Diamon meets expectations but has more going on than GIA cert states

[scardali]

I''''ve been at the engagement setting / stone hunt for quite some time now (about 6 months) and I''''ve gotten a lot of time in reading and actually looking at stones with a loop, proportions scope...etc. Each of those stones has been GIA certified and I''''ve gotten a bit of a feeling over time as to what personality the stone has versus what''''s on the certificate. My impression has been that it should be 1:1. In other words, I''''ve yet to notice (I''''m not a professional but...) an instance where I''''ve examined a stone and thought "I see the inclusions on the GIA cert, but I see more going on in this stone than the certificate illustrates".

I chose the word "illustrates" because all text-attributes of the stone seem to jive. What I''''m looking at is a 1.61ct round, G-Color, Ex-cut, VG-sym, VG-pol, no culet, very-small girdle SI-2 stone. All of those specs meet my expectations for what I got to very intimately inspect. What doesn''''t jive are the illustrations of what the inclusions are and where they are. The GIA cert shows only 3 "twining whisps". Those three whisps to jive with what I thought I saw, but there are other things that I saw that don''''t jive. None of them were dark in color, and none were overly obvious. The stone was eye-clean, so really I think that his is a fairly exceptional SI-2 which is exactly what I''''m looking for.

But I was still apprehensive to buy. The dealer is a 70-year old man that my brother purchased from about 3-4 years ago from. I consider my brother a good judge of character, but even my brother stated that he seems like a business man but a relatively honest one. At the same token, my brother had one transaction with this gentleman, so it''''s not a sure-thing when you''''ve only got one experience to base a judge-of-character on.

This guy has been at the diamond business for over 45 years so I find it hard to believe that he''''d have a fraudulent certificate, but has anyone ever seen a stone that had more going on than it''''s legitimate GIA certificated illustrated? Assuming that certificate is legitimate and the person grading the stone was just very "easy" on the grading report for whatever reason, are there any potential pitfalls I should be aware of if the stone meets my expectations but the certificate is inaccurate? I don''''t ever see us reselling this stone so I foresee the certificate really only being for insurance purposes.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you take the time to offer.

Sincerely,
Sal C.

 

[neatfreak]

Something sounds off to me. Can you have it independently appraised before purchase? That would solve your problems.

Second, is it possible it was just dirty and what you saw was dust or oil? That can really influence a diamond.

Three, if this is a round brilliant, are you sure what you saw wasn''t the girdle reflection which looks like a break almost going all around the diamond''s middle?

And fourth, this is "hangout" you''ll get a better response if you message the admin to move this thread to Rocky Talk.

Welcome!

 

[kenny]

I believe the marks on inclusions plots are approximations of, rather than precise representations of, the inclusions and their exact locations.

If you doubt the stone matches the report you can send it GIA for verification of match, or use an appraiser you trust who has no financial interest in the transaction.

I'd not reveal the seller's name to the appraiser to ensure complete avoidance of a conflict of interest in case they have a professional relationship - but I am the overly careful type.

 

[denverappraiser]

The plotting diagram on the GIA report is less of an illustration than it is a map. The purpose of it is to identify the things that were important in setting the grade conclusion as well as those things that the grader feels may be useful in identifying the stone in the future. It’s not at all uncommon to have things present in the stone that aren’t drawn on the plotting diagram or where the amount of ink used in the drawing seems disproportionate to the inclusion (either too much or too little).

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[scardali]

Thanks to all of you for your input.

I''ll see about getting it independently appraised but it sounds like it it meets specs for an SI2 then some minor differences should not be overly concerning.

If anyone else has any opinions, I''m very eager to read them. I''ll mull over this for another day or so and think about making the call.

Thanks again all.
Sal C.