Help with interpreting GIA report

[uga2000]

Good morning,

I'm very much an amateur in the diamond world (other than what I taught myself when shopping a year or so ago). In mid-2007, I purchased a loose stone and a Tacori band (style #2573, msrp ~$2,700) from a local jeweler and had that same jeweler send the stone for GIA certification. Then I had the jeweler set the stone in the band. I picked up the completed ring and GIA report in July of last year along with the jeweler's appraisal of $8,600 for the completed ring. Then, sadly, the relationship ended before I was able to give the ring; hence, it has never been worn.

Well, I posted it for resale on Craigslist yesterday and received an email from someone who was interested until she saw the GIA report. Her words: "On the GIA report, it says your diamond got chipped off the edge of the stone. It looks like the piece of glass got chipped off. It does not worth as much as in good condition. If you buy it from the store, you should return it back. I'll pass."

Could the experts here at Pricescope please help me interpret the GIA report? Is what she is saying true? And does the jeweler's appraisal seem accurate? I'm just worried that I was scammed without even knowing it...

Thank you so much for your help.

Best,
Jason

 

[Lorelei]

I will wait for one of the real experts to chime in, but it is my understanding that a chip on a VVS grading report, is miniscule and therefore not an issue.

See this thread for some expert input with a similar situation.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/repolish-a-vvs1-chip.13488/

 

[uga2000]

Thank you very much - I did do some searching before making this post, but I really had no idea what I was searching for! The thread you referenced makes me feel a bit better about the situation. It certainly sounds as though I have very little to worry about.

Thanks again!
Jason

 

[swingirl]

Forgetting the appraisal because those can be inflated, you know what you paid for the setting and the stone before you got it set. You probably won''t get back what you paid. And someone from Craigslist may be trying to get you to come down on your price.

I don''t know what their commission is but Pearlman''s sells previously owned jewelry. I don''t know what kind of luck you''ll have with Craigslist but it''s worth a try. Just make sure you have a good photo and accurate description. Use Tacori and GIA in the heading as these are words people will search.

 

[denverappraiser]

The ‘chip’ being referred to on the lab report is in the explanation of the plotting diagram. This is a clarity characteristic and it’s explaining why the stone was graded VVS1 instead of the next grade up, which in this case is IF. It’s correct to say that a VV1 is worth less than an otherwise similar IF but this ‘chip’ has already been taken into account with the grading so discounting it against other VVS1’s for this reason is double dipping. The size an profile of a chip that will make a VVS1 grade but not drop it further is going to be quite small and detectable only under strong magnification. I can’t see where it is on the plotting diagram but usually this will be in the corner, right on one of the points. Is she saying that she thinks it’s been damaged since GIA saw it?

The very thin girdle is a red flag for durability problems and she may be discounting for that but there may be other issues at play here as well. She may just be beating you up on the price, she may simply not want it because of the girdle, her cashflow or some other reason, etc. That is, of course, entirely her right but equating a VVS1 to a chipped piece of glass is being awfully harsh unless there’s some other damage since the stone was inspected.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[uga2000]

Thanks to all for your help!