Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
August 1, 2010
I bought a piece of diamond jewelry (a diamond tennis bracelet) at an estate sale that came with a certificate. I was looking through the certificate the other day and I noticed that put a price on the diamond bracelet ($2000). I though diamond certificate isn't suppose to provide a money evaluation of a stone. The person who sold me the diamond bracelet insisted that it was legitimate and I believed him because I don't know much about diamonds, and the document looked pretty official to me, with stamps all over it and stuff.
August 5, 2010
The document you have is probably not a diamond certificate - it sounds like it is a diamond appraisal. Diamond grading reports (also known as diamond certificates) only measure the diamonds raw parameters, and NEVER state the monetary value of a diamond. Diamond appraisals on the other hand, do exactly that - they evaluate how much your diamond jewelry should be worth on the market with an accurate dollar value. Appraisals are generally for insurance purposes, or to find out a diamond's monetary value if you plan to resell it. I wouldn't necessarily say that the person who sold you the diamond, claiming the appraisal was a certificate, was necessarily out to hoodwink you. Unless he was an expert in jewelry, it's likely he got confused himself and didn't realize there was a difference between a diamond grading report and a diamond appraisal. It may have been an honest mistake, or he may have been preying on you as an unsuspecting and uninformed customer. In any case, it's probably too late now to do anything about it, because estate sales don't usually have return policies. However, if you want to get a diamond certificate for your diamond now, it's not too late. You can always send the diamond in to one of the gemological institutes (preferably the GIA - Gemological Institute of America) and get it tested and graded. Depending on the size of the diamond, it should cost anywhere from about $40 to $300.
August 3, 2010
Perhaps the vendor isn't well informed about the terminology of diamond related documents or maybe he didn't want to confuse you with too many terms and refers to every diamond evaluating document as a diamond certificate. Anyway, I wouldn't trust the words of that guy if I were you. A diamond certificate is a diamond grading report, a document giving an objective description of a diamond, thoroughly defining its different characteristics. Unlike a diamond appraisal, which provides a diamond's monetary value, and changes in accordance with the diamond market, fashion trends, etc, a diamond certificate is ever lasting (unless a diamond is scratched or damaged) and very informative of a diamond's essential value.
