A question for those who love to loupe

[SandraPaneczko]

Hey guys,

I have a question for those of you who loupe at lot of diamonds. Do you or can you see anything is a VS1 or VS2 stone? The reason I ask is because my center stone is a"VS1 or VS2" and I cant see zip when I look at it through my 10X loupe. I mean absolutely nothing! no matter what lighting I am in. But.. My eternity band I can see inclusions. So... either my E ring is higher or my E band is lower. Whatever I love them both but if I were to suspect that my center stone could be in the VVS range then I would want to send it in to GIA.

Thanks in advance

 

[strmrdr]

Remember that diamonds are graded in very specific lighting by people trained to find inclusions.
It is not usual for consumers not to be able to find inclusions until they are pointed out and there is some skill involved in using a loupe.
The inclusion may be hidden by a prong also.

Under a microscope you may be able to find them easier.
Who graded it a vs?

 

[SandraPaneczko]

I am on Guam because my husband is stationed here in the Navy. I had it appraised at the only place on island that does appraisals. It came back G VS2. Then I took it into another shop here and the guy said not to trust the report because they probably looked quickly, didn''t see any black crap and said its this. Then I took it to a place in Hawaii when I was visiting my husband. He looked at it and said it could be a VS1 F color. It was going to cost $400 to send it into GIA so I vetoed that idea because I didn''t care to know the difference between vs1 or vs2.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/12/2009 10:04:25 PM
Author: SandraPaneczko
I am on Guam because my husband is stationed here in the Navy. I had it appraised at the only place on island that does appraisals. It came back G VS2. Then I took it into another shop here and the guy said not to trust the report because they probably looked quickly, didn't see any black crap and said its this. Then I took it to a place in Hawaii when I was visiting my husband. He looked at it and said it could be a VS1 F color. It was going to cost $400 to send it into GIA so I vetoed that idea because I didn't care to know the difference between vs1 or vs2.

Don't get all hung up on the clarity, if you can't see anything, chances are 99.999999% of the population of the Earth won't see anything unless they have bionic eyes. Don't waste your money sending it to a lab. I would only send it to a lab if you were told you had a VS stone, but you could really see visible inclusions with your loupe quite easily or the naked eye, and you paid substantially more for a VS stone than you would have otherwise paid for an SI stone. Even if it were VVS, VS1, VS2, you're not selling it, and chances are it's still the same grade, and you would be out $400.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/12/2009 11:36:21 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 1/12/2009 10:04:25 PM
Author: SandraPaneczko
I am on Guam because my husband is stationed here in the Navy. I had it appraised at the only place on island that does appraisals. It came back G VS2. Then I took it into another shop here and the guy said not to trust the report because they probably looked quickly, didn''t see any black crap and said its this. Then I took it to a place in Hawaii when I was visiting my husband. He looked at it and said it could be a VS1 F color. It was going to cost $400 to send it into GIA so I vetoed that idea because I didn''t care to know the difference between vs1 or vs2.

Don''t get all hung up on the clarity, if you can''t see anything, chances are 99.999999% of the population of the Earth won''t see anything unless they have bionic eyes. Don''t waste your money sending it to a lab. I would only send it to a lab if you were told you had a VS stone, but you could really see visible inclusions with your loupe quite easily or the naked eye, and you paid substantially more for a VS stone than you would have otherwise paid for an SI stone. Even if it were VVS, VS1, VS2, you''re not selling it, and chances are it''s still the same grade, and you would be out $400.

ditto TL.

 

[LGK]

I'd say if you really want to know- insurance purposes?- then you would be best served by going to an actual independant appraiser; unfortunately free opinions from jewelers/employess of jewelry stores are often worth what you pay for them... I'm sure you could send it to an appraiser if there aren't any where you are cheaper than GIA certing it.

If it isn't for insurance reasons I'd probably not worry too much about it. And yeah; unless you are pretty experienced with a loupe and looking at a lot of stones, it's not that unusual that you wouldn't be able to spot an inclusion in a VS stone, especially without a plot of the inclusions to help you. Heck, even if you have some experience it can be tough, the stone has to be super clean for one thing. Depending on the color, type and location of the inclusion(s), you may not even be able to see them if the stone is set with a prong hiding the grade making inclusion anyway.