SI 3??

[chris-uk04]

The grade of "SI3" is one of the search items on pricescope and some reputable internet vendors post some of the grading as SI3 (even the inspiring GOG). I''ve heard that SI3 is strictly a euphamism for I1. Vendors will try to make a poorer quality stone seem better by calling it SI3 even though it is really I1. GIA does not seem to have a SI3 class.

Am I mistaken or why continue the SI3 charade in reputable shops? This shady grading could cloud a vendor''s reputation.

 

[strmrdr]

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/diamond-grading-is-it-a-science.10337/

 

[dimonbob]

SI3 in an invention of EGL. No, GIA and AGS do not use the term.

In EGL logic an SI3 is a bad SI2 that is too good to be an I1. Actually what they say is that an SI3 is a diamond that does not reach the grade of SI2 but is a higher grade than I1.

Oh, the diamond cutters love EGL. If they have a diamond that they know will not get a GIA report of a certain grade, they know that if it is sent to EGL it has a good chance of getting a higher grade and if it is a true I1 and they get an SI3 on the report, they can get more money for it and the jeweler in turn can sell it easier.

 

[valeria101]

Yours would be the tough approach to the issue: actually GIA's choice not to include this grade was just that, a safe choice out of the terms of some debate. SI3 has a meaning aftre all: and the sellers who call something SI3 would still call other stones I1. Of course, there is room for missleading customers in this, but not necessarily. SI3 are suposed to be borderline Si2-I1 stones: more included than the average SI2 but not deserving of the harsh evaluation of I1 (which would say that their inclusions are easily visible) given the POSITION of the inclusions. This is something that the I1 grading would not take into consideration (as it does not in any grade). is it important? Yes, if you are after a I1 and have decided that clarity is where your savings are. GIA's grading receipe is great at telling apart top clarity grades, but is less flexible in telling apart nice included stones from terrible-looking included stone: and this is what SI3 does against the principles of GIA clarity grading though.

I would say that the appearence of inlusions is as important as the official clarity grade, and, from this point of view, there is room for an SI3 grade. If you want one of these, you should make sure that the mention of SI3 is not part of some scheme to overprice a bad looking stone. This should be a thought-provoking not scorn-provoking grade. I would say...

 

[Caratz]

----------------
On 12/18/2003 6:00:11 AM chris00nj wrote:

The grade of 'SI3' is one of the search items on pricescope and some reputable internet vendors post some of the grading as SI3 (even the inspiring GOG). I've heard that SI3 is strictly a euphamism for I1. Vendors will try to make a poorer quality stone seem better by calling it SI3 even though it is really I1. GIA does not seem to have a SI3 class.

Am I mistaken or why continue the SI3 charade in reputable shops? This shady grading could cloud a vendor's reputation.----------------

I think this is a non-issue. The vendor doesn't assign the grade. The vendor sells stones graded by gem labs. If the gem lab says that the stone is SI3 rather than I1, well, that's what the gem lab says. I do not expect the vendor to say "Even though the gem lab gave this an SI3 grade, that really means I1." If you think the SI3 grade is shady, just avoid EGL stones -- don't blame the vendors.

 

[chris-uk04]

Ah ok. I didn't know it was an EGL invention, because I had seen the grade but I knew it wasn't GIA or AGS.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Even tho EGL started the SI3 grade, many professional appraisers recognize it as well. If you search passed threads, there have been several discussions on the issue.

One of the PS appraisers (can't remember who) commented that SI3 is an appropriate grade for some diamonds. Appraisers see stones that are beyond SI2 in clarity but not full fledged I1 level. That's where SI3 comes in.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

The SI3 grade, issued by the EGL laboratories, reported by the Rapaport diamond publication, and endorsed by both the World Diamond Congress & the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, is a market driven grade which has it's place for the very reasons Valeria 101 states.

Dealers and consumers alike will pay more for a legitimate SI3 stone than they will for a mainstream I1. As long as this market reality exists, the SI3 grade will remain legitimate whether GIA chooses to acknowledge it or not.

 

[Rank Amateur]

It seems to me that the SI3 grade was created to fill the pricing gap between SI2 and I1 more than to fill the clarity gap between the two grades. Sort of necessity being the mother of invention, even if the only thing that was necessary was to get a few more $$ out of a "nice" I1.

Of course I don't really know diddly about the specifics of the grade setters making a SI2 an I1. Keep that in mind.

 

[tina242]

I have an SI3 diamond, H color, .72 carat. It''s got a noticeable black speck in it. The diamond is very pretty except for this speck. Is this considered very undesireable, as far as diamonds go?