Question about local jewelers

[reebs]

I have a local jeweler by my house that I have currently found a diamond that I like. The diamond has no certs but they classify it as a I-clarity and I-color with out certs how can they make this call. I asked to get it GIA certified and they said they usually don''t cert there diamonds it''s just a piece of paper and is not traceable to the diamond. They also said that GIA and EGL are the same. After reading various sites I see a lot of people prefer GIA is there a difference? Also, they are charging me $300 to get this GIA done. Is this standard rate? Also, do a lot of jewelers handle things like this by not having certs?

 

[EdSkinner]

The price of a GIA cert varies to the size of the diamod. All I have is a 10 year old list that says that dealer cost of a 1.00 to 1.5 ct. is $118.00. Iam sure that price has gone up since then. And the dealer would probally keystone (double) the cost to you. So $300 may not be out of line. Also it takes about 6 weeks to get a cert from GIA. One problem with GIA certs. It doesn't give you all the information to figure out the cut. AGS is the best. But with what that jeweler has it graded as, I think that you would be better off with EGL or somebody that gives the cut information. The jeweler is allowed to sell stones that are not certified. But he is an advacate for the stone and may give it more of a push. GIA & EGL are not the same. GIA is the word of god for color and clarity. EGL at times seems to be more liberal on thire color and clarity grades but at least they supply cut paramiters

 

[icelady]

Hi Reebs,

I worked with a local jeweler/gemologist where I live and she sent my 1.37 ct RB to GIA for certification for me. The charge was exactly what Ed mentioned above, $118. I also paid for the shipping. It was a diamond I had had for many years and I did not buy it from her originally, so I paid for the cert. It is possible if the stone is larger than mine, the charge might be more as well. I chose GIA because I liked that they are hard color and clarity graders and are known for that.

Many times diamonds smaller than 1 ct are not certified.

The one thing that would really concern me about this jeweler is that he is saying that GIA and EGL are the same. They are most definitely not the same, and I would think that any jeweler in the business would know that. Are you sure you understood him correctly? If you did, I would be tempted to move on and find stones that have already been certed somewhere else.

As for obtaining all the measurements of the stone, it is true that GIA currently only lists the depth and table percentages. You can always ask for a Sarin report which will give you the additional measurements.

While it is my opinion that I would not buy another diamond without a certification, there are others on this forum who have made purchases of diamond without certs. They have done well by having an independant appraiser (one that does not sell diamonds) give them an appraisal instead.

Good luck!

 

[Bagpuss]

Hi Reebs

I would be very wary of what this jeweller is telling you. Of course the GIA and the EGL are different organisations. If he said that they do the same job, grading diamonds, OK, but that's not what it sounded like from your post. A lot of local jewellers want you to take their word as law on the diamonds that they are offering you. You can't and any appraisals that they show you should be treated as suspect too. Without a cert from an independent lab or an appraisal from a really independent appraiser, I would run a mile because you really have no idea what you are buying.

I understand your frustration - I live in an area that has hopeless local jewellers. They offer very little real diamond info and treat you like a weirdo for even asking them questions. Don't be intimidated. There are better jewellers, better diamonds and better deals out there.

 

[pqcollectibles]

If the diamond is over a 1/2 carat, you definitely want to get a cert. Someone yesterday posted about buying a 1 carat J, SI1, from a local jeweler. No Cert. Just the jeweler's opinion. When they had the diamond independently verified, the diamond was a .9 carat, P, VS2. Not much difference in the clarity, but the color and carat weight were way off. There is a significant price difference between a .9 carat P and 1 carat J.

 

[caratgirl]

For what it's worth, I don't usually see stones getting certificates with local jewelers until they reach about .75cts. It is not cost or time effective for the jeweler, and usually not for the consumer either, since those costs will need to be passed on to the consumer. Since the competition is so great at the those sizes, the lower cost stones move much faster.

 

[reebs]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The diamond is a 1.54 and with a cert I would feel more at ease for the price they want me to pay.