CERTIFIED VS NOT

[MINE!!]

II have a question. Why are certified diamonds more than non certified ones. Why is it ness. for me to buy a certified diamond if from a leg. dealer. If not using a diamond as an ''investment'' why would I need to have it ''certified''. Although the diamond may bot be worth as much, but it is still beautiful... why should I buy certified.. Just curious.

Thanks. I was just wondering what the difference was.

 

[blurrblurr]

A good qns. I believe this qns apply to our daily life. For example a car dealer selling two simliar cars with the same performance. One with the tag "Ford" while the other no brand. Which car performance will you trust more?

 

[FireGoddess]

They're more because you know what color and clarity you're getting. An uncertified diamond could be P color and I2 for all you know (though in reality, below SI2 you should likely start seeing inclusions with the naked eye, right?). They're a bargain if you like a gamble and don't really care about color and clarity...you could be overpaying or underpaying depending on what the actual grades might be.

My diamond was not purchased as an investment, but I would never buy an uncertified diamond. I am not willing to take the risk with color and clarity. Those things are important enough to me to know exactly what I'm getting.

Edit, after reading your second post:
To me, calling a car a Ford vs nothing is not the same as having a certified diamond or not. That the car is a Ford doesn't tell me what condition the engine is in, or if there's a leak in the oil tank. To me, a Ford vs not is the same as a branded Royal Asscher vs a non branded asscher. That doesn't make a difference to me. I think of the certified diamond vs not similar to getting a title history done on the car vs not. What's going on with the car...rather than who made it.

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 3/11/2005 6:26:42 PM
Author:MINE!!
II have a question. Why are certified diamonds more than non certified ones. Why is it ness. for me to buy a certified diamond if from a leg. dealer. If not using a diamond as an 'investment' why would I need to have it 'certified'. Although the diamond may bot be worth as much, but it is still beautiful... why should I buy certified.. Just curious.

Thanks. I was just wondering what the difference was.

There are lots of reasons.

But you need the lab report particularly for stones that you can buy for less on the internet than in a store. If a stone is an I'1 and the seller represents it as an SI-2 then it can appear to be less, of course it can be priced as an SI-2 .

It's one thing to have the experience and equipment to KNOW basically what you're getting, and the sellers opinion of the stone ( usually a lot of sellers, use the wholesaler's grade). An independent lab report usually shows the clarity, color grade, carats weight, polish and symmetry grade, etc. But cut grading is only done based on the AGS Ideal Cut rated from 0 -10.

When the stone has no lab report, many sellers will exaggerate the grading, so it appears like they are giviing you a deal. But very often the stone will not grade at a major lab the same. It is not uncommon for stones with no reports ( GIA /AGS) be 1-3 grades less, and in extreme cases even lower in quality grading. Many times to "no cert" stone may have it quality overstated in both clarity and color.

But even the major lab certs aren't complete.

If you buy an uncerted stone, and have it graded yourself, you add extra costs. Those costs are included in the selling prices of stones who don't have GIA/AGS grading reports. Plus GIA isn't fast enough. It takes them weeks to grade, author a Diamond Quality Report.

The solution for this is to tell the seller you want the stone submitted to GIA and AGS and that you're willing to pay HIS COST for the grading. Make sure that you get this in writing, that if GIA doesn't grade the stone the same way you neither buy it or pay for the grading. If it does grade the same grade as he represents itm then you may have opened the road, to getting

This doesn't mean that you can't get a good stone AND a good deal, but getting a stone with AT LEAST a lab cert, can make for a much less "painless" experience.

Rockdoc

 

[denverappraiser]

Mine!

Great question.

The key revolves around deciding who can be called a ‘legitimate dealer’.

For most people, diamond grading is pretty arcane and the value characteristics are far from obvious. This means that you are going to need to trust a 3rd party to advise you. A legitimate lab is a popular choice since they have no vested interest in the outcome of the grading. Legitimate appraisers are helpful for the same reasons and because they usually can provide quite a bit of additional information that may have been omitted in the sales presentation. All of these parties can be trouble if they don’t live up to their billing as legitimate. If you are satisfied with the advice and credibility of your dealer, I agree that there is no particular need for a lab report beyond, perhaps some academic interest. Many dealers will choose to get one anyway as a means of further enhancing their reputations and as a reinforcement of their grading. It’s also worth noting that knowledge and strong ethics are the prime attributes you are looking for in a dealer but these are not the same as skill as a grader. Many excellent dealers are not themselves gemologists. This is acceptable for the same reasons that it is acceptable to buy an automobile from a dealer who is not personally an engineer.

If you decide to get a 3rd party report to assist in your decision process, there then will be a very similar set of questions about the credibility of their opinions. Some are better than others.

The labs are not ‘certifying’ anything. They are giving an opinion on some of the gemological properties of the stone, nothing more. They charge for this service and this fee is built into the price that is eventually paid by the customer. To the extent that you are getting a guarantee of a particular grading, this is coming from the dealer, not the lab.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[MINE!!]

OK... I see... Well.. what is a difference in price for a NOT certified diamond and a Certified diamond. Can there for a considerable difference in price since one is certified and the other is not?

 

[denverappraiser]

A GIA report costs between $75-500 depending on the size of the stone. AGS is about the same. EGL is about half that and IGI is about half of EGL. There are literally dozens of others and I wouldn’t begin to know what they all charge. I imagine that some are pretty inexpensive.

If there is a difference in the grading (this happens a lot), it can end up being thousands of dollars. What one dealer might call a VS2-F, another dealer could call a SI1-H. Play with the search engine at the top of the page titled ''pricescope your diamond'' and see what happens when you change the various variables.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver