Does the GIA cert/report # on an appraisal suffice as description of quality?

[brightstone]

This is a follow up to my previous post today. Earlier, I was concerned because my appraisal only describes color and clarity of my diamond; it doesn''t say anything about the cut of my diamond, and in the case of needing to replace the ring, if lost, I wanted to get a comparable quality cut grade from the insurance (my cut grade is exxcellent). My thought was that if the appraisal doesn''t say anything about cut, they could replace my diamond ring with a diamond of any cut quality as long as it met the other specs listed on the appraisal (clarity and color). However, I just realized that although there is no description of cut in the appraisal, it does list the GIA report/cert # of the diamond (and therefore, the cut can be looked up online by the insurer, right???).

BUT, Someone reponded to my previous post with the following: "it is the description from the appraisal that you would submit (in case of needing to replace ring) and that will become the purchase order. If you want something to be one of the specs for the replacement jeweler, it must be mentioned in this description or it will become the default, which is whatever is commercially typical."
So my next question is: Since they are using the description on the appraisal, alone, for the purchase order, does the fact that the GIA report number is listed on the appraisal become a substitute for a detailed cut description on the appraisal document itself? OR must the cut description be specifically spelled out on the appraisal to be included as part of the purchase order and a GIA report number listed on an appraisal won''t replace a worded description of cut quality.

Phew! I hope I made sense there....

 

[neatfreak]

I would get as MUCH detailed cut information as humanly possible. Including branding of the stone if there is any (H&A, Whiteflash ACA, etc.) the more info you have the better protected you are. The problem with just the GIA cert is that there is a WIDE range of what would fall under a GIA excellent/very good category. So without additional documentation, all they need to do is replace like with like, even if it really isn''t as nicely cut KWIM?

 

[oldminer]

The report number could be sufficient in some cases, but it is always good to have the additional professional opinion of the appraiser applied to the report, too. If you ever have a legal confrontation with your insurance company, you would want all the ammo you can get. They can afford good attorneys and time is on their side. It is rather rare to have a problem of this sort, but it does happen now and then.

 

[brightstone]

Date: 9/23/2008 5:06:16 PM
Author: neatfreak
I would get as MUCH detailed cut information as humanly possible. Including branding of the stone if there is any (H&A, Whiteflash ACA, etc.) the more info you have the better protected you are. The problem with just the GIA cert is that there is a WIDE range of what would fall under a GIA excellent/very good category. So without additional documentation, all they need to do is replace like with like, even if it really isn''t as nicely cut KWIM?

Thanks. Well, my appraisal report doesn''t list anything about cut, but DOES list the GIA cert # of the diamond, and if the insurance company were to look up the GIA certification online (gia.edu) they would find a very detailed description of the cut (depth, pavillion %, crown and pavillion angles, etc.).

It''s just that the insurance company would have to go the extra step to look up the cut by going on line and looking it up. I am just wondering if there is a loophole where they can say, "well, cut isn''t listed on the written appraisal, so we can go with any kind of cut in a replacement diamond", even though, if they took the extra step to search the GIA cert # online, from the appraisal report, they would find all the info about the cut.

Hope I am not being too confusing...

 

[brightstone]

David, I think your response actually answers my last question. Looks like I may need to ask the appraiser to adjust the appraisal to give more info on cut, even though the GIA cert # is also listed.

 

[denverappraiser]

Listing the report number in the description brings the entire report into the process, including the GIA cut grading estimate, which is included in every report that contains the information you’ve listed (pre-2006 reports have far less info). I actually include a scan of the entire report but the effect is the same although there may be a little more legwork required if your replacement jeweler isn’t on top of the ball. I just hate relying on whether GIA’s website is up that day and whether they will continue to offer that service for the life of your policy. I like to spell it out for the replacement folks and I like a self contained document where the client can easily reproduce a full copy without relying on GIA or anyone else, even me.

The appraiser has, presumably, inspected the stone and found it to be matching and undamaged between the date of the report and the date of the appraisal so if there’s nothing you consider to be of value that’s not on that report you should be covered.

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

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 9/23/2008 7:33:55 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Listing the report number in the description brings the entire report into the process, including the GIA cut grading estimate, which is included in every report that contains the information you’ve listed (pre-2006 reports have far less info). I actually include a scan of the entire report but the effect is the same although there may be a little more legwork required if your replacement jeweler isn’t on top of the ball. I just hate relying on whether GIA’s website is up that day and whether they will continue to offer that service for the life of your policy. I like to spell it out for the replacement folks and I like a self contained document where the client can easily reproduce a full copy without relying on GIA or anyone else, even me.

The appraiser has, presumably, inspected the stone and found it to be matching and undamaged between the date of the report and the date of the appraisal so if there’s nothing you consider to be of value that’s not on that report you should be covered.

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

We also include a scan as well as a PDF of each grading report that we see. The client gets a PDF of the appraisal and any other documents for their records, as well as hard copies that we provide when the appraisal is delivered. Everyone is happy and all the bases have been covered

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[brightstone]

Date: 9/23/2008 7:33:55 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Listing the report number in the description brings the entire report into the process, including the GIA cut grading estimate, which is included in every report that contains the information you’ve listed (pre-2006 reports have far less info). I actually include a scan of the entire report but the effect is the same although there may be a little more legwork required if your replacement jeweler isn’t on top of the ball. I just hate relying on whether GIA’s website is up that day and whether they will continue to offer that service for the life of your policy. I like to spell it out for the replacement folks and I like a self contained document where the client can easily reproduce a full copy without relying on GIA or anyone else, even me.


The appraiser has, presumably, inspected the stone and found it to be matching and undamaged between the date of the report and the date of the appraisal so if there’s nothing you consider to be of value that’s not on that report you should be covered.


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

So, this still might be an issue for me because my GIA report IS pre-2006 and lists nothing about cut grade on it (except depth and table %...no crown and pavillion angle info though). It''s only when you plug the GIA report # into GIA''s website (on the GIA report check) that you see the cut grade is excellent, and the additional info about crown and pavillion angles, etc. There is a lot more info about cut on this informal "report check" document that pulls up on GIA''s website than there is on my original GIA report which is dated May 4, 2005. Maybe I should see if GIA can issue a new GIA report with cut grade on it?? Does that ever happen?

 

[brightstone]

Solved: I called GIA and they said that if I mail them the 2005 GIA report on my diamond, they could re-issue the GIA report to include cut grade information. Although cut information is not on my 2005 GIA report, they do have it in their system. If they didn''t have the information about in their system, I would have had to resubmit the diamond for regrading. Problem solved

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Date: 9/25/2008 6:46:20 AM
Author: brightstone
Solved: I called GIA and they said that if I mail them the 2005 GIA report on my diamond, they could re-issue the GIA report to include cut grade information. Although cut information is not on my 2005 GIA report, they do have it in their system. If they didn''t have the information about in their system, I would have had to resubmit the diamond for regrading. Problem solved

Good deal, brightstone. A worthwhile phone call.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[brightstone]

Hi Massachusetts Metro My ol'' hometown!! After 12 years living in Cambridge, I moved down to Savannah GA for my man Happy here, but miss Cambridge sooooo much. Enjoy it for me!