Cos Altobelli

Mr. Altobelli is an award winning gemologist and appraiser.   He has been in business 60 years at his fine jewelry store in North Hollywood, California.  He is a third generation jeweler, carrying on the Italian family legacy of manufacturing custom jewelry. Altobelli explains:  "My business is not selling generic jewelry out of the showcase.  Our unique niche is being able to design and create one of kind pieces that express the style and personality of the individual."

"Our store is unique within our industry as well," Altobelli explains.  "Aside from our manufacturing on the premises and our importing, we specialize in estate jewelry.  We believe in total service to the customer and do so by working with consigned jewelry, repairs and appraisals.”

“Appraisals is really my first love," he says.  For forty-five years, Mr. Altobelli has been an appraiser of gemstones and jewelry.  He helped to develop a formal appraisal education program in 1983 which is now recognized throughout the world.  He was the first person to receive Certified Gemologist Appraiser (CGA) title by the American Gem Society, and since then he has certified over 500 appraisers in the US and Canada. He received the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) designation.  His titles include Graduate Gemologist and Certified Gemologist Appraiser.

Honors:

• The International Society of Appraisers conferred a special award to Altobelli in 1986
• The American Gem Society awarded him the Robert M. Shipley Award in 1987 for outstanding contributions to the appraisal profession.
• The AGS and the Jewelers Education Foundation honored Altobelli for developing the most comprehensive formal appraisal education program in 1997, entitling it The Cosmo Altobelli Appraisal Foundation Program.
• The National Jeweler Magazine awarded Mr. Altobelli with The Retailer Hall of Fame award in 2001.
• The AGS honored Mr. Altobelli in 2003 for the development of the Certified Gemologist Appraiser program.
• In 2004, Los Angeles Magazine honored Altobelli Jewelers with one of the 101 Best of the Best in Los Angeles for specialized custom and repair work.
• The United Chambers of Commerce awarded Altobelli Jewelers with the Best Small Business in Toluca Lake for 2005.

He authored three books; the most recent is “The Practical Guide of Jewelry Appraising,” updated in 2002 and available from GIA and AGS.

NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN networks, local television and radio, Los Angeles metropolitan newspapers, national industry and news magazines have all honored Mr. Altobelli with interviews.  Diane Sawyer, on Prime Time, reported on misrepresentation and other shady business in stones.  Altobelli was given some pearls that had been purchased by the ABC's Prime Time undercover team and assessed them, on target, relative to the renowned Mikimoto pearls.  

Altobelli is active in litigation and appraisal work for the public at large, the jewelry industry, banking industry, and governmental agencies.  He travels the world as an expert witness.  Besides other jewelers and jewelry establishments, his clients include IRS (investigating the over-inflated appraisals used for donations from 1977-1986), Bank of America, State Farm Insurance, and many law enforcement agencies.   He has appraised many of the gemstone and mineral specimens at the Smithsonian and the LA County Museum Gem and Mineral Hall.  He even was chosen to appraise the collection of the Gemological Institute of America and chosen by the Kuwaiti government to do the appraisal for victims of the Iraqi invasion for jewelry losses. Jewelry has taken him far and wide and he has been a teacher of appraisal procedures and techniques for almost 40 years.

Buying fine jewelry is probably one of the most “blind” purchases a person can make because a consumer cannot really discern what they are getting just by looking at it. That is why the credentials, expertise, reputation, and honesty of your jeweler are important.  Mr. Altobelli’s history ensures that you are in the best hands.