Sapphire certificate

[daniil]

I all, I was looking at a sapphire on ebay and found one that looks good in the picture and by description. It has Asia Gemological Research Laboratories certificate. I''ve never herd of this lab but I''m only an amature Do any of you know about this lab and how reliable it is? the seller is ImperialJewels. if any of you have experience with this seller I would appreciate any info.

Thanks, daniel.

 

[daniil]

I''m kind of new to whole posting business. I''m attaching picture of the stone and the link to certificate in question. I hope it works.

 

[daniil]

Link didn''t work. lets try again.

http://66.148.3.36/product_images/CERT/FA000700.htm

 

[Garysax]

Just be careful. A lot of these colored stone pictures are pretty doctored up and you can''t really judge color.

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 2/14/2006 3:07:17 AM
Author: Garysax
Just be careful. A lot of these colored stone pictures are pretty doctored up and you can''t really judge color.

make sure there is a ''good'' return policy...........

movie zombie

 

[TBeck2000]

From their policy page (link):

In the event you are not entirely satisfied with any item, please email us informing us of your intention to return within 7 days of its receipt and to enquire about the returning procedure. Please note, all returning items must have a Returning Goods Authorization code issued by Imperial Jewels Ltd and needs to be packaged in accordance to our stipulations for foreign customs clearance. Please contact us at [email protected] before making a return. Imperial Jewels Ltd will not be held liable for any returns not submitted in the stipulated manner. Item(s) must be returned in their original condition. Refunded goods are subject to a 15% restocking fee. Shipping costs are not refundable. Items that are paid after the 7 stipulated day payment period, lose their right to be returned.

 

[valeria101]

Just a quick note AIGS reports…

The lab is reputable and all around great. Vincent Pardieu from AIGS posts here every now and then…

When I first saw an AIGS report being offered on Ebay a couple of weeks ago, I asked if the lab is aware of this way of using their paper and if online buyers have a way to check the authenticity of reports.

The answer was yes – they know and yes – buyers can verify reports by getting in touch with AIGS for this.

Also, it looks like this is new practice – only a couple of Ebay sellers offer these reports and they do not sell much (priced under $50) regardless of the value of the object certified.

About the sapphire.. well, it may be that with the same picture in front you see the full half of the glass and me the empty half. If I were looking for a sapphire , perhaps I would fall for allot worse wishful thinking. What the picture suggests to me is a stone so dark it looks black unless under a strong spotlight (as it seems to have been the case with this picture) or held against a light source – which my fingers are not. If this was mined in Ceylon or not is another question – more often the word ‘Ceylon sapphire’ is used to describe a happy medium-light color, and this is anything but. Nearly black dark color can be from anywhere, but it is really characteristic of sapphire from deposits in basaltic host rock (Australia, China, Madagascar have such sources, but perhaps not only – I would need to look up a complete list).

My 2c

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 2/14/2006 4:30:33 PM
Author: valeria101
Just a quick note AIGS reports; The lab is reputable and all around great. Vincent Pardieu from AIGS posts here every now and then

No question about AIGS, but is it the same as ARGL? I don''t think so. The URL given takes one to a report that doesn''t look anything like an AIGS cert. It may be fine but it''s an unknown to me and the lab doesn''t show up on a separate Google search. I think we need to dig a little deeper.

 

[colorchange]

My personnal feel is that this guy brings every sapphire and ruby to this unknown lab, hoping for some mistakes and shows certificate only when they appear.
Beeing curious, I once bid on an item (a ruby) and asked for a certificate, he showed me one if this lab mentionning glass filling, so it''s not a false lab, anyway, not a lab I would trust, even TGL is well appreciated by some dealers and worth $8 a certificate, why do to another one.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/14/2006 4:50:52 PM
Author: Richard M.


No question about AIGS, but is it the same as ARGL?

Oups...

Missed that one. No, I have no idea what ARGL is either.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Yeah, I've never heard of "Asia Gemological Research Laboratories" either.

That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and is maybe a good lab. But I don't know it to be one of the more well known labs.

I don't really care for Imperial's 15% restocking fee policy.

 

[movie zombie]

good return policy EXCEPT for the restocking fee. i don''t mind paying for return shipping if i don''t like something, but i won''t buy from anyone if a restocking fee is part of the transaction....but that''s just me.

movie zombie

 

[LuvThatBling]

The restocking fee really puts me off as well. It''s one thing to charge a restocking fee for something that can no longer be sold as new, i.e. electronics or software, but who cares if something has actually touched the gem before? I think, unless it''s such a low price that you are willing to take a risk, you should keep looking.

 

[daniil]

Thanks a lot for your input everybody. It seems that this is not a well known lab. one thing that turned me off was the certificate itself. there is no information on tone or saturation. when i asked the seller for this information he did not reply. so after all i decided not to bid. I''m becoming more and more sceptical when it comes to ebay stones

thanks a lot, daniil

 

[colorchange]

Indeed it''s completely normal that there be no mention of saturation or tone !
Only AIGS does it and very roughly in the description.

Certification is something very different from grading and most labs don''t offer grading in colored stones !

Anyway the tip is : Why use an unknown lab while there are two good and cheap labs in Bangkok : AIGS and GIT.

The fact that a seller be unable to give a stone''s grading is not a sure indication that he is no good either some just buy and sell using beauty and labs to tell the price.