Abstract: The appraisal purpose has an important influence on the whole process of jewelry appraisal, which on the one hand reflects the needs of the community and the maturity of the jewelry market, and on the other hand, is an important prerequisite for selecting value types in the appraisal process. The comparison in this paper shows that there exist considerably objective differences in the purposes and the demands of the jewelry appraisal between America and China, which are due greatly to the social environments in economic, legal and cultural regards and the diversity of American and Chinese jewelry industries. Consequently under the actual circumstances in China, to establish certain laws, regulations and technical standards on jewelry appraisal, in line with the needs of the current development,and to unify the jewelry appraisal guidelines and technical standards in different appraisal communities are in urgent need of solution.