OEC yellow diamond - would you send it to GIA?

[jbkhere]

So I just picked up this ring and think I may be smitten. As best as I can measure the center its about 5mm. So this is small for me (I like 'em big!) but the sparkle and the yellow just make me happy! What I'm trying to decide is if I should send it to GIA to be certed.

So PS'ers - please tell me - what would you do? Would you send it to be certed? Thanks all!

 

[davi_el_mejor]

That's a beautiful ring! The proportions are great

There's always a risk when you unset a stone. I'd only send it to GIA if you don't trust the stone is of natural color.

 

[jbkhere]

Thanks Davi!
It came from a local estate so I don't have any info on the color. I assume its natural but think maybe I'd like to know for sure....

 

[T L]

If you paid a fair price for a second hand piece, I wouldn't bother. The color is very pretty, but not one of those super rare FCD colors that people spend a fortune on, in which case, the GIA report is important for the value. Enjoy!

BTW, GIA doesn't "certify" anything. They provide a report, which is an opinion.

 

[AN0NYM0US]

BTW, GIA doesn't "certify" anything. They provide a report, which is an opinion.

I believe the first two posts nailed it. I just wanted to add, if you didn't already know, that GIA can GRADE the diamond still in the ring. You wouldn't have to have it unset. The grading wouldn't be as accurate or in depth, but they will verify that it is indeed natural diamond and give an approximate colour grade. The colour grade may be split, for example Q-R or Y-Z. It's a beautiful ring btw.

Thank you TL for saying this in the quoted above. It is an unreasonable pet peeve of mine that people make this statement. I've even seen long time members of this site using the "certify" word over in RT lately. I always want to say something but never do. I feel like my post count would have doubled just this week alone.

 

[LoversKites]

BTW, GIA doesn't "certify" anything. They provide a report, which is an opinion.

I believe the first two posts nailed it. I just wanted to add, if you didn't already know, that GIA can GRADE the diamond still in the ring. You wouldn't have to have it unset. The grading wouldn't be as accurate or in depth, but they will verify that it is indeed natural diamond and give an approximate colour grade. The colour grade may be split, for example Q-R or Y-Z. It's a beautiful ring btw.

Thank you TL for saying this in the quoted above. It is an unreasonable pet peeve of mine that people make this statement. I've even seen long time members of this site using the "certify" word over in RT lately. I always want to say something but never do. I feel like my post count would have doubled just this week alone.

I had no idea but I guess it makes sense. Thanks for the correction, I'll call it a report from now on.

 

[chrono]

Only if it costs a fair sum of money and/or you need the peace of mind (treatment and colour grading).

 

[JewelFreak]

I love that ring! Beauty! I can only echo others -- send it if it really matters to you or if you paid a high price; otherwise, I'd wear it & be happy.

 

[minousbijoux]

I may be in the minority here, but for as long as I can remember, a colloquialism for a lab report has been a "cert." I'm not saying its correct - because TL has already pointed out that labs don't certify anything - but if its common parlance, and we know what is meant by it, why does it matter? The OP did not use the term "certify;" she said "would you send it to be certed," which I simply take to mean to be assessed/analyzed. If you spend time at gem shows, you will likely here this term frequently used just as JBK meant it. TL makes an important distinction, but I for one find it slipping out of my mouth from time to time as it just seems easier to say than sending it to a lab to be assessed.

 

[kenny]

I may be in the minority here, but for as long as I can remember, a colloquialism for a lab report has been a "cert." I'm not saying its correct - because TL has already pointed out that labs don't certify anything - but if its common parlance, and we know what is meant by it, why does it matter?

Here's why it matters.
Words mean something.
Just because it happens all the time does not make it okay.

I also am greatly annoyed that the term certification is commonly used, both by civilians and by many vendors.

The reason it's a big deal is, to certify means something has been made certain by an authority.

I looked up certify: Verify, guarantee, attest, validate, confirm, substantiate, endorse, vouch for, testify to; provide evidence, give proof, prove, demonstrate.

Even the lab reports themselves tell us in their fine print they are not certificates.
Even highly-trust labs like GIA and AGS offer only a 'grade', an educated 'opinion', of a stone's properties that is limited to the knowledge, equipment and processes in place on the date of the report.

There is some risk, tiny but not zero, in buying even an expensive FCD with a GIA report.
It could have gotten it's color by a new process that GIA won't discover till next week.

This is precicely why, as a condition of the sale, I insisted my green diamond go back to GIA for an updated report.
It was being sold with a GIA report that was a couple years old.
Sure, GIA may have only verified it was the same diamond, but if their knowledge and processes for spotting lab-induced color for greens had been updated during those years you bet your bippy they'd cover their butt by using the latest process.

Sure, we're splitting hairs on a remote possibility, but if big bucks are involved it matters.
Even for small bucks it matters.
By using the term certificate vendors are lubricating sales by reducing customer anxiety … "Certificate" means the risk is zero, when in fact it is not zero.

Of course a mere grading report from GIA or AGS means the lowest risk possible.

 

[T L]

HI Kenny!

I agree that the term "certificate" seems to have some psychological impact which makes customers feel safe from worry. I know Gem Shopping Network uses the term "cert" all the time, but there was one pitchman that kept saying, "it's a REPORT, not a certificate," and I admired him for making that distinction. Then, all of a sudden, he went back to using "cert" so I think the vendors kind of know that the word has more impact that "report."

In any case, no worries to the OP. I didn't want to offend her. It's just semantics.

 

[chrono]

Minou, I understand perfectly what you mean. My concern is that the word "certify" can give a false impression of guarantee. Labs have made mistakes in the past and are likely to do so in the future so they verify and issue a report to the best of their abilities.

Threadjack
KENNY! Welcome back.
Threadjack over.

 

[kenny]

Hi everyone.

 

[beaujolais]

Gorgeous ring, JBK ! Is that yellow fluorescence? Awesome.

Yay, Kenny I missed you. No more missing in action, please.

 

[Jereni]

Very pretty ring - I don't know that I would send it in either.

 

[jbkhere]

Thank you all! And thank you for the cert correction. I know its not certified so I should know better than to refer to the grading report as a cert.

Thanks Sonoma - I think that fluor is cool too

 

[pregcurious]

I guess I am the odd one out. I wouldn't bother to send it to GIA because mailing it would make me anxious, but I go once a year and would bring it in person, just out of curiosity.

Do colored diamonds have to be unmounted? Kenny? I know that white diamonds must be unmounted, but not colored stones like rubies.

 

[jbkhere]

I guess I am the odd one out. I wouldn't bother to send it to GIA because mailing it would make me anxious, but I go once a year and would bring it in person, just out of curiosity.

I am definitely curious! When you go in person - do you pay the extra fee for expedited service?

 

[kenny]

Do colored diamonds have to be unmounted? Kenny? I know that white diamonds must be unmounted, but not colored stones like rubies.

It depends which of GIA's two FCD reports you want:

1. Their comprehensive Color Diamond Grading Report for FCDs of 0.15 carats and up requires the diamond be loose.
This is understandable since they are grading clarity.

2. Their cheaper Colored Diamond Identification and Origin Report is available for loose or mounted FCDs and of any size.
Again understandable since they do not grade clarity for this report.

http://www.gia.edu/submit-a-gem-duplicate … Click on Colored Diamond. Then scroll down to see this:

 

[pregcurious]

There's no requirement for expedited service when you go in person as you just drop it off. They will call you when it's ready to determine if you want to pick it up yourself, or have them mail it.

 

[kenny]

There's no requirement for expedited service when you go in person as you just drop it off. They will call you when it's ready to determine if you want to pick it up yourself, or have them mail it.

Paying GIA double for fast service is cheaper than a month or more in a NYC hotel.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks, Kenny, that makes sense.

I've authorized someone else (a vendor) to pick it up, otherwise I have the stone sent back to me at home.

 

[minousbijoux]

HI Kenny!

I agree that the term "certificate" seems to have some psychological impact which makes customers feel safe from worry. I know Gem Shopping Network uses the term "cert" all the time, but there was one pitchman that kept saying, "it's a REPORT, not a certificate," and I admired him for making that distinction. Then, all of a sudden, he went back to using "cert" so I think the vendors kind of know that the word has more impact that "report."

In any case, no worries to the OP. I didn't want to offend her. It's just semantics.

Minou, I understand perfectly what you mean. My concern is that the word "certify" can give a false impression of guarantee. Labs have made mistakes in the past and are likely to do so in the future so they verify and issue a report to the best of their abilities.

Thanks for your replies. I hadn't thought of it in terms of having more impact, or, even worse, an impression of guarantee. That concern makes sense. And I was going to say the same TL - that at the end of the day, it is just semantics...

 

[kenny]

It's not semantics.
It's the wrong word, a misrepresentation, a lie about what a lab report is … which helps sellers make money.

They are very different things.

You can call a table a chair, and get lots of people do do it too.
That does not make a table a chair.

Calling a crack a feather is just semantics.

 

[tara3056]

Wow, that's like my dream ring! Awhile ago, I found a ring setting that looks almost exactly like yours, with the scalloped-edge halo look, and I've often thought about someday putting a 5mm fancy yellow in the center, so this was a really cool thread for me to run into. Anyway, I think it's a *beautiful* ring! Congrats! As to your question, I probably would send it to GIA, but that's just the way my curiosity works. I'd really be interested in knowing what I had.

 

[jbkhere]

Thanks all!

Kenny - thank you for clarifying. For this stone anyway - I'm more curious about the color than the clarity so having it graded while still mounted may be a good way for me to go.

Thanks Tara! I'm with you. While I do love the ring as is - the curiosity is pulling hard at me!

 

[chrono]

Would you love it any more or less if the grading is different from what you expected? Just something to consider in the "mind clean" department.

 

[kenny]

Would you love it any more or less if the grading is different from what you expected? Just something to consider in the "mind clean" department.

This is a very good point.
Me, I'd like the diamond more if GIA put it on their Fancy Colored Diamond scale instead of their D-Z scale.
No insult intended for the X-Y diamonds, many of which have lovely color and are certainly more affordable than their fancy cousins.

I realize this is ridiculous but I guess I'm just a snob.
I'd also feel differently if I inherited a white stone I loved if I sent it to GIA and found out it was a CZ not a real diamond.

Still, if I owned this lovely ring I'd also send it to GIA just to know more about the diamond.
Maybe it's a left vs. right brain thing but I'm the kind of person who likes to be as sure as possible what something is.

 

[Niel]

Tha ring is spectacular.

 

[jbkhere]

Thank you Niel!

Chrono & Kenny - I struggle with this question often (not just with this ring) So Kenny thank you for your honesty because if I'm going to be honest - I'd have to admit that I like the "knowing" too.

I've been lusting for a large OEC for awhile now. Then when I found this one I was sort of wow-ed by it being an OEC (albeit small) AND yellow. My only issue now is the whole gold thing. Can't wear gold so I've got to find out my options with the jeweler.