Independent appraiser said my diamond was a "high" F color

[dianne]

Hi Everyone,
My bf recently bought the center stone for my engagement ring: cushion cut, 1.31, F, VS2

When I had the stone independently appraised, the appraiser put the stone on some kind of machine and told me the news was good, that the color was high F instead of a low F. She said the color is closer to an E than a G, but do you know what kind of machine she used and what "range" makes an F color?

 

[JulieN]

she should have told you, or it is on the appraisal?

call and ask.

 

[strmrdr]

Gran Colorimeter

http://www.kassoy.com/colorim1.htm

 

[rjdodd]

The Gran Colorimeter:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Color/DiamondColorimeter/

 

[dianne]

She didn''t tell me anything detailed except that it was closer to E than G. I didn''t see it on the appraisal, either. I think I will call her. Thanks!

 

[dianne]

Thank you for the links, strmrdr and rjdodd. That was very helpful. It is good to know it is so accurate, too, because the appraiser never compared it to a set of master stones. I was with her during the entire appraisal process.

I had purchased another stone earlier and had it verified and they used master stones. It was an EGL Europe cert and was 3 color shades off. EGL cert said H, master stones comparison clearly showed K even to my inexperienced eyes. I took it to two local jewelry stores, too, and got the same answer. It was just a high level verification of the cert information and they did it for free with no attempt to sell me anything. Really got lucky there as I don''t feel they were trying to sway me away from the stone so they could sell me one. I have read a lot about EGL Europe certificates, pros and cons, and decided to give it a shot because of the price difference. Needless to say, I returned the stone immediately, much to the dismay of the seller who insisted she was GIA trained and it was indeed an H, that the other stores just wanted to sell me something...but she never got out the master stones...hmmmm,wonder why?

This was the first stone I felt good enough about to pay for a full appraisal. Well, the fact it was a GIA cert gave me more peace of mind, as well. But when the appraiser didn''t compare my diamond to the master stones I wasn''t sure if she was using a method that was just as good. I feel better about it now.