Diamonds-Engagement Rings
Appraising Estate Diamonds
If you don't know enough about diamonds to get a good feel for grade & make by using your own 10X loupe and a good light source, you should probably forget about buying an estate diamond. But even if you feel confident about your own skills, getting a second and third opinion is still a good idea.
But before you consider having the appraiser look at a stone, be sure to look at it yourself.
Cautions for Estate Diamond Shopping
Before you start looking for estate diamonds you should understand some of the basic risks. Estate diamond dealers will sometimes accept credit cards or cashier's checks. Most private sellers will not. So when buying from individuals you will be dealing in cash. Carrying large amounts of cash is risky.
Practice some basic security measures when shopping for estate diamonds.
- Try to do daytime viewings
- Meet in public - a legitimate seller should appreciate showing their diamond in a discrete area of a public place.
- Confirm a meeting with a telephone call and record the number
- If you must go to a private residence, take along a friend.
- Don't take money along on the first viewing
- If anything feels uncomfortable at any time, walk away
- Don't get involved in negotiations more than cursory inquiries
- Examine any certificate carefully, carefully noting size and cut.
Estate Diamond Appraisals
Hopefully you have shopped around for a good appraiser and found one that is reasonable enough so you can afford several visits.
If you like the diamond and the price seems within range, try to make an appointment to meet the seller at your appraiser's office. If the seller balks, you should as well.
A good appraiser will not make a formal and final appraisal on a mounted diamond. It's simply impossible to do a good color grade on mounted diamonds. Likewise, the diamond can't be weighed in a setting. Estimate based on measurements can be 10-15% off.
Note: A good appraiser will also alert you to any significant characteristic that will require re cutting and consequent reduction in size and carat weight.
But the appraiser should be able to make a determination whether the diamond *seems* to match the cert or the claimed grade.
So if you get to the point where the stone seems to meet your requirements and price range, its time to remove the stone from the setting. The appraiser may want written permission to remove the diamond and you will surely have to pay to have the gem re-set if you don't buy it.
So the appraiser pops the diamond out of the setting, cleans it up, has a good long look and gives you a thumb's up.
Certifying Estate Diamonds
To certify or not to certify a diamond? If you are extremely competent and your appraiser is infallible .. nah, get the cert. Follow pretty much the same logistical procedure for meeting the seller at either GIA or EGL and pay for the cert. It's great insurance. If the seller has a cert from either of the labs, a re-grading discount should apply.
Note: Even certified diamonds can be a scam. Read the @ cut to match a certificate scam.
So the diamond certs fine? Then it's time to fish or cut bait.
Negotiating the purchase. negotiating the purchase of estate diamonds.