1 ct vs. 3+ ct, here''s the questions...

[Dancing Fire]

Does the grading labs more lenient towards clarity for the bigger stone and more strict towards color because you see a bigger body. I guess my question is, does the smaller stone gets the advantage on color and the bigger stone gets away with more inclusion.

 

[researcher]

I'm not sure it's quite as you described. Appraisers use the same set of stones to grade color, and use the same microscopes (and magnification) to grade clarity. As such, they're going to see what they see. However, my guess is that larger stones do tend to show more color, and therefore might get the lower grade as you suggested. Similarly, larger stones have more area, so the inclusions can be more dispersed or possibly deeper in the stone making them less visible. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is it's not a matter of leniency so much as size dictating what they see. I'm sure if you go to http://www.gia.org/ you can find your answer. If you do, please post it!

 

[Mara]

Grading labs are different from each other regardless and have different grading habits. So all stones will most likely be graded differently. Grading is also done by humans, so it may depend on how strict one person is vs another. Some labs have better reps for strictness REGARDLESS of color or clarity. So some labs are more lenient and others may be more strict.




Large stones have more easily seen inclusions AND color because of their larger size..so why would a grading lab lean towards leniency on color but not clarity? Does this question really make sense? Grading is entirely subjective to the grader.




I don't think that a lab or person makes a conscious decision to be more lenient on a stone AT ALL. That's not the point of the grading process unless you are one of the notoriously more lenient EGL labs maybe.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

No leniency is given in regards to body color on larger diamonds. It is what it is. If a 7 carat diamond exhibits a "J" tone of body color, then it is graded a "J" color, with no allowances.

Some perceived leniency is given to larger diamonds in regards to clarity though. A 7 carat diamond, for example, may have a slightly eye visible crystal inclusion yet still be graded as a SI or even VS stone based on the size of the crystal relevant to the size of the diamond.

 

[I wanna rock!]

Thanks, Rich. I didn't know that about grading clarity on larger diamonds.

 

[iceman1]

How do the labs rate as far as leniency? Is AGS more or less strict than GIA (in your experiance of course)?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I find GIA and AGS to be comparable in their color and clarity grading.

Otherwise, I prefer the AGS report because of it's additional cut information.