Best way to verify color origin

[davi_el_mejor]

I want to verify that my two newest FCDs are in fact natural and untreated. I paid a measly sum for the two of them, so if it they do turn out to be treated/enhanced, it won't be a major shock, just a disappointment and some very bad feedback for the vendor.

Which lab would you choose to verify color origin? Clarity, cut and color descriptor aren't what I'm looking for per se, just to know it's natural/unenhanced.

And JFF,

Here's a pic of the .35ct "Intense Greenish Yellow" I1 (Eye clean surprisingly enough) Pear. It's a little more green than my camera shows it and has a strong almost Mt. Dew colored fluor. 2nd pic is vendor pic. I'm very pleased with the color IRL and even though it has a small window it has lovely pinfire flashes. If it's not fancy intense it's right on the border. Indoor lighting it is a greenish yellow like the vendor pic, but outdoors it shows the orangy more yellow color like mine.





I don't have the second one yet, but of course there will be pictures when it comese in

 

[kenny]

MMM, very beautiful!

I believe GIA is the most trusted grader of colored diamonds.
The fee is $98 for GIA's report that only grades weight, color and origin of color.
This will not grade the clarity or fluorescence, polish or symmetry; that would be $147.

http://www.gia.edu/lab-reports-services/fees_payment/lab_fees/USD_feeschedule_Diamond_081210.pdf

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Thanks Kenny, one day I'll be able to have an impressive collection like yours

I misread that on their site and thought it was 147 for what I wanted. That seems more reasonable. I wish EGL-USA and IGI-USA posted prices. I don't necessarily need the prestige of GIA though. Luckily I'm close to NYC so it should be quick turnaround for whatever lab I choose. Unless of course it's possible for a local lab ( New England Gem Lab) to deteremine origin.

 

[kenny]

To me GIA is not about prestige.
I just have more confidence in whatever their report says.

I'd rather not "save" money on a report that bumps up the grades so I think I got some killer deal.
But, to each his own.

Also this snip from your link makes me think they may not have the equipment to verify everything you are concerned about:

"Basic stone identification is performed in our well equipped Gem Lab. However, some stones may need to be sent into the American Gem Trade Association or Gemological Institute of America for more extensive testing. There are many treatments and enhancements being performed on gems to make them look better. If you are considering purchasing an important stone that does not have any test report -- it may be a good idea to get this additional information."

In this case whatever their fee was (it may even be over $9 could have been applied towards the $98 for a real GIA report.

 

[T L]

GIA is one of the few labs in the world that can also determine synthetic diamonds, so it's well worth it to send it there, not just to verify enhancement, but natural origin. Yellow is one of the most commonly synthesized colors.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Thanks Kenny and TL. I'm still learning so hopefully all this will sink in eventually

Kenny: I emailed that lab to see what they say. I paid $66 and $38 for the diamonds and I guess upping the wager another $200 on the reports has me poopin' a brick. But, I chose to play this game, so I should just bite the bullet and go all in.

TL: Interesting, so even if they're synthetic it would come back as "natural/unenhanced" for color origin. Or did I read that incorrectly?


I guess I'm looking at the short term picture here only. If they come back natural, I may as well have the GIA memo for later on if clarity and color grade should be needed.

Oh how I love being young and indecisive. /sarcasm

 

[T L]

Thanks Kenny and TL. I'm still learning so hopefully all this will sink in eventually

Kenny: I emailed that lab to see what they say. I paid $66 and $38 for the diamonds and I guess upping the wager another $200 on the reports has me poopin' a brick. But, I chose to play this game, so I should just bite the bullet and go all in.

TL: Interesting, so even if they're synthetic it would come back as "natural/unenhanced" for color origin. Or did I read that incorrectly?


I guess I'm looking at the short term picture here only. If they come back natural, I may as well have the GIA memo for later on if clarity and color grade should be needed.

Oh how I love being young and indecisive. /sarcasm

If it's synthetic, it will get a GIA report for synthetic diamonds. They have a special report for synthetic diamonds that has different color paper than the natural diamond lab report. If it's been enhanced in color, and natural, it will still have a natural diamond report, but it will state that the color has been enhanced.

Here's an example of a synthetic diamond report from the GIA.
http://www.whiteflash.com/about-diamonds/news/first-look-at-gias-new.htm

 

[Modified Brilliant]

I remember reading that the AGTA closed their lab in June 2009 due to the state
of the economy according to their website.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

This is why I defer to you venerable denizens of PS. GIA seems like my only one stop shop for whatever these diamonds may throw at me.

By-the-bye, I think you've made mention of the vendor bid4desire before, or am incorrect again? I think you said this is an ebay vendor that another vendor buys from and then resells.

Modified: You're right! http://www.agta.org/pressroom/20090729-agta-news.html

 

[T L]

This is why I defer to you venerable denizens of PS. GIA seems like my only one stop shop for whatever these diamonds may throw at me.

By-the-bye, I think you've made mention of the vendor bid4desire before, or am incorrect again? I think you said this is an ebay vendor that another vendor buys from and then resells.

Modified: You're right! http://www.agta.org/pressroom/20090729-agta-news.html

Yup, that's the store. I can't vouch for his material, as I've never bought from him, but I do know one vendor that does sell his stuff and does offer lab reports with these stones. I don't want to mention the other vendor's name, as I don't think he would appreciate me giving away his sources.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Yup, that's the store. I can't vouch for his material, as I've never bought from him, but I do know one vendor that does sell his stuff and does offer lab reports with these stones. I don't want to mention the other vendor's name, as I don't think he would appreciate me giving away his sources.

Gotchya, I thought so, that adds a bit of confidence in my purchases. Can't wait to have wake up and take pictures of it tomorrow hopefully capture the true color of (becuase that's soooo easy)

 

[T L]

Yup, that's the store. I can't vouch for his material, as I've never bought from him, but I do know one vendor that does sell his stuff and does offer lab reports with these stones. I don't want to mention the other vendor's name, as I don't think he would appreciate me giving away his sources.

Gotchya, I thought so, that adds a bit of confidence in my purchases. Can't wait to have wake up and take pictures of it tomorrow hopefully capture the true color of (becuase that's soooo easy)

Does it have fluor?

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Does it have fluor?

Ohh yeah! It's somewhere between Chartreuse and yellow. Which is weird because for some reason, the stone looks more orange in the sun. I have pictures of it at home, stupid work getting in the way of delicious fluor shots.

 

[acebruin]

i would also go with gia for color origin report, wouldn't trust any other lab for colored diamonds

however, since you did not spend that much on those stones, i wouldn't worry about getting them graded, as long as you love the stones right?

 

[davi_el_mejor]

i would also go with gia for color origin report, wouldn't trust any other lab for colored diamonds

however, since you did not spend that much on those stones, i wouldn't worry about getting them graded, as long as you love the stones right?

Right! I can't wait to see what the .25ct one looks like, haven't recieved that one yet, but should be here sometime this week

 

[acebruin]

can't wait for pics

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Does it have fluor?

Fixed my white balance, closer to IRL color and of course the fluor. The fluor shot really highlights the window in the stone

ETA: The fluor shots were taken under indoor lighting and a black light. If the sun decides to come out today, I'll get a sun shot too.

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

WOW, love those fluor shots, the stone looks like a tiny alien!

 

[iLander]

Here is the vendor's ebay feedback on toolhaus.org

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=bid4desire+&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

I personally wouldn't buy from an ebay vendor with so many private items and repetitive feedbacks (same buyer leaving 8 feedbacks in a row, etc.), so I am very interested to see if these stones come back as natural/untreated.

And what the heck is the Delhi Jewelry Institute? Not sure about their certs, either . . .

 

[Rockdiamond]

Nice looking stone davi_el_mejor!

Ace made a great point- if they were not all that much and you love them it's not all that big a deal

If you are going to get reports, I also echo the sentiment that GIA is the only lab to use.
At first, looking at the initial photos, I might have said natural. Your first photo looked kind of like a brownish yellow
Looking at the UV photos, I'm leaning towards treated.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Nice looking stone davi_el_mejor!

Ace made a great point- if they were not all that much and you love them it's not all that big a deal

If you are going to get reports, I also echo the sentiment that GIA is the only lab to use.
At first, looking at the initial photos, I might have said natural. Your first photo looked kind of like a brownish yellow
Looking at the UV photos, I'm leaning towards treated.

Thanks DBL. What about the fluor points to treated?

 

[Rockdiamond]

You're welcome!

From what I see, the FL looks a bit to electric green- as opposed to blue ( most common) white or yellow....

That leads me to question the origin.

 

[Fly Girl]

Here are my yellow side stones showing strong yellow and green fluorescence in sunlight. Natural diamonds, but treated to get the yellow color. I didn't care enough about the melee to pay a premium for natural yellow color. Anyhow, I think that the fluorescent color looks similar to yours.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

it came back as irradiated. I'm not going to return it, the appraiser said what I paid is what it would cost wholesale for irradiated and the quality of the stone.

I fully intend to let the vendor know this. Now, would you give negative or neutral feedback with the truth about the stone?

 

[minousbijoux]

That is very disappointing - not for the $ amount, but because it makes doing business so hard when you can't trust the vendor. I would be angry if they represented something which was not true, and would want others to know it as well.

 

[Indylady]

Davi, I am so sorry to hear that it came back irradiated! That is really, really frustrating, but the diamond is very pretty regardless. I have some irradiated topaz hoops that I love dearly (a gift from my sweet SO for our first Christmas) and I wouldn't trade them for anything else.

 

[kenny]

If the vendor lied I'd say so in my feedback.

Truth is always best.

 

[T L]

The only way to know for sure is to send it the the GIA for a radiation stain. The OP at least didn't pay much for it, and that's a consolation. The other thing to worry about are synthetics. Do synthetic yellow diamonds also fluor greenish yellow or have any fluor?

 

[LD]

Davi - I'm not sure that an appraiser has the equipment to test for irradiation so I'm pretty sure this is just a guess. I have both irradiated and natural yellows and some have fluor. I have to say that when I first saw yours, my first feeling was that it was natural. I've also bought from that seller and find him to be upfront and honest. So before you leave any feedback I would strongly suggest getting it tested by a lab.

 

[T L]

it came back as irradiated. I'm not going to return it, the appraiser said what I paid is what it would cost wholesale for irradiated and the quality of the stone.

I fully intend to let the vendor know this. Now, would you give negative or neutral feedback with the truth about the stone?

I missed this, I see it is irradiated. I would probably leave a negative just to warn people that he did not disclose the truth. Where did you send the stone to be tested? At least it's not synthetic or a simulant.