so please with my appraisal that was done by Thom today for my engagement ring and insurance purposes. He was very educational and explained everything he was doing while doing it. He was very straight forward, open and honest. It was worth every penny! I feel like I know so much more about my ring. I have comfort knowing if anything were to happen to my engagement ring, I would be in good hands with Thom’s appraisal to back me. I will definitely return when I need his assistance in the future! Thanks so much Thom!

It’s a pleasure to work with such an experienced, knowledgeable, and kind professional. I recommend him without hesitation.

You don’t get 5 stars from so many people unless it’s legit. Thom is the real deal. Within moments of handing him my wife’s jewelry, he confirmed that it was what we thought it was & was able to quickly tell by the cut the age and origin of the engagement ring diamond. I was impressed with his abilities and glad to finally know that my wife hasn’t been displaying a cubic zirconia all these years. I also bought a pair of earrings online & felt like there may have been a bait and switch, but Thom not only confirmed that I got what I paid for, but he went into much greater detail and provided a MUCH better appraisal/​report than I got from amazon/​Houston.
It was actually fun and educational.
Time to call the insurance agent for some more peace of mind.
Thanks, Thom!

Thom is the best of the best: knowledgeable, professional, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I would recommend him in a heartbeat to anyone who needs jewelry appraised.

Thom is located inside Leo Hamel & Co., on the left inside. It’s a tiny room decorated with his various diplomats, awards, and accolades and the 6×6 room really feels like a lab. Be sure to set up an appointment through the website. He responds promptly to email and you will not need to leave your pieces with him to get the appraisal, a huge bonus.
He will tell you all sorts of extra information about your ring that you probably didn’t even know before walking in the door. It’s an incredible experience that I never expected from «you need a new appraisal to get new insurance.»
If you don’t need a printed copy, he deducts $ 10 from the cost and will email you the .pdf, so he’s hip to being green.
I really enjoyed my ring appraisal and it beats leaving your ring with some unknown jeweler any day!
Thank you Thom!

What a great experience! So much fun watching Thom work, I would recommend him to all my friends.
Thom provided me a PDF of my appraisal that I was able to email my insurance as well as a printed copy.
Of course I think my engagement ring is the most beautiful in the world, and Thom helped me learn more about it. I understand the value of it now. With his calm energy and wisdom he was a true pleasure to work with.