Diamond Studs - To get certified or not?

[Shannon72781]

So I went with my friend today to help her with wedding bands and of course, while I am there I decide to look at earrings.

I fell in love with a pair of 1.5 ctw diamond studs that were gorgeous! The jeweler said they were uncertified, but they were ideal cut, G-H color, VS2-SI1 clarity.

Now I am usually a certified-only person, but I could see that they were very white (my e-ring and wedding band are both G-Si1) and I could see the facets, but not sure if I could make hearts and arrows out without a loupe.

She said she could source certifed ones for me, but it would drive the cost up, of course. it does come with an appraisal as well as a money back guarantee

Price she offered was $3200 with the setting.

would would you do? Go in there with a loupe and examine...maybe purchase and take them to be graded elsewhere and appraised? Not sure, but these earrings were huge and BEAUTIFUL

Thanks!

 

[Todd Gray]

Lab grading is fairly reasonable, it would not drive the cost up by more than $150.00 or so for the pair... One scenario that might drive the price up is legitimate grading if the price of the diamonds being offered is not based on GIA or AGS standards... In other words if the diamonds you are looking at would not receive "the grade assigned" when sent to the GIA or AGS, then the cost might escalate considerably to obtain lab graded diamonds of the same caliber once legitimately graded.

With the abundance of lab graded diamonds currently available, I see no reason for an educated buyer to consider diamonds which have not been lab graded - unless the buyer happens to be employed in the diamond industry and that is their job - otherwise there is no legitimate reason to accept the word of the seller when the opinion of an impartial laboratory can be obtained for so little money.

IMO an appraisal provided by the seller is worth very little in terms of "verification" or peace of mind, consumers should always obtain their own appraisal from an independent source who is being paid by the consumer and thus is employed as an expert resource on behalf of the consumer... There is a list of independent appraisers available via the Resources link at the top of this page. Note that accurate proportions information can only be obtained when a diamond is unmounted, this is one of the benefits of buying a lab graded diamond - the lab determines the proportions while the gem is unmounted - then an independent appraiser can verify the other characteristics of the diamond while mounted (in earrings or whatever) to verify that the customer is receiving what they intended to purchase (because things can get mixed up in a jewelry store). I specifically mention the proportions rating of a diamond because the proportions / cut grade portion of the 4C's can contribute to 60% of the selling price!

 

[neatfreak]

Buy em if you can get a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE that they are what they claim they are. Then just send em to be appraised by someone like Richard Sherwood. If they aren''t what they claim then return them. If they are, then you get a great deal.