costco diamond?

[mzzdna]

so i was just browsing costco''s selection of diamonds and wonder how accurate their "igi values" are? and can you tell the quality of a ring from the amount of info they give you? to a newbie this seems like a pretty nice diamond for $16k? thanks for the input!

http://www.costco.com/Images/Content/Misc/PDF/291877.pdf

 

[Splinter]

I ran a search for IGI on the forum. It seems the general opinion is that the IGI (depending on where the lab is - New York, Antwerp, etc) is softer on grading than the GIA. Better stones would probably be sent to a better lab. Before you get this stone, check the returns info. Then have it appraised within the return period. If the stone is as good as IGI says, then fine, but if it turns out to be a lesser quality stone then ship it back.

If you really want to see if it''s a well cut diamond, find out the angles and run it through the cut advisor. Or just post the info here and I/another eager PS''er will run it for you and give you opinions.

I''d rather stick with AGS, or even GIA when it comes to certification.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/8/2008 3:11:07 AM
Author:mzzdna
so i was just browsing costco's selection of diamonds and wonder how accurate their 'igi values' are? and can you tell the quality of a ring from the amount of info they give you? to a newbie this seems like a pretty nice diamond for $16k? thanks for the input!

http://www.costco.com/Images/Content/Misc/PDF/291877.pdf

No. We really need the crown and pavilion angles to be able to judge cut quality, at the very least. Here is some info on IGI for you to read.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/grading.asp

Have you looked at some of the other vendors to see what they have to offer? Personally, I would want a lot more info on a diamond before I would consider purchasing.

 

[mandielee]

The IGI certificate gives a GIA report number, which I punched into GIA''s report checker:

http://www.gia.edu/reportcheck/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showReportVerification&reportno=16273336&weight=1.54

Here''s the stats - the basic dimensions line up exactly with the IGI one, so I think Costco was just showing the IGI cert because it shows the high replacement value, and is therefore more "meaningful" to people who aren''t PSers

(Unless, of course, IGI is just being lazy and found one that matched the dimensions and their assessment of color and clarity to show as an "example")

Report Check for
GIA Report Number: 16273336

Report Type: GIA Diamond Grading Report
Date of Issue: October 01, 2007

Round Brilliant
Measurements: 7.50 - 7.55 x 4.47 mm
Carat Weight: 1.54
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: VS2
Cut Grade: Very Good

Proportions:
Depth: 59.4 %
Table: 58 %
Crown Angle: 31.5°
Crown Height: 12.5 %
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion Depth: 43 %
Star length: 55 %
Lower Half: 80 %
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted
Culet: None

Finish:
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None



It gets a 1.1 in HCA - perhaps the crown angle was a bit shallower than GIA was looking for on an "Excellent" rating. Might be worth looking into, especially if Costco''s jewelry return policies are as reasonable as their other merchandise returns are, provided the GIA report number listed on the IGI certificate is for this exact diamond!!!

 

[mandielee]

Looks like some of their other larger stones are advertised with the IGI reports, but also have GIA ones. Don''t they know that PSers wanna see the GIA paper

 

[mzzdna]

why is it that the igi value is so much higher than costco''s sale price?

didn''t know you can look up those reports. good tip! thanks!