GIA Center - Need certified side stones?

[mr_orange_23]

I recently purchased a 1.5 ct, GIA Cert., G, VS1 Princess cut diamond. My jeweler, who I actually trust and who gave me a very good price on the stone, has suggested that I could save significant money by buying my side stones uncertified... they are going to be .5 carat each. He said that at that size it doesn''t matter as much, and the fact that they are side stones. He showed me some natural side stones that he claims are also a G and about SI1 or SI2.. and honestly the color is perfect.. it matches the center stone beautifully... now he also offered me GIA stones if I want those but they are about $1000 more. I am already over budget so the $1000 savings would be great...

any thoughts or suggestions? I know it would hurt the resale value of the ring, but we all hope that won''t happen.. and most of the value is in the center stone anyway (which i have a certificate for).

Thanks for the help.

 

[gemmy1]

I would go with the advice of the jeweler, who you trust, and save the money. If they match nicely visually, the feature stone will be accented properly, which is the main purpose of side stones.

 

[Sundial]

I think a lot of this depends upon your confidence in the jeweler. My husband purchased my three stone ring with an AGS certified center stone and uncertified sidestones that were already set in the mounting. We are quite confident that we got what we paid for. I think it makes a difference too if you can see them in person and feel satisfied with the way they look. Ordering sight unseen online I would probably want certs on all the stones.

 

[niceice]

There should not be a $1,000.00 price difference between lab graded diamonds and non-lab graded diamonds of equal quality - the lab grading process is quite minimal for half carat size stones...