Online diamond for sale has an older GIA report?

nc/sc · Jul 27, 2006

Lately, I have considered a very high quality and expensive princess cut diamond; however, the GIA lab report was from May 2004. Is this common? I would think that a cutter or site holder would sell something like this much faster. Most of the diamonds I see online have AGS and GIA reports that are dated late 2005 or 2006. Could this be a trade in? Is it common for a cutter or site hoder to hold onto a diamond for this long of a time?

Thanks very much!

pricescope · Jul 27, 2006

Hey Nc/Sc, welcome.

This question comes up rather often. Here is David Atlas (aka Oldminer) comment from this topic

Unless you worry if the stone has been "used" during this period of time and possibly suffered some sort of damage because of being worn, then there is no other reason to be concerned about a year or two in the cert date. While many will say the standards have gradually eroded, this would mean an older document was more strict and actually favored the buyer..... Sometimes a stone doesn't sell as fast as one would hope and for no other reason the cert goes a bit stale. Generally, it is unimportant. Consumers with worries should make their fears known and see what a dealer/seller might offer to them to relieve their anxiety.

DiamondExpert:

I think you fears are misplaced!

Old? Old? Most diamonds are between several hundred Million and 3 Billion years old! Another year on the shelf after polishing matters little.

Returned? Returned? Every time a diamond is handled or touched by a client and handed back to the seller it is "returned". The diamond really doesn't mind, and it is not spoiled.

The shelf life of a diamond is loooong.

It might get stolen, lost, traded, and bought and sold numerous times. Or not.

As long as a polished diamond lives up to an accurate cert. and an independent appraisal the date on it is of little importance.

If you don't like the date on a cert, resubmit it for grading, but you shouldn't do yourself a disservice by missing out on a great stone based on the cert date. This is not a good criterion for rejection.