Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Diamond Dossier vs full report vs eReport

Mjay

Mjay

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
1,209
I’m considering sending my diamond to gia before I have it set. I’m torn on which grading report to get. The stone is 1.28 cts and I plan to get a laser inscription. I was initially planning on just getting a dossier but if I want to sell it in the future I’m concerned that it will be a turn off not to have a full report.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AV_
What's the price diff?
 
I believe a dossier is only avialble for stones under 1ct
 
I would get a full report, while $50 is $50 it is a small % of the value of the stone and worth it in my opinion.
 
Thanks everyone. I went with the full.
 
The diff is a little more. The inscription is included with the dossier service and it’s an extra charge with the full report.
 
denverappraiser said:
The diff is a little more. The inscription is included with the dossier service and it’s an extra charge with the full report.
Click to expand...

You’d think it would be the other way around!
 
In theory, it takes longer to draw the clarity plot correctly than to laser inscribe a girdle. Girdles are of varying smoothness and thickness and getting the inscription done right occasionally has a problem, but is mostly a no-brainer type task. Drawing a clarity plot that has reasonable resemblance to the diamond takes experience, training and patience to render an inclusion plot image. For high clarity diamonds, either report works just fine. I find that seeing the clarity plot on lower clarity stones better explains the nature of the diamond's clarity situation when it can't just examine the diamond in person.
 
Thanks for all the input. I should add that the stone already has a German cert with a clarity grade of vs2. I honestly don’t care much about the having the gia cert because I already have a cert. I’m only getting it because I plan to set the diamond soon and am concerned that if I ever want to sell it to upgrade I’ll need the gia cert. that’s why I was considering the dossier.
 
Mjay said:
Thanks for all the input. I should add that the stone already has a German cert with a clarity grade of vs2. I honestly don’t care much about the having the gia cert because I already have a cert. I’m only getting it because I plan to set the diamond soon and am concerned that if I ever want to sell it to upgrade I’ll need the gia cert. that’s why I was considering the dossier.
Click to expand...

Who did the original lab report?
 
Let me start with some drama. I wonder if a skydiver jumping from 10,000 feet would accept less-thorough examination of his parachute than those being used for jumps at 18,000 feet?

I realize this is an exaggeration (diamonds are not life and death) but after many decades examining thousands of diamonds of all shapes, sizes and qualities I can declare that even a full report doesn’t tell me all I need to know.

By comparison the dossier seems woefully inadequate. Yes, I understand they’re for diamonds of lower values, to help lower price-points. I’m happy to stand alone in my position, but I feel that a young person buying a half-carat diamond deserves the same protection, caretaking and documentation as someone buying a three-carat diamond. After all, the purchase may be equally precious to both buyers.

Wink
 
Mjay said:
Thanks for all the input. I should add that the stone already has a German cert with a clarity grade of vs2. I honestly don’t care much about the having the gia cert because I already have a cert. I’m only getting it because I plan to set the diamond soon and am concerned that if I ever want to sell it to upgrade I’ll need the gia cert. that’s why I was considering the dossier.
Click to expand...

If you are worried about re-selling at some point, having the full GIA lab report - in my opinion - will be helpful. I am curious how it comes back relative to the DPL report, so do let us know if you go that route.
 
@Wink - I can totally understand your position from one standpoint- the ‘Dossier’ seems like a shortcut.

But if you’re holding a diamond and can plot the imperfections yourself, what does the dossier leave out?
We both agree that the report itself doesn’t give enough information to make a final decision in any case.
The plot, while entertaining in a sense, doesn’t answer vital clarity questions.
I’m curious- maybe I missed something the dossier omits besides the plot.

About having a GIA for when one wants to sell:
If the point of sale is beyond ....maybe 5 years or so, and it’s a substantial stone, it’s possible a buyer might ask for a new report.
I’d still want the peace of mind for myself though.
 
Diamond_Hawk said:
If you are worried about re-selling at some point, having the full GIA lab report - in my opinion - will be helpful. I am curious how it comes back relative to the DPL report, so do let us know if you go that route.
Click to expand...

Yes I’m very curious as well!
 
@Wink - I can totally understand your position from one standpoint- the ‘Dossier’ seems like a shortcut. But if you’re holding a diamond and can plot the imperfections yourself, what does the dossier leave out?
Click to expand...

First, I want to clarify that the position I take is not about me @Rockdiamond. It’s about my customers. I’m completely comfortable with my analysis. But I feel every one of my clients deserves all possible information on the official lab report about a purchase for which they are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars, especially since every diamond is different than the next and the next.

I will answer your question further, though. In addition to lacking a clarity plot, which is like omitting the diamond’s fingerprint, the average measurements are rounded by GIA, and there is no indication of what is happening to light within the diamond after it enters the crown.

You probably realize by now that my benchmark is not a fuller report from GIA, it’s the AGS Platinum report which has significantly more information by which to identify a diamond, and which is the report I deliver to every client.

We both agree that the report itself doesn’t give enough information to make a final decision in any case.
Click to expand...

We absolutely do agree on that count. As I said above, my position is about the client, not the jeweler. I simply feel that a young person buying a half-carat diamond deserves the same protection, caretaking and documentation as someone buying a three-carat diamond.

Wink
 
What is omitted is a plot drawn by an unrelated 3rd party, presumably an expert. A diagram by the seller is not the same thing, and having the customer do it themself isn't even close.
 
I sent my best stone to GIA having done only a little research, and was surprised and disappointed to learn that old cut stones don’t receive angle measurements the way modern stones do. If I had known that ahead of time, I might have sent it to AGS for a platinum evaluation instead. YMMV
 
Thanks Wink!
I agree- the rounding of measurements renders a GIA report inadequate for someone wanting a Super Ideal RBC. But that applies to full GIA report, as well as Dossier.

From my perspective: there's a place for Dossier Reports. If a cutter needs to have hundreds or thousands of diamonds graded, the difference in price really does add up.
I see far more stones below 1/2ct with GIA reports over the past 5 years. All with Dossiers. That's a huge improvement over stones with no reports at all.

I really wish GIA had a product for smaller FCD's. Prices there start at $98 for a report with not only no plot- no clarity grade whatsoever- or fluoresence.
Complete reports for FCDs start at $140 ouch.

Neil and Wink- how useful do you guys find a plot for assessing clarity?
From my perspective- it tells me little about how visible an imperfection might be in VS-SI and I1 grades.
 
Thanks Wink! I agree- the rounding of measurements renders a GIA report inadequate for someone wanting a Super Ideal RBC. But that applies to full GIA report, as well as Dossier.
Click to expand...
@Rockdiamond, yes it does. Additionally, I believe it’s frustrating for more than just super ideal seekers. It’s frustrating for those who like chunky pavilion facets and are forced to guess whether 75 LH% could really be 73 or 77. It’s frustrating for anyone who’d like to know an accurate HCA result, regardless of make. It’s frustrating for anyone wanting to know how another lab might grade a diamond based on proportions.

From my perspective: there's a place for Dossier Reports. If a cutter needs to have hundreds or thousands of diamonds graded, the difference in price really does add up.
Click to expand...
That is another argument on the side of the diamond industry. It’s not on the side of the consumer so I do not agree with it.

I see far more stones below 1/2ct with GIA reports over the past 5 years. All with Dossiers. That's a huge improvement over stones with no reports at all. I really wish GIA had a product for smaller FCD's. Prices there start at $98 for a report with not only no plot- no clarity grade whatsoever- or fluoresence. Complete reports for FCDs start at $140 ouch.
Click to expand...
Ouch, indeed. I wonder what the true cost of acquiring a GIA grading report might be. Especially since most grading now happens in countries where wages are minimal. It’s possible the majority expense is in shipping and insurance to/from those places, not in the labor or printing.

Neil and Wink- how useful do you guys find a plot for assessing clarity? From my perspective- it tells me little about how visible an imperfection might be in VS-SI and I1 grades.
Click to expand...
Not useful. But that’s not the purpose of the plot. The labs were never set up to determine visibility of an inclusion. I remembered @John Pollard made a post about this very thing and found it. Maybe it’s familiar @Rockdiamond?

Wonderful post about the ORIGINAL PURPOSE of grading reports here.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-and-feathers-be-avoided.248887/#post-4547568

Wink
 
Yes Wink - John and I agreed in that thread.
In my experience LGFs on “Chunky” stones are something people need to use their eyes to determine preferences- because in many older stones there’s other factors at play. Wonkiness as it were. But for sure, some buyers of old stones want the more accurate info.
Also for HCA.
There’re no denying AGS provides more info.
Just that not everyone buying a diamond needs or wants the additional info.
About the new trend of sending smaller stones for Dossiers.
I see this as a win for many consumers. If the cutters didn’t have the option of a less costly GIA product they’d skip the reports. Even though we agree AGS is more thorough GIA still does a great job as it were. With no reports in these less costly stones, the consumers loose.
To me it’s crucial for buyers to find sellers that have the ability to vet the stone- be it GIA AGS or otherwise. That aspect renders the difference between Dossier and full GIA less important
 
headlight said:
You’d think it would be the other way around!
Click to expand...

I believe GIA do it this way because people re submit diamonds to GIA in the hope of getting a better grade. Having to polish off the laser is a hassle.
For larger stones more is at stake and polishing off a laser can be worthwhile.

From a plot GIA can identify many stones that are resubmitted (weight to 4th decimal, 3D scan info etc).
 
For everyone who was curious. I got my results back. Dpl graded the stone p-r VS2. Gia results were O-p VS2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top