Good Evening Henry,
In order to get the best appraisal possible at a jeweler you have to know what you want to get out of it before walking in. If you are looking to resell the jewelry tell them you want a fair market appraisal of the jewelry. Tell them that you need descriptions for each piece and that you would like their idea of fair market for the Los Angeles Area. This will be a bit higher than most other places due to the cost of living, but it will put you on the right track. If you are looking to keep the jewelry or you need pricing for an insurance purposes tell the jeweler you need an insurance appraisal. This will be an elevated price that will give you an idea of what the cost will be to replace the jewelry if it is ever stolen or damaged. The websites listed below
both are jewelers in your area that specialize in estate jewelery. They can give you evaluations on your pieces by both testing the metal of the pieces and also by looking at any diamonds and measuring them if those are the types of pieces you have.
http://www.ejclacanada.com/contact.php
http://www.altobelli.com/

I hope this information was helpful to you Henry,
Best of luck with your Jewelry appraisal,
If you have any further questions I would be happy to assist,
Thank you ,
Frank

Hello Henry,
I hope the information was helpful to you in the appraisal process. If you have any further questions I would be happy to help.
If you could leave me any feedback about our conversation, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank You,
Frank