WHO’S DIAMOND GRADING YOUR DIAMOND?

If you go from jewelry store to jewelry store and compare diamonds, first thing you’ll notice is that even though you just looked at diamonds that are the same clarity and color and carat weight, all of the diamonds still look different.

Talk about confusing…

Those diamonds may be graded the same, they may be all SI1 clarity and E color. They may be all 1.00 carat in weight and round brilliant cut, but some of those diamonds will be full of brilliance and sparkle, while other’s will be dull and dark.

What gives?

Why can diamonds look the same on paper, but face to face they vary so greatly?

Here’s the biggest reason:

They’re Not certified!

So what does certification have to do with diamonds looking different?

EVERYTHING.

Diamonds that aren’t certified are actually being graded by the jewelry store owners or diamond buyers themselves.

The people in the stores that actually buy the diamonds and mountings from diamond vendors are the same people verifying the grading of those different-looking diamonds (I say verifying because they’re usually marked what quality they are from the vendor, but may times their gradings aren’t correct either. The jeweler must verify it, or change it as needed).

And believe me, some of them should never ever be grading diamonds.

Which means, whatever quality they put on those diamonds, the diamonds will sell for. It’s all based upon their own opinion. If they think they can get away with calling an I1 clarity diamond an SI2 clarity instead, then by all means, they’ll do so.

Who’s going to stop them?

They can certainly make more profit if they grade the diamonds higher than they really are. So why not do it? Right?

The fact is: If your local jeweler is grading their own diamonds, you won’t know what the hell you’re really buying.

It’s a scary situation.

When jewelers grade their own diamonds, it’s not entirely professional.

I’ve seen jewelers that are half blind grade diamonds.

No lie!

People like that have no right grading diamonds, but do.

Now not all jewelers fabricate like this, but it’s true that some jewelers that grade their own diamonds will probably exaggerate a little bit in their gradings and reports (often called grade bumping). Whether it be in color or clarity, those ratings will tend to ‘round up‘ conveniently, just to make the stone look better and sell better.

Diamonds rated an I1 will end up being an SI2. G color will gently wander into the colorless range. A little nudge here, a tiny push there, the jeweler comes out the real winner. And sometimes a $500-$1000 winner!

Who pays the price?

You do, of course.

So who can you trust?

How can you tell if your jeweler isn’t making their own diamond quality up? What can you do to keep from getting ripped off with your next diamond purchase?

Do this…

Make sure the diamonds you’re buying are GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified diamonds.

GIA is the largest independent certificate institute in the U.S.A. Their certification removes all doubt about getting ripped off. It removes the scary ‘jeweler’s opinion‘ from the equation. It pretty much removes the jeweler all together. GIA has the final say in what that diamond really is. Hence, no more rounding up.

GIA does all the rating for you; cut, color, clarity and carat weight. They grade the diamonds consistently and honestly. Which means all GIA certified, SI1 clarity diamonds with an E color, will look like all the other GIA certified, SI1, E, diamonds.

And that grading system gets an A+ in my book.

Not to mention, much peace of mind!

Cheers! :)