ALL photos and video  are of the exact  diamond you will receive

How to "mis-grade" a diamond-and how it affects consumers

As people find out when they start shopping for a diamond, the price of a diamond is based on the color and clarity, the size, and the cut.

A very slight difference in shade, can cause a large difference in price.  For example, an E/ Internally Flawless can be worth 30% or more less than a D/ IF.  With such a lot of money at stake, dealers only trust one lab to determine whether the diamond is actually a D, or an E.

That lab, is GIA.  The Gemological Institute of America.

My advice to shoppers in this area is quite simple.  If you're looking for a diamond of one carat or more, in a color better than J, and a clarity better than SI2, insist on a GIA report.

 

 How does this affect consumers?

If two dealers are each selling a diamond" certified" to be K/VS2-yet one of these diamond does not possess a GIA report-a consumer was not familiar with the differences between gem labs could easily think the two stones were comparable.  In fact, they might be very different.

In my book, a dealer that knows the difference, yet purposely obscures it, is attempting to engage in deceptive practices.

 I am extremely passionate about this, as I've earned my living in the diamond business since 1976.  I started out as a diamond grader at the house of Harry Winston-and subsequently have been involved of in the grading of diamonds to earn my living till this day. I guess I find it personally insulting when people in my trade abuse their knowledge to try and make people think they're buying something they are not.

if we didn't care about any of this, we could sell this as a "certified" K/VS2. after all, it has a "certificate" calling it KVS2

  In the photos below, the stone on the left is a diamond, which I do believe is a K color.  The diamond on the right is the 2.04 Asscher cut we are offering here. I can see two shades difference.  To my eye, the 2.04 is an M color. I bought it for our inventory because it's a beautiful diamond, and it's about $2000 less than another Diamond we own-which is a legitimate K/VS2, with the GIA report

 

This particular 2.04 was sent off to a non-GIA lab, and was given the color grade of K. I happen to agree with everything else on the report.  The measurements, the clarity, the fluorescence-just the color is where we disagree.

 Here's why we're offering it ( without any lab report). Look at the pictures. It's a "dropdead gorgeous" 2.04ct stone, that we can offer for $9,500!

For shoppers of two carat diamonds below $10,000, compromises are going to be necessary.  Remember, $10,000 is not a lot of money when you're shopping for a two character. Either Color, clarity, or cut is going to have to give. I love stones like this a warmer white, and saving tremendous amount of money.  Yet there is no compromise on the cut or the clarity.

I would never consider a diamond of G/VS2 without the GIA report for our inventory... but that is a $20K+ diamond- that's a huge difference.