I just received a princess cut diamond that I ordered from James Allen yesterday morning. This morning I took it into an appraiser (GG, FGA, ASA) to have it checked out. She confirmed that the diamond did match the GIA report (which listed it as 1.78 ct, I color, VS1) When she looked at the diamond under 20x magnification, she found a small chip and a feather on one of the corners of the diamond. These were not identified on the GIA certificate nor were they found by the James Allen's gemologist who reviewed my diamond before shipping it. The appraiser recommended that I should not buy the diamond with the chip and that I should send the diamond back to James Allen to have the chip polished off. She said that no insurance company would insure the diamond since it has a pre-existing chip. She also took some photos of the chip and will be sending them to me shortly. This pretty much ruined my day considering that I was planning to propose in 5 days and am already having the setting custom made to the stone's dimensions.
As soon as I stepped out of her office, I called James Allen about the issue and spoke with a manager. He was very surprised to hear that there is a chip on the stone considering the fact that it had already been reviewed by by their gemologist. He said it is extremely unlikely that it was missed during their review. He said the gemologist probably saw the chip and decided that it was not a cause for any concern and did not reduce the quality or structural integrity of the stone. He also said that since the GIA did not include it on their plot, they probably also deemed that it wasn't a problem. He said that there shouldn't be any problem with having it insured since insurance companies generally only care about the carat, color, clarity, and whether the diamond is damaged. He says the chip shouldn't be considered as damage. He said that if I do send it back, the earliest they will receive it is the day before my planned proposal date. They would then have it reviewed by their senior gemologist and he is 99% sure that the gemologist will find the chip and determine that it does not affect the quality or structure of the stone and will recommend to have it shipped back to me as is. In the unlikely event that they determine it should be polished, it will take over a week to polish and have it re-evaluated before it can be sent back to me. I have e option to exchange it for another diamond but they will have to receive the current diamond first before they can ship it. That means receiving the diamond on the same day I am planning to propose. Also, there won't be enough time for them to do the Sarin report and ASET photos. He suggested that my appraiser was overly technical and was wrong in saying that insurance companies will reject the diamond.
I'm pretty distraught right now and really need some advice. Should I keep the current diamond that I have? Since it was found only under 20x magnification, is it any cause for concern? If not, Can I just ask the jeweler to cover the chip during setting and take the finished ring to a different appraiser who may not see the chip and therefore not have to note it on any appraisal documents? Even if it is noted on the appraisal, will insurance companies really reject the diamond? Please help.
As soon as I stepped out of her office, I called James Allen about the issue and spoke with a manager. He was very surprised to hear that there is a chip on the stone considering the fact that it had already been reviewed by by their gemologist. He said it is extremely unlikely that it was missed during their review. He said the gemologist probably saw the chip and decided that it was not a cause for any concern and did not reduce the quality or structural integrity of the stone. He also said that since the GIA did not include it on their plot, they probably also deemed that it wasn't a problem. He said that there shouldn't be any problem with having it insured since insurance companies generally only care about the carat, color, clarity, and whether the diamond is damaged. He says the chip shouldn't be considered as damage. He said that if I do send it back, the earliest they will receive it is the day before my planned proposal date. They would then have it reviewed by their senior gemologist and he is 99% sure that the gemologist will find the chip and determine that it does not affect the quality or structure of the stone and will recommend to have it shipped back to me as is. In the unlikely event that they determine it should be polished, it will take over a week to polish and have it re-evaluated before it can be sent back to me. I have e option to exchange it for another diamond but they will have to receive the current diamond first before they can ship it. That means receiving the diamond on the same day I am planning to propose. Also, there won't be enough time for them to do the Sarin report and ASET photos. He suggested that my appraiser was overly technical and was wrong in saying that insurance companies will reject the diamond.
I'm pretty distraught right now and really need some advice. Should I keep the current diamond that I have? Since it was found only under 20x magnification, is it any cause for concern? If not, Can I just ask the jeweler to cover the chip during setting and take the finished ring to a different appraiser who may not see the chip and therefore not have to note it on any appraisal documents? Even if it is noted on the appraisal, will insurance companies really reject the diamond? Please help.
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