Is it still ''my'' diamond in the ring?

[Madri]

Hi,

Once I have my diamonds and I take them to my jeweler - how do I know that it''s my diamonds in the ring?
How can I make sure that they are not swoped?

Don''t want to fall into a trap.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,
Madri

 

[mrssalvo]

Madri,
The best way to be sure your diamond isn't switched is to know how to identify your diamond. Either by recognizing inclusions or having it laser inscribed. Your jeweler can help you and show you how to identify it when you take it in and you can check it again when you pick it up. It is not very common, most reputable jewelers don't want to risk jail time and losing their business to swipe your stone

There have been many threads on this topic. here is one that has some good info it you might find useful. link

 

[mmorrison]

one thing has always bothered me about the laser inscription
couldn''t the stealer just inscribe the same thing on the swapped jewel?

 

[valeria101]

If the jewelry store has been around for more than a day and plans to stay there, why would they do such a thing ? Unless the piece is more valuable than their business

Seriously, this is really uncommon.

Any chance you could find a jeweler you can trust ?

 

[Spear]

Date: 6/14/2005 10:02:23 AM
Author: mmorrison
one thing has always bothered me about the laser inscription
couldn''t the stealer just inscribe the same thing on the swapped jewel?

I thought about this topic also a while ago.

My guess (and I want to stress the word Guess) would be that these lasers are not available to anyone except grading laboratories and that they would be very expensive to manufacture.
And I also think that one would need to be very experienced to operate such a laser.

I am very interested in hearing from an expert on why laser inscription can not be duplicated by non-laboratories.

What Valeria said makes a lot of sense, but I am always interested in these technical details.

 

[codex57]

Well, how long is it going to be out of your hands? If it''s not too long, take a look at them setting a stone. It''s not in the blink of an eye. It''ll take like an hour. Fastest, prolly 15 minutes. If you''re watching your stone the whole time, they can''t swap it like some street swindler using sleight of hand. Then, think about how hard it is to find a stone that looks exactly like yours in size, general cut, etc. Also, why would a jeweler go through the trouble of laser inscribing a fake stone? If he swaps it with a diamond, he can''t make all that much money (totally not worth the time/risk). If he uses a cubic, he''d have to use a really good synthetic to pass the eye test.

Try and ID your stone. Notice it''s distinctive markings and such. Notice how it sparkles. If he swaps it with a crystal, you should be able to spot that it looks funny. Memorize where your inclusions are.

 

[Spear]

If you do a search, there are many threads on laser inscription.
Here are 3 of them:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/laser-inscribed.23380/=


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/laser-inscriptions-good-or-bad.2353/

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/laser-inscription-good-bad-indifferent.792/

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 6/14/2005 12:11:55 PM
Author: Spear

I am very interested in hearing from an expert on why laser inscription can not be duplicated by non-laboratories.

Anyone who wants to can buy a laser. They cost in the neighborhood of $50,000-$75,000 and require maintenance on the order of $3000/year. Realistically, this limits it to the laboratories and similar very high volume users. This is not the sort of tool that a casual criminal will happen to have.

www.photoscribe.com makes a pretty nice one although it's not the product that is heavilly featured on their website.

Armed with the proper tool, the operater can write anything the want on a diamond.

The laser inscriptions do not hold up on court as positive identification of a stone for exactly this reason although they work nicely for most other purposes. The courts like www.gemprint.com although there are some new technologies on the horizon that look promising.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver