AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference?

[endless_summer]

Hey Guys!

Quick question for you all - when you send a stone off to AGL, do you go for the Gem Brief or the Prestige Report (with origin)? Is there value-add to the Prestige Report, other than the origin determination & description of the extent of treatments vs. just the existence of treatments? Do you pick different ones for different purposes? I think the grading report looks pretty cool too, but I don't think I need that much detail for my purposes and the difference in price is about double; whereas, the difference between the Gem Brief and the Prestige Report seems like a small drop in the bucket when considering it would be verification/vetting of a potential really nice stone. Just curious as to what others typically do or want to see. I'm leaning towards Prestige Report. Thanks!

 

[pregcurious]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

It depends on the stone. I either want the GemBrief ($60), the Prestige Report with origin($210+), or the Prestige Report with origin and grading ($350+). I have never considered the standard Prestige Report ($160) because it only adds level of enhancement. I would only determine origin if it really matters for me for resale, I am really curious, or I want to test the reliability of a vendor's word.

When I dropped off my red spinel, I asked them to call me after they determined it was natural because I was on the fence if I wanted the Burmese origin to be determined. It ended up being natural and untreated, and I stopped them at the GemBrief because I decided that for the size of the stone, Burmese origin would not make a difference in resale. It also has classic Burmese color and I feel comfortable saying that that the vendor said it was Burmese. If it had been a 3-5 carat instead of in the 2 carat range, the stone would be worth a lot more $, and I would be willing to invest in a Prestige Report with origin because of my increased up front investment.

Now, if I were to buy a Colombian emerald over $1000 (less $ than the red spinel), I would get origin determined because I believe even at this lower price point, origin matters for an emerald. I think it matters in terms of a buyer either buying or not buying; some people really want a Colombian.

 

[T L]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Prestige report if one or more of these things.

1) The stone was expensive
2) The origin matters (some people charge a premium for origin)
3) Level of enhancement needs a great deal of detail (such is the case with expensive emeralds and rubies)
4) You need to know the quality of color, clarity, cut, etc . . . on your gem.

There are two levels of prestige report, so I suggest you go to AGL's site to see the differences, as one is more expensive than the other.

AGL Gem brief for all else.

 

[pregcurious]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Prestige report if one or more of these things.

1) The stone was expensive
2) The origin matters (some people charge a premium for origin)
3) Level of enhancement needs a great deal of detail (such is the case with expensive emeralds and rubies)
4) You need to know the quality of color, clarity, cut, etc . . . on your gem.

There are two levels of prestige report, so I suggest you go to AGL's site to see the differences, as one is more expensive than the other.

AGL Gem brief for all else.

TLs response is much better than mine. +1

 

[LoversKites]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

I agree completely with TL.

 

[endless_summer]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Yes, for me, it will be an expensive stone, likely over the three carat mark, and certainly not one that I will ever be looking to 'upgrade' find something similar to at any point in the future. It would be a one of those once in a lifetime stones that I would never have any intention of selling. I appreciate your responses - I am thinking along the lines of the Prestige Report rather than the Gem Brief, only because it is the only way to have documentation of the stone's origin. The stone would be a sapphire, and I feel like origin matters to a certain extent in valuation (for insurance replacement, if god forbid, anything ever happened) - if I have the wrong impression, please educate me.

The grading report would be really cool to have, just because I like those sorts of things and that type of information. But, I know that the cutting will be superb, I have my eyes and preferences for color, clarity - all I care is eye-clean, so again - I get to use my eyes, and while good to verify treatments, I don't need to know the intimate details with respect to degree of treatment, if that makes any sense

Is it overkill to go for Prestige Report with Origin, or do you think Gem Brief is sufficient for my purposes?

(And, I should have mentioned - very vetted, highly respected PS vendor that I trust, if that makes a difference)

 

[T L]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Yes, for me, it will be an expensive stone, likely over the three carat mark, and certainly not one that I will ever be looking to 'upgrade' find something similar to at any point in the future. It would be a one of those once in a lifetime stones that I would never have any intention of selling. I appreciate your responses - I am thinking along the lines of the Prestige Report rather than the Gem Brief, only because it is the only way to have documentation of the stone's origin. The stone would be a sapphire, and I feel like origin matters to a certain extent in valuation (for insurance replacement, if god forbid, anything ever happened) - if I have the wrong impression, please educate me.

The grading report would be really cool to have, just because I like those sorts of things and that type of information. But, I know that the cutting will be superb, I have my eyes and preferences for color, clarity - all I care is eye-clean, so again - I get to use my eyes, and while good to verify treatments, I don't need to know the intimate details with respect to degree of treatment, if that makes any sense

Is it overkill to go for Prestige Report with Origin, or do you think Gem Brief is sufficient for my purposes?

(And, I should have mentioned - very vetted, highly respected PS vendor that I trust, if that makes a difference)

If you're paying a premium for origin, then I would go with the origin report. If it's a very fine colored sapphire and you're also paying a premium for origin, I would go for the full out report, especially if it was very expensive. Often sapphires, not yours, but in general, have a premium for origin, but the color doesn't really live up to the hype for that origin, so then in that case, a gem brief would suffice. Hopefully one will not pay a premium for origin if the stone's color is not that fine. For example, I wouldn't want to pay a premium for origin, or for an origin report for a Burmese sapphire that was very unsaturated, dark, or dull.

The important thing with sapphires is that you should have them tested for diffusion if they are heated. Unheated sapphires are not diffused. If it cannot be tested for diffusion with straight gemological tools, and requires an LA-ICP-MS (mass spectrometer), then you must let them know you will pay extra for that. I bought two heated sapphires I had tested for diffusion. One was able to be looked at by Chris Smith alone for diffusion and he determined there was none. The other one had to be sent off to the mass spectrometer machine. The latter report, although just a gem brief, cost an extra $100 for this service. This is actually a bargain because those are very pricey machines to operate. You should go over this with AGL, as well as price quotes, when you hand over your sapphire to them.

Hope that helps.

 

[endless_summer]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Yes, for me, it will be an expensive stone, likely over the three carat mark, and certainly not one that I will ever be looking to 'upgrade' find something similar to at any point in the future. It would be a one of those once in a lifetime stones that I would never have any intention of selling. I appreciate your responses - I am thinking along the lines of the Prestige Report rather than the Gem Brief, only because it is the only way to have documentation of the stone's origin. The stone would be a sapphire, and I feel like origin matters to a certain extent in valuation (for insurance replacement, if god forbid, anything ever happened) - if I have the wrong impression, please educate me.

The grading report would be really cool to have, just because I like those sorts of things and that type of information. But, I know that the cutting will be superb, I have my eyes and preferences for color, clarity - all I care is eye-clean, so again - I get to use my eyes, and while good to verify treatments, I don't need to know the intimate details with respect to degree of treatment, if that makes any sense

Is it overkill to go for Prestige Report with Origin, or do you think Gem Brief is sufficient for my purposes?

(And, I should have mentioned - very vetted, highly respected PS vendor that I trust, if that makes a difference)

If you're paying a premium for origin, then I would go with the origin report. If it's a very fine colored sapphire and you're also paying a premium for origin, I would go for the full out report, especially if it was very expensive. Often sapphires, not yours, but in general, have a premium for origin, but the color doesn't really live up to the hype for that origin, so then in that case, a gem brief would suffice. Hopefully one will not pay a premium for origin if the stone's color is not that fine. For example, I wouldn't want to pay a premium for origin, or for an origin report for a Burmese sapphire that was very unsaturated, dark, or dull.

The important thing with sapphires is that you should have them tested for diffusion if they are heated. Unheated sapphires are not diffused. If it cannot be tested for diffusion with straight gemological tools, and requires an LA-ICP-MS (mass spectrometer), then you must let them know you will pay extra for that. I bought two heated sapphires I had tested for diffusion. One was able to be looked at by Chris Smith alone for diffusion and he determined there was none. The other one had to be sent off to the mass spectrometer machine. The latter report, although just a gem brief, cost an extra $100 for this service. This is actually a bargain because those are very pricey machines to operate. You should go over this with AGL, as well as price quotes, when you hand over your sapphire to them.

Hope that helps.

TL - that is really helpful and thoughtful. I do completely understand about the diffusion testing, as I know it is an invasive treatment and impacts a stone's value a great deal (definitely want to avoid this one, but I'm comfortable with heat only). To be honest though, I would have no clue whether I would be paying a premium for origin or not, but I'm not looking for a straight medium to medium dark as pure a blue as one can get, Kasmir blue that folks seem to covet and find more valuable than the lighter colors that I prefer. Anything over the $1,000/carat mark (for other types of stones, over $500) is expensive to me, but in the land of sapphires - good quality, not necessarily with an origin premium, seems to fall into that bucket. Yep, price is still pretty mystifying to me, and I'm not sure that it ever won't be aside from knowing there are the beyond my reach stones that are trade ideals (luckily not necessarily my ideals, but I certainly don't want dark, dull, or grey!), unheated costs more than heated, all else equal, and diffusion shoots the value in the water. I recognize that Ceylon or Burmese origin seems to cost more than say Montana, but between Ceylon, Burmese, or some other origin - no clue how those impact price, other than folks state those origins and seem to find value in them. And, even though I can't articulate it well, I find value in them too, only because I find that I tend to like the colors that I see in lighter Ceylon and Burmese stones, but that doesn't mean that I've seen enough to know if the origin actually has anything to do with it, or if it's that folks happened to pick really nice stones from those locations

Yep, I think I just took the thread on a broader discussion and tangent, but its a really interesting topic for me and one that I like learning about.

 

[T L]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Glad it helped. I'm comfortable with heat only too, and while unheated sapphires tend to be more expensive than heated, they usually cost less to test because they're not diffused.

I think some sapphires, like Madagascar ones, are reaching some prominence for their color as well. There is no premium origin for African stones, so one should never just buy based on origin, unless the color lives up to the quality for that origin.

 

[endless_summer]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Thank you, TL - yeah, I would never buy based on origin - aside from treatments, I care about color and cut first as non-negotiables, then is it the size I'd like and eye-clean, and everything else is fun information to have. In a perfect world, I'd get to not compromise on color, cut, size, or clarity - we'll see if that happens I just don't know if, let's say Ceylon, origin impacts value sufficiently that I should have documentation of it for insurance purposes down the road, but this is also something that I know I can't teach myself in a matter of weeks/months.

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Prestige report if one or more of these things.

1) The stone was expensive
2) The origin matters (some people charge a premium for origin)
3) Level of enhancement needs a great deal of detail (such is the case with expensive emeralds and rubies)
4) You need to know the quality of color, clarity, cut, etc . . . on your gem.

AGL Gem brief for all else.

This. For corundum I care about, if I think its unheated, I'd go for the brief. If it shows any signs of heat, I'd move up to prestige.

 

[endless_summer]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Prestige report if one or more of these things.

1) The stone was expensive
2) The origin matters (some people charge a premium for origin)
3) Level of enhancement needs a great deal of detail (such is the case with expensive emeralds and rubies)
4) You need to know the quality of color, clarity, cut, etc . . . on your gem.

AGL Gem brief for all else.

This. For corundum I care about, if I think its unheated, I'd go for the brief. If it shows any signs of heat, I'd move up to prestige.

Thank you, Minous - I really appreciate your thoughts on this, and it's a nice decision tree for me to have in mind.

 

[T L]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Prestige report if one or more of these things.

1) The stone was expensive
2) The origin matters (some people charge a premium for origin)
3) Level of enhancement needs a great deal of detail (such is the case with expensive emeralds and rubies)
4) You need to know the quality of color, clarity, cut, etc . . . on your gem.

AGL Gem brief for all else.

This. For corundum I care about, if I think its unheated, I'd go for the brief. If it shows any signs of heat, I'd move up to prestige.

You can still test for diffusion with the AGL gem brief, although I'm not sure if that has changed.

 

[pregcurious]

Re: AGL Gem Brief v Prestige Report - What's your preference

Wrong thread.