Tag Archives: GIA Certified

Why Buy a GIA Certified Diamond?

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If there is any one single bit of advice that I would give any prospective diamond buyer, it is this: “Whatever you buy, make sure that your diamond is GIA certified and comes with a GIA report.”

Some might think that a GIA certified diamond is more expensive than any other alternative. This is not true. The difference in pricing between a non-GIA diamond and a GIA certified diamond is the difference between fact and fiction . . between honesty and lies.

As one who has been involved in the diamond import and wholesale business for 40+ years, I know from experience that 99% of all non-GIA certified diamonds are sold with bogus grades. More importantly, the prices for these diamonds often exceed the value of the same diamond if such diamond was accurately graded to its true GIA grade.

A GIA grading report contains a lot of vital information and specifications about a diamond. There are many important specifications with regard to a diamond that are contained within the GIA report. The most familiar of these specifications are the “carat weight” and “color” and “clarity” and “cut” of the diamond.

The diamond consumer must understand that any single diamond grade – whether it be the color or clarity or cut of degree of fluorescence can effect the value of a diamond by more than 10%. Multiple grade differences may effect the price of a diamond by 50% or more.

I have seen a diamond with a grading report issued by a different laboratory – EGL, which was actually worth 45% LESS than the value of what the diamond was worth if it had been sold according to it’s real and accurate grades according to GIA standards. The EGL certificate stated that the diamond was a “G/VS2” Ideal Cut diamond with faint fluorescence. The diamond was submitted to GIA and was graded “I/SI1” with a VG Cut and Strong Fluorescence.

The story above is not unusual. It is typical. The point is that the diamond was worth 55% of what the consumer thought they were buying!

So you may ask, “So, what difference does it really make if I buy a non-GIA diamond as long as get a diamond that is bigger than I could have gotten had I purchased a diamond with. GIA report?”

The answer is simple. It is the difference between truth and honesty vs fiction and lies. It is the difference between quality and junk. It is the difference between something that is valuable and something that is not.

It is the difference between a Porsche and a Hyundai that someone tells you is a Porsche! It is the difference between finding out that the 2500 square feet home you were offered is only 1800 square feet! It is the difference between paying a for price for something that is valuable and being fooled when making one of the most important purchases that you will make in your life.

A diamond represents one of the most significant purchases that you will make in your life. Do it right. Insist on a diamond that has a GIA certification report.


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NOTE: This blog post concerns a diamond purchased for an engagement ring. Most diamond jewelry containing smaller diamonds are almost never made with certified diamonds as small diamond (referred to as “melee”) are too small to be certified or graded by a laboratory.

For more information on GIA certification, see my blog post . . . “What is a GIA Certified Diamond”.

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Lowest price – GIA certified diamonds.

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Lowest Price – GIA Diamonds.

Many internet shoppers are under the mistaken belief that buying a GIA certified diamond on the internet is similar to purchasing a flat screen TV. Simple,  You just find the model number that you want. Then you go to the internet and you buy it for less.

In the case of a diamond, one might figure out the size, the shape and the GIA parameters that they want.  Let’s say in this case, a 2.00 carat round diamond, GIA “H” color, “SI1” clarity.  Simple. We go to the internet and buy it at the lowest price.

Stop right there.

A diamond is not a flat screen TV.  The GIA diamond certification report is not the same as a model number.  The specifications of a TV are identical.  There are thousands if not millions of the same TV made to factory specifications.  Diamonds are different.  A diamond is a creation of nature.  Each one is unique.  A GIA grading report attempts to describe a diamond like I may attempt to describe a beautiful woman.  It is very hard to do without seeing the woman – or the diamond.

The point of this is that diamonds with similar specifications on a GIA grading report are not similar diamonds.  There can be (and usually are) significant pricing differentials between two diamonds with similar GIA grading reports. And more importantly, one diamond will be significantly more beautiful than the lesser priced diamond.

Pictured below are six diamonds listed for sale on a leading internet diamond site. Each of the six diamonds weighs approximately 2.00 carats (Actual weights range from 2.01 to 2.09 carats).  Each of the diamonds is graded by GIA as “H” color, “SI1” clarity.  The prices for these diamonds ranges from $13,247.00 to $26,131.00.  YES!  One diamond is 50% “cheaper” than another.  Inversely, one diamond is 100% more than the other!

And you are on the internet in search of the best price.   Or is it the lowest price?  Best price for what?  Lowest price for what?

As a diamond merchant with more than 40 years of experience  (and two generations before me!),  I understand what a diamond is.  It is about something beautiful.  Beauty is about the brilliance and sparkle and scintillation.  Low price is about a price point.

In recent years there has been a divergence within the diamond industry – sort of a “fork in the road”.  There are many diamond companies that are marketing diamonds specifically for the internet. The diamonds that they sell via the internet are inferior to those that are sold in the traditional manner – to be sold via retail jewelry stores.  It is the difference between the beautiful GIA H/SI1 diamond and that of the diamond that is marketed solely based on “price-point” for the internet buyer who believes he has figured out the world.

The difference is, in the “old” days, people looked at diamonds in a jewelry store with their eyes and a jewelers magnifying loupe.  They were truly buying a diamond and not just a diamond grading report!.

Take a look at the info for the six diamonds featured below.  These are just a random sample of different price ranges that I found.

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Document (1)

 

Document (2)

Document (2A)

Document (3)

 

Document (4)

Document (5)

When looking at each of the diamonds described above,  one must recognize that the pictures are fake and are all identical.  These  photos are not representative of the diamond in any way and, in fact, give the illusion that the diamonds are gem quality which they are not!

With regard to the diamonds listed above I know for a fact that it is not possible to purchase a “nice” 2 carat round diamond with these GIA specifications on the wholesale market within the price of the first three listings.

If I was buying a diamond for my wholesale business it would most likely be one of the three more expensive diamonds.  I believe that a diamond is supposed to be something beautiful. These diamonds may be beautiful diamonds – although, even with the info provided on the GIA report, it is still necessary to SEE the diamond.  The listed specifications of these diamonds provides no information with regard to the nature and location of the inclusions and, in reality, provides little insight to the overall beauty of the diamond.

One thing that I do know is that there are reasons why the cheap diamonds are cheap.  It may be the make. It may be the type and location of the inclusion. Perhaps there is a color tinge.  Perhaps there is a “cloud”.  There are many factors that effects the overall sparkle and scintillation that makes a diamond special!

Low price is just that. It is low price.  It is not a factor of value.  Value, on the other hand, is a reasonable price for a Renoir – despite the fact that it may be tens of millions of dollars.

 

 

Neil Reiff