Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
October 1, 2010
A friend of mine found out that the diamond ring she had gotten from her husband for their anniversary with a certificate and all was actually from an amateur/fake institution. She got her diamond appraised privately and it turned out the certificate wasn't from a legitimate source.Who's certificates are safe?
August 1, 2011
Oh my gosh, that is horrible! The most reputable, respected, reliable lab in the industry is without a doubt the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). They not only developed the Four C's grading system in the first place, but they are a scientific, non profit lab that is known for providing strictly graded, accurate grading reports. It is a must have if you are buying a diamond because it's the best way to know the 4 C's of your stone. I suggest checking out their educational website to learn more: http://gia4cs.gia.edu/
October 7, 2010
The same thing happened to my mom. My grandmother bought a diamond ring for her and got a certificate from a small lab that nobody's ever heard of. So my mom took the ring to a professional diamond assessor, just to make sure my Gran hadn't been ripped off. She was kind of convinced she had been but it turned out that the certificate was right on the money. Small labs are not necessarily a sham. They're just not that well known. But if you want to be sure of the quality of the diamond you're spending quite a significant amount of money on, it's better to be safe than sorry, and go with a lab you know and trust.
October 1, 2010
That IS a serious problem. A lot of people are careful about making sure they get a certificate when they purchase a piece of diamond jewelry but they aren't warned to quadruple-check where the certificate is from. Many jewelry stores take advantage of this and create authentic-looking certificates with names that sound a lot like well known labs. Many of these are bogus - plain and simple. The have names like "Gemological American Institute" (which sounds a lot like the famous and trustworthy " Gemological Institute of America"). When you buy a diamond it isn't enough that you have a certificate. You must make sure that the certificate is from a well reputed reliable source. If it is from the GIA, the AGS or the EGL, you're good. If you get a certificate from a different institution, ask the dealer if he has certificates from well know labs. If he doesn't, it is safer to take your business elsewhere. This is not to say that there are no smaller laboratories than can do a good job, but you can't really be sure what kind of a job they do. and official-sounding bogus lab certificates are becoming a common trick in the diamond fraud arena, so better err on the side of caution.
