Correct. I'm sure at some point when they started they had great intentions. But somewhere along the way, their grading got very lenient. So you really can't trust what an IGI cert says. You typically see a lot of mall stores like Helzberg's and similar use them because their (crap, IMO) stones come back at higher grades than if GIA/AGS graded them and they can charge their customers more money.
On a different note, I sense this carat weight thing may be bothering you so let's address it.
To determine weight, we need to be cognizant of the fact we must first obtain volume which is taken by multiplying the length (L) by the width (W) in the horizontal plane by the depth (D) in the vertical plane and then multiplying that summation by a factor of 0.0061. As a formula, it looks like this:
And now we will test the formula on your actual 1.4 IF stone using actual dimensions obtained from the GIA certificate:
- L x W x D x 0.0061 = Approximate Carat Weight
As you can see, it's not a perfect but gets us close. I mentioned all this to say that carat weight involves both the horizontal and vertical planes. So while it may sound more impressive to say you have a 1.5 carat stone, the reality is that part of that carat weight is "hidden" in the vertical plane that no one will actually see. Only the horizontal plane will be visible.
- 7.13mm x 7.18mm x 4.44mm x 0.0061 = 1.38ct
So rather than get hung up on carat weight, it's a good idea to compare your L x W measurements to other stones. Sometimes a heavier stone has smaller L x W dimensions than a stone of lighter weight. I encountered this when buying my stone for my girl. I bought a 0.867ct stone that measured larger than a 0.90 carat stone. The difference was minimal, but the point remains.
Another key factor to consider is that it takes about 0.20mm difference for the human eye to notice the size increase. Recently there was a thread where someone noted much less difference and swore it was super noticeable to her. I call BS, but maybe she has has eagle eyes and is an outlier. The majority of us cannot see a difference until we hit around that 0.20mm mark.
Food for thought:
And even as you start to notice a slight difference between the 1.40 and 1.54ct stones, the main reason is because they are side by side. Without the side by side I would argue you probably wouldn't know the difference as there is only 1/128th of an inch difference.
- 1.40ct = 7.13 x 7.18
- 1.51ct = 7.30 x 7.33 with a difference of 0.17 x 0.15
- 1.54ct = 7.36 x 7.43 with a difference of 0.23 x 0.25
- 0.20mm = 0.0078 inches
- 1/128th inch = 0.0078 inches
https://www.diamdb.com/compare/1.4ct-round-7.13x7.18x4.44-vs-1.51ct-round-7.3x7.33x4.51
https://www.diamdb.com/compare/1.4ct-round-7.13x7.18x4.44-vs-1.54ct-round-7.36x7.43x4.57
Wow thanks for the detailed explaination. Puts the whole carat weight thing in to perspective.
So some bad news, the BN rep got back to me and they told me that no other image is available including the ideal scope image. They did send one more actual image but it almost looks identical to the one on the site. She reassured me that it is dust and dirt and no IF would have a defect like that.
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