Green Diamonds?

[MJO]

I know this is not the diamond forum but it is colored stones so I''ll ask my question here. I was offered a small but very pretty .19ct green diamond by someone I have been dealing with for a few years. He tells me it is natural and not irradiated but has no proof. From what I understand you can''t tell the difference between a natural and a treated stone because both were done by radiation. One naturaly and one done artifically. Does anyone know a deffinative answer to this? Pictures of the stone below

 

[MJO]

another

 

[MJO]

Last

 

[widget]

MJO: What a beautiful little gemstone!!

I imagine if it could be certified as unenhanced, it would be quite valuable!

For comparison, here's a less exciting .53ct, "fancy light grayish yellowish green" (GIA) I found on cherrypicked. Asking: $2400...

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Edited to add: Looking at your stone again...isn't it almost a "teal" color? I thought "teal diamonds" are usually enhanced...

 

[Kaleigh]

MJO,
It''s beautiful!! On my screen the stone does appear to be teal in color. So hard to see on a computer screen though.

 

[MJO]

Hi Widget,

I guess it does look almost teal. I didn''t know that teal stones are ussually enhanced. I thought most color diamonds these days were enhanced. I don''t know anything about colored diamonds.

 

[widget]

I found this in a recent Sotheby catalogue: "Extremely rare fancy intense green diamond; .90cts, VS2. Asking price: $300-400,000!!!!

There was also this quote from a letter from the GIA: "Natural green diamonds are amongst the the rarest of all colored diamonds encountered at GIA..."

I''m beginning to suspect yours is enhanced!

Here''s a scanned picture of the above referenced diamond:

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh my!!! That quite a lot of money!!! Looks like it just has a hint of green, very pretty!!!

 

[DiamondExpert]

A natural stone with that hue and saturation would be RARE indeed!! It''s difficult from the photos to see the secondary colors, but it just doesn''t look natural to me.

 

[MJO]

Thanks everyone. I was just wondering if there was a way to find out if it was enhanced or not. This person will take the stone back if it turns out to be enhanced. He told me he new the story of the stone and I believe him on where it came from but not sure if the person actually new if it was enhanced or not. He said it was purchased by a freind of his ,when he was a jewelery buyer, from a large distrubuter. The distributer told him at the time it was unenhanced. If is is or not is to be found out. I have purchased a bit from this person and found everything he says to be correct about all the other stones. He has even told me which of his stones not to buy since he knows I''m picky.

Anyway is there a definitive way or lab than can say definitively if a green diamond is enhanced or not?

 

[widget]

I have a hard time imagining a dealer not having had this stone GIA certified if he really believed it is natural colored.

Irradiated teal diamonds can''t be very expensive...one sees them fairly often on TV jewelry shows...the difference in value between natural and treated green diamond must be VERY SIGNIFICANT!!!!

Is he asking a lot for this stone?

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[MJO]

Not that expensive, about $900.

 

[Richard M.]

MJO:

Here''s some info on green diamonds I found interesting -- and which makes me think the stone in question is not naturally green. The image is of the famed 41-carat Dresden Green diamond.

Follow this link Dresden Green for a tale about it.

Also check Green Diamond Research for more images of natural stones and information about identifying green diamonds. Scroll down a bit.

Richard M.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/26/2005 10:17:29 PM
Author: MJO

I was just wondering if there was a way to find out if it was enhanced or not

Yes. GIA.

If the price is good enough... you might just buy it and have it sent to the lab afterwards. At worst, the response may also be "inconclusive" and with that the question is back on your hands.

Natural teal ones do exist... I wish your little green was natural. The color in the picture looks very strong. Would the current owner brave GIA ?

He might have had a good reason not to have it certified, but it is never too late.

 

[MJO]

He says I can send it to the GIA and if I don''t want it I can return it. Any idea of the cost of the testing?

 

[widget]

Date: 4/27/2005 6:57:24 AM
Author: valeria
He might have had a good reason not to have it certified...

I''d hoped an expert would have chimed in with the cost of a GIA cert. I don''t know...150-200 dollars, maybe?

It is possible that the lab report might come out being more expensive than the diamond, if it proves to be color enhanced.

For fun, I tried to figure out what the value of your stone might be if it is color treated. I found this on Ebay: .65 teal diamond mounted in a Robert Coin (higher-end designer) necklace. Price: $889.

If I did the math right,

, the price of this stone is $1368/ct, with the mounting included. Using this figure, your stone (if treated) would be worth around $259.00, probably less.

widget

 

[belle]

widget, i think you are right on the price for gia certification, it is around $200. that being the case, between your math and ana''s assumptions, there may be a good (double the price) reason it is not certed. HOWEVER, it sure would look stunning as a pendant like the one you posted!!

...don''t you think

 

[widget]

Belle: You''re right, of course...it would be a VERY lovely pendant.

I personally would probably opt for a bigger stone than MJO''s...but then I''m something of a "blingmonster"...or did you guess that already?

widget

 

[MJO]

$200 isn''t bad for a cert. The stone is way to small for a pendent. It would have to be an accent stone . The last cert I got was for a 1.60ct Madagascar Pad from the AGL. They charged me over $600 and then couldn''t say for certain the stone wasn''t treated with low heat.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/27/2005 11:56:54 AM
Author: widget

I personally would probably opt for a bigger stone ...

Like this ? The same shop advertised a round somewhat below half a carat labeled straight "fancy green" by GIA...

I can't help with the cost of GIA. I have been given quotes anywhere from $100 to $500 for a small colored diamond, but that was the jeweler's charge for the service, not GIA's.

If there's a small chance that color is natural, I would try it out.

 

[DiamondExpert]

GIA charges $118 for identification and origin, and $188 for a full grading report...of course, it might be inconclusive as to whether or not the color is natural.

 

[widget]

Date: 4/27/2005 12:27:28 PM
Author: valeria101
Like this ?The same shop advertised a round somewhat below half a carat labeled straight ''fancy green'' by GIA...

Ana: I just went to your link...and was ready to eat my words on how insanely expensive natural green diamonds are...

But interestingly, when I hit their GIA link...some other cert came up.. AGT (??) and on it there was no mention of treatment...or lack thereof...

w..

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/27/2005 12:53:33 PM
Author: widget

when I hit their GIA link...some other cert came up.. AGT (??)

Does anyone read Japanese ? LINK

There is a mesterious note on the paper "GIA Japan" and there seems to be some connection LINK

Anyway, that stone is gray green - and that explains the price, as far as I know.


This one is described as yellowish mint color and it is a bit larger. I do not know Amgad, but there is a GIA cert.
Judging from their inventory, they should be very well known.



If you want to dream green/blue for a week or so click here

 

[MJO]

Thanks everyone. I guess I''ll pick it up an try the cert. He''ll always take it back anyway.

 

[dkodner]

Hello MJO, and all...

I just came across this thread...and it may be too late to chime in, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents, since I regularly deal in natural greens. They are extremely rare, especially to have the color that shows in those pictures. It is hard to tell from a picture, but the color in the pictures would indicate that it is treated. It is true, that both the natural and treated are both a product of radiation, but there are typically tell tale signs of it''s natural origin. It is not uncommon for the cutter of a natural green to leave some of the "skin" of the diamond on the girdle, to help it show color. Since the natural green is a product of irradiation over millions of years, the outside skin has the biggest concentration of color. Often times you can have a green looking piece of rough, and then when you polish off the skin, the diamond is white. It takes a verrrry long time for the irradiation to naturally penetrate deep into the crystal. Sending it to the GIA is a good first step, i believe they will be able to confirm easily that it is treated. If it comes back indeterminate, there are other colored diamond experts such as Stephen Hofer that you could send it to to test. If the diamond is natural....it''s value would be closer to $30,000-50,000.00. Hope this helps....

 

[MJO]

Thank you for your insight. I am going to take the stone and will have it tested. A stone that small would be worth that much? Or are you talking about the price per carat?

 

[diagem]

Did you type $900 ?? Thats toooo much for a threated 20 pointer...., But If NATURAL,

A VERRRRY big IF.... It would probably be a ONE of a kind, and that is verry hard to estimate...


GO FOR IT!!!

 

[dkodner]

With that saturation of color.....30 - 50 thousand net for the stone, 200-300,000 per carat. But do not get too excited...) I would bet ya lunch it is treated...

 

[MJO]

This is from a person that I do alot with. He told me if it isn''t natural he would refund the money. And I know he will. So I guess I have no problem then except the couple of hundred for the cert.

 

[MJO]

Date: 5/7/2005 3:10:26 PM
Author: dkodner
With that saturation of color.....30 - 50 thousand net for the stone, 200-300,000 per carat. But do not get too excited...) I would bet ya lunch it is treated...

dkonder,

I don''t get excited until I''m sure. I have picked up some unbelievable bargins like a 2.5ct unheated violet blue paraiba tourmaline ring for $400, a natural 1.05ct brazilian strong color change alexandrite for $450 and a 20ct+ clean Mandarin Garnet for $4,000. I''ll take the bet , I gamble a little.