Fake Certification?

[chloecro]

How common is it (if at all) for diamond sellers to get fake GIA/AGS Certificates?
I live in NYC, and I'm not sure if it's safe to assume that everything with certification is legit.
If something is certified by GIA/AGS, can you assume it's the real deal?

Thanks.

 

[elliemay]

I don't know how common fake certificates are, but you can double-check by using the online certificate search and louping the stones to make sure the inscriptions match the numbers on the certificate. I suppose even that isn't 100% fool-proof, but it can't hurt. You can also make sure that you get a return policy in writing and take the stone to an appraiser to make sure you're getting what you paid for.

 

[webdiva]

How common is it (if at all) for diamond sellers to get fake GIA/AGS Certificates?
I live in NYC, and I'm not sure if it's safe to assume that everything with certification is legit.
If something is certified by GIA/AGS, can you assume it's the real deal?

Thanks.

You can look up the certs on the GIA or AGS website and see if it matches the diamonds. As a backup, always use an appraiser and have a refund policy. I personally wouldn't buy from anyone that I didn't trust a cert from. Buy from a trusted PS vendor and you're good. Did you decide the specs you're looking for? We can help look.

 

[chloecro]

Web Diva,
Thanks. I'll create a new post with what my (new) specifications are.

 

[denverappraiser]

'Fake' is a pretty broad category. It goes all the way from genuine GIA reports that are mistakenly or deliberately sold with the wrong stone all the way to outright counterfeit documents. The former happens occasionally, the latter is decidedly rare. It's also not unheard of for a stone to be sold with a claim that it's 'certified' when what they have is a copy or a web printout of a document but not the original GIA report or some sort of document written by a GIA graduate. Lastly,it's possible that a stone has been modified or damaged since the date of inspection and therefore no longer matches the document. All of these would fall within the realm of 'fake'.

It's worth noting that GIA doesn't use the word 'certification' at all, and they actively object to others who attach their word to that term. They are certifying nothing. Not diamonds, not their students or allumni, not even their own employees. They provide an opinion about some of the attribute of a stone. Nothing more.