GHI Certification and MDC Diamonds

[ohehmeyer]

I am purchasing a ring from Mr. David Cohen at MDC Diamonds. He uses GHI (Gem House International) for certifying and apprasing his diamonds. Here is what he said about GHI in an email to me:

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GHI is a 3rd party gem laboratory that I work with, here in NY. You can check on them at www.GHILAB.com. Their gemologists are GIA graduates and they work by GIA standards and methods.

Regarding the address - GHI, IGI, and even GIA are all in the same building as ours. So are a lot of other dealers and diamond wholesalers. It''s a huge building, in the heart of the diamonds district in NY.

Furthermore, GIA do not provide certificate and appraisal for the whole ring - only for the center diamond. Therefore, for my customer''s needs (which is usually insurance) - GIA is no good, and GHI is perfect.

Now, the most important question - the value you receive. We are conducting our business that way so we’d be able to cut the middle-man prices. We sell direct to consumers with no overhead of jewelry stores. We sell typically 50% to 70% off retail stores. I believe you cannot get this price anywhere else for that kind of stone, and that it IS an amazing deal, with a great dealer value.

As you also know, our policy is 100% satisfaction guaranteed! That means you have 10 days from the day you receive the item to exchange it or return it for full refund. We’ll only reimburse ourselves for the shipping costs.

Please let me know if I can help with any additional questions.

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I ask Pricescope readers, What did your local jeweler think of your GHI certified diamond (probably from MDC diamonds)? I found Mr. Cohen to be excellent to work with. He answered all my questions, gave me a good deal, and was pressure-free. I think this may be a classic case of buying the store brand as opposed to the branded product. GIA is the brand, and is pricey. Maybe GHI is just as good, but costs less? And, I do like the idea of getting an appraisal for the whole ring.

I will report back to this forum with what my local jeweler says about the diamond:

0.85 carat princess cut diamond
5.34 x 5.28 x 3.84 mm
F color
VS2 clarity
72.7% depth
75% table
Very Good polish
Very Good symmetry

 

[belle]

Date: 12/1/2005 11:41:26 AM
Author:ohehmeyer

Furthermore, GIA do not provide certificate and appraisal for the whole ring - only for the center diamond. Therefore, for my customer''s needs (which is usually insurance) - GIA is no good, and GHI is perfect.

actually, gia provides neither a certificate nor an appraisal for anything. they grade diamonds and issue grading reports. mounted stones cannot be graded accurately and therefore gia only grades loose diamonds.

since you didn''t give a price for the stone, we can''t tell if it''s truly the deal of the century but i am glad you are happy with your purchase anyway.

enjoy!

 

[denverappraiser]

This document will undoubtably meet the requirements of your insurance company. Whether it meets yours will depend on what you want to know. Consider using some of your 10 days to get an appraisal from an appraiser chosen by you, not by the seller.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[diamondsbylauren]

I think it''s important to point out that although they may share the same building address, GIA, and GHI are NOT in the same league, by any stretch of the imagination.

GIA is the only lab which dealers will trust.
Below that is EGL and IGI- neither of which carries anywhere near the weight of a GIA report.
EVERYTHING else is just a piece of paper- with no meaing whatsoever in the trade

 

[pearcrazy]

Look carefully at the specs on the diamond. Run them through the cut class charts. You will usually find that their diamonds don't score very well. I almost bought a diamond from them but found after some thorough searching of PS vendors that I could have a better cut diamond for almost the same amount of money that DID come with a GIA certificate and scored well on the cut class charts. Like Belle said, the GIA doesn't appraise diamonds, they grade them and have no personal interest in doing so. My guess is that the grading lab that also "appraises" the diamond has a personal interest in doing so. I'm just curious if MDC diamonds is also in the same building as GHI grading lab or if GHI grades diamonds for any other vendors. Perhaps a question to ask. Since you have already ordered the ring I hope that you are pleased with your purchase. Best wishes.

 

[ohehmeyer]

I am reporting back.

I did end up ordering a custom-made piece from Mr. Cohen.

Diamond (w/ GHI certification):

0.85 carat princess cut diamond
5.34 x 5.28 x 3.84 mm
F color
VS2 clarity
72.7% depth
75% table
Very Good polish
Very Good symmetry

Ring:

Size: 4.5
Metal: Yellow Gold, 14K
Setting Style: triangular prongs (called a V-prong sometimes) and flanking blue sapphire baguettes
Total: $3285
I was quite happy with this. Unfortunately, one of the four prongs was not a V-prong but a normal square-prong. Mr. Cohen was extremely apologetic and offered to fix the ring for free and make everything right. At that point though, my nagging doubt about the GHI cert. and the mix-up with the prong killed my emotional connection to the ring. Even though the diamond was well-cut, I returned the ring and Mr. Cohen promptly returned all of money just as he said he was. When I called to get my RMA number the person who took my call was very polite and she had "heard about the prong." She said it in that tone of voice that led me to believe that someone got in trouble for the oversight.

In the long run, I feel in love with a blue sapphire and didn''t get a diamond at all. I have become a gemstone junkie. Soon, I’ll post the beautiful sapphire I got instead.

If you don''t mind the GHI cert., buying from MDC diamonds seems good to me. I liked my diamond and I liked working with Mr. Cohen, even if things didn''t work out in the end for my purchase.