Diamond Certificates are Crucial
Diamond Certificates: What is the
big deal about certificates? Is it all hype or
is there really something to it?
If you want
the best diamond price...always, always insist on a diamond
grading certificate from GIA, AGS, or EGL (the world's most
respected gemological laboratories). Other certificates do not
carry as much weight.
(For more information,
you should visit the new, improved GIA Web
site.)
Our exclusive articles
on How
to Read a Certificate,
are the only resource for this information that we have found
anywhere. They explain every detail on a certificate and how
it affects the beauty and price of a diamond -- in simple terms.
Why certificates
are crucial:
Get What
You Pay For
Diamonds are
priced by their actual quality grade, according to the 4 Cs and 13 other factors explained
in our How
to Read a Certificate
articles. Unless you receive a diamond grading report (almost
always called a "certificate") from a respected
laboratory that has no financial interest in the diamond you
are buying, you are certainly not getting the exact quality
you wanted to buy.
For instance, a 1.00
carat, F/VS2 diamond with a certificate will always sell for
$300 - $800 more than the same grade of diamond without a certificate.
This is mostly because any dealer knows that a diamond quoted
as F / VS-2 quality will usually be a G / SI-1 (one color grade
less and one clarity grade less) if you sent it to one of the
best independent labs for more accurate grading.
Small, local labs are often connected in some way with a store,
so they tend to grade diamonds more favorably in order to help
make the sale. The GIA, AGS and EGL labs are very conservative
in their grading because they do not sell diamonds and do not
receive any portion of diamond sales. A certificate from one
of these labs is the best way to get the diamond you want and
avoid paying an F color price for a G color quality.
Security During Repairs
People sometimes
ask: "How can I be sure I will get the same diamond back
when I have it cleaned or repaired at a jewelry store?"
Though it is actually very rare that any jeweler would switch
stones intentionally, accidents can sometimes happen in a busy
store. The key is to have a certificate that maps your diamond's
unique inclusions like a fingerprint that you can check in the
store before you accept it back. Many of the labs also permanently
laser
inscribe the
certificate number right on the girdle of the stone, where you
can easily see it with a 10x jewelers' loupe. In either case,
the rare jeweler that would intentionally switch a stone will
just wait for an easier customer to swindle. A lab certificate
gives you the best protection against these problems.
Greater Appreciation
A certificate
enhances the appreciation of one of the most treasured gifts
in the world. It adds dignity and confidence in your partner's
eyes when she sees that you cared enough to buy the very best
and have the papers to prove it.
Protect Your Investment
Although we
rarely recommend diamonds as a true investment like stocks and
bonds, a certificate makes it so much easier to sell a diamond
when you want to trade up. Without it, many dealers will hesitate
to buy an unknown quantity. You will have to get a certificate
later if you ever do sell or trade up, so you might as well get
a certificate now and enjoy all the other benefits in the meantime.
Sample Certificates
For detailed
explanations of the various certificates, go to the Web site
for each laboratory to see a sample certificate:
AGS
(American Gemological Society) -- Sample Cert
GIA (Gemological Institute of America)
-- Sample
Cert
EGL (European Gemological Laboratories)
-- Sample
Cert
IGI (International Gemological
Institute) -- Sample
Cert
Robert Hensley
President
Diamond Helpers
