How do I know it''s real?

[kramars333]

I just had a simple question about certified diamonds. My question is; what is stopping a diamond retailer (other than reputation if ever caught) from having a great diamond certified by GIA getting back the certification and sending the certification out with a less quality stone that looks the same, and resnding the original great quality diamond back to GIA and getting another great GIA cert.? Does the GIA keep any records of certain flaws of diamonds to stop this from happening? I mean technically a diamond seller could get a stone certified 10 times just to get the certificate.

Thank you to all who respond.

 

[Tuckins1]

I guess anyone could do that... It's just their reputation and reliability that is on the line. Plus, I think they could be sued for misrepresentation or something if they get caught. My rings are from a very reputable and well known jewelry store so the thought never crossed my mind. But, I guess it could happen anywhere. If you have a stone in question you could look up the cert # online and see if it matches the description, and you could take your stone to an appraiser or another jewelry store and see if they think it is the same stone. Also, I think that certain labs actually inscribe the cert # right on the diamond with a laser, so you could check that as well.

 

[stone-cold11]

Not all stones are inscribed, only if the stone owner request it to be. But GIA keeps a record of all stones it inspected, the dimensions and clarity maps.

To make sure the stone you have is what the cert says it is, send it to an appraiser. The clarity map of the report is like a finger-print, every stone is different.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/7/2008 2:03:19 PM
Author:kramars333

I just had a simple question about certified diamonds. My question is; what is stopping a diamond retailer (other than reputation if ever caught) from having a great diamond certified by GIA getting back the certification and sending the certification out with a less quality stone that looks the same, and resnding the original great quality diamond back to GIA and getting another great GIA cert.? Does the GIA keep any records of certain flaws of diamonds to stop this from happening? I mean technically a diamond seller could get a stone certified 10 times just to get the certificate.

Thank you to all who respond.

Many jeweller/ vendors work incredibly hard to earn and keep a good reputation, so I would think it is highly unlikely. Also if the diamond has inclusions plotted on the grading report then that could be a way to verify the diamond in some cases assuming there is anything to note on the plotting diagram. If you are currently purchasing and are concerned, then an impartial appraiser would be able to allay your concerns, here is a tool you can use to find one in your area.

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''ve never heard of anything like that! If you have any concern have an appraiser look at the stone.

 

[hearts-arrows_girl]

I''ve heard of that. I guess the key would be to only deal with reputable jewelers. And like others have said, get your own independant appraisal. You''ll need one for insurance purposes anyway.

 

[Cluelesscushion]

How much does an appraisal typically cost?

 

[LostieLovesBling]

Date: 10/7/2008 5:15:11 PM
Author: Cluelesscushion
How much does an appraisal typically cost?

I paid $100 for an appraisal in the SF Bay Area. Hope that helps!

 

[purrfectpear]

Actually it would be quite difficult to do that since GIA keeps such good records that if you attempted to send the same stone back for a blind cert, there''s a decent chance that GIA would recognize the stone as having been sent previously. I would imagine that 1 carat and under stones might be more difficult to recognize due to the sheer numbers of them, but the larger the diamond the less likely that GIA would miss the fact that they had already provided a document on that stone.