GIA certification

[NyssaLynne]

I have been reading all the IGI-bashing on this site. The stone I am considering purchasing comes with an IGI cert. Can an individual send a diamond to GIA for grading and how much does it cost? And is it really worth it?

 

[denverappraiser]

NyssaLynne,

Yes, GIA will accept stones from the public. Call them at 800-421-7250 or www.gia.edu for pricing and such. Be warned that they are pretty slow, currently about 6 weeks turnaround time.

IGI doesn''t enjoy the same reputtion as GIA for consistency of grading but this doesn''t make them wrong. All lab reports should be considered a guide only and taken with grain of salt. IGI reports maybe need a few extra grains. The bright side of this is that IGI graded stones tend to sell at a discoun because of it. If you find a stone that you love that is correctly graded by IGI, there''s a decent chance that it''s a bargain as well.

Buy the stone, not the paper.

Neil Beaty
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[elmo]

In this sort of situation it''s not unusual to make the sale contingent upon the GIA result turning out as agreed. I would try to get the seller to pay if it doesn''t come back as agreed, otherwise you pay. Of course sometimes there''s an occasional surprise but they should have a pretty good idea about how things will turn out. That''s potentially a long time for the seller''s money and the supplier''s inventory to be tied up though so it wouldn''t be unreasonable for you to pay for the stone beforehand i.e. that you''re committing to the deal as long as the outcome is as expected.

There are advantages to the seller sending this...he gets a discount which he should pass along to you. Also if the stone is borderline the supplier may want to argue the call and submit for regrading. If I was the supplier I''d want that chance.

Another good alternative is to send to an independent 3rd party like Neil who you trust. It will certainly take less time, and you get the personal service.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 12/22/2004 10:59:38 PM
Author: elmo
Another good alternative is to send to an independent 3rd party like Neil who you trust. It will certainly take less time, and you get the personal service.

Less time.
Less expensive.
More information.

Good reasons to proceed thusly.

Strongly ditto elmo here.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 12/22/2004 8:58:52 PM
Author:NyssaLynne
I have been reading all the IGI-bashing on this site. The stone I am considering purchasing comes with an IGI cert. Can an individual send a diamond to GIA for grading and how much does it cost? And is it really worth it?

N.Lynne
is this a round cut ? what kind of information is on the IGI cert ? maybe you should send it to AGS lab,my stone came back in 8 days.this was 7 months ago ,don''t know how long is the turnround time now.

 

[NyssaLynne]

This ia a marquise cut stone. The IGI cert has: shape/cut, measurement, weight, color, clarity, polish/symmetry, treatment, description, and a comments area. It also says that a detailed appraisal is available by contacting COA which I plan to do today.