*** Recommendations for Toronto Appraisers ***

[llAPll]

I am finally looking to get a GIA H&A stone, so I would like to have the loose stone appraised by a 3rd party, well known, reputable appraiser baesd in the Toronto, GTA area.

Does anyone have good recommendations?

Also, I remember reading a story about giving vs not giving the GIA certificate to the 3rd party appraiser. I am inclined to have the appraiser look at it without the certificate and give me his/her thoughts on the grades of the 4Cs and then have them re-certify with the GIA certificate to match the inclusion plot and carat weight to idenfity that the diamond matches the certificate. I''m extremely cautious about that because although the diamond comes with a GIA certificate, it was not laser inscribed with the GIA number and therefore gives me absolutely no guarantee that the GIA certiificate matches the diamond.

Are there any other ways to confirm other than trying to match the inclusion plot myself? The problem is, the stone is pretty eye clean and the only inclusions are off to the side and not on the table.

Finally, here are the specs of the diamond, feel free to chime in with some thoughts:

1.04 G VS2 Triple Excellent (I don''t have the crown, table, pavilion, cutlet angles on me right now, but I remember it scored like roughly 1.2 on the HCA), no fluorescence, no additional clouds or pinpoints. All inclusions are off the main table. With a platinum classic Tiffany 6 prong setting, everything comes out to $9500 CAD. What do you guys think?

Thanks~!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Harold Weinstein: http://www.hwgem.com/

I and other PSers used the company and were satisfied. Price was reasonable ($75 I think?).

 

[Dreamer_D]

The appraiser can only judge the 4Cs loose. Is the diamond set?

If the appraiser confims that the diamond matches the cert, in my opinion, that is all that matters. Are you going to argue with GIA or AGS?

They can match it to the cert based on the measurements and the inclusion plot. So I would give the cert to them while they do the appraisal.

 

[llAPll]

Thanks dreamer_d.

I''ve heard of him before, but just wanted some opinions if there are any other ones that are equally reputable.

If I give the cert upon the appraisal, would it be possible that he just quickly looks at the inclusion plot and say yes it matches, goodbye.

I definitely trust GIA, but I guess I just feel more safe and savvy to have someone re-check and then verify that it also matches the GIA cert. Can it be possible that diamonds be faked and/or laser filled to mimic a certain inclusion plot?

There is also 1 issue, the plot is pretty clean, and there is only 1 small inclusion on the side of the table. The rest of the inclusions are from underneath and after spending a good 15 mins looking at the stone with a loupe, I still couldn''t find the inclusions with the GIA cert. inclusion plot right in front of me. I''m not that bad at finding inclusions and was worried why even with the plot, I wasn''t able to identify the inclusion.

I''m not so much worried about the GIA cert, but more that the stone I''m looking at is the correct one and is not fudged with or a CZ.

Also, what do you guys/girls think about the price for those specs?

Thanks again!

 

[Dreamer_D]

You will get from them a full appraisal for insurance purposes that includes a photos of the ring and a description of the ring, as well as a statement indicating whether or not the diamond matches the cert, any matching inscriptions on the cert etc. They will be able to tell you if it is real or not as well

If the stone has been tampered with the appraiser will be able to tell you that too.

If you are not happy with the appraisal then tell them and ask the questions you want to ask. They should be able to answer anything you want to know.

As to price, the comps I can find are about $6500 US and the setting is about $1500, so around $8k US, give or take $500.

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 3/22/2010 5:05:32 PM
Author: llAPll
Thanks dreamer_d.

I''ve heard of him before, but just wanted some opinions if there are any other ones that are equally reputable.

If I give the cert upon the appraisal, would it be possible that he just quickly looks at the inclusion plot and say yes it matches, goodbye.

I definitely trust GIA, but I guess I just feel more safe and savvy to have someone re-check and then verify that it also matches the GIA cert. Can it be possible that diamonds be faked and/or laser filled to mimic a certain inclusion plot?

There is also 1 issue, the plot is pretty clean, and there is only 1 small inclusion on the side of the table. The rest of the inclusions are from underneath and after spending a good 15 mins looking at the stone with a loupe, I still couldn''t find the inclusions with the GIA cert. inclusion plot right in front of me. I''m not that bad at finding inclusions and was worried why even with the plot, I wasn''t able to identify the inclusion.

I''m not so much worried about the GIA cert, but more that the stone I''m looking at is the correct one and is not fudged with or a CZ.

Also, what do you guys/girls think about the price for those specs?

Thanks again!

Don''t give him the certificate until after, many appraisors as a sign of confidence won''t even look at it while they complete the evaluation until after.

 

[Rockout]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thanks to everyone who helped me make an informed decision.

Too funny - I just bought a 1.04 AGS000 G VS2 and had it appraised at Harold Weinstein in Toronto. I bought it in Toronto from USA Certed and picked it up from their office in Thornhill. I had seven days to match the stone to the cert and I had read somewhere that having an independent evaluation was the way to go.

The cost for the appraisal was $75, tax included. I took it out of the AGS wrapper and put it in paper. I did a screen capture of the inclusion plot, blew it up to about 75mm across and gave them the loose stone and the plot and nothing else.

They were off on colour by one grade (G on the cert and they said H). The appraiser even said she was on the fence about the colour but the rest of it they were spot on. It was peace of mind to have it done. They gave the stone a 12k appraisal which I will not use. I will get it appraised after it is set.

I paid 6K for the stone, $100 handling plus GST (5%) and PST (8%) for a grand total of 6.9k U$D. The conversion was about 5% ten days ago so it cost me just over 7k for the stone.

The setting is being made by a local shop named and I have yet to find a similar setting online. A pave with a cushion shaped halo setting.