Quote:
Originally Posted by
~ B ~ 
Usually the provenance and other details of the diamond are engraved onto its girdle. It likely would not state its brand however, but rather the more important details used for grading. Above all, the GIA or HRD cert is crucial to its value. You can also get an aftermarket cert from a certified diamond grader.
Only recently are provenances engraved on a girdle, and thats only from some places, and not always the jewelry store, sometimes its the merchant company selling the stone to the store. If it is a stone thats 30 years old or older, I doubt it will have the engraving. Like Stitch, I don't recall seeing Cartier engraved on the girdle of their stone (I didn't specifically look for it, but they didn't point it out to me either).
Not all graders of stones are equal, nor is the value of their cert. I know of a few places here in the States that will only accept a GIA cert. If it came from even a different certification company, they don't consider the cert worth the paper its printed on. However, if a seller of a diamond is willing to pay and wait to see the results, they will send the stone to GIA to see how it is certified and then talk about the price they will pay to buy the stone. Otherwise, the store follows with their gemologist's evaluation of quality and hence price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
in stitches
Correct. In general only the Gemological lab will inscribe the serial number on the girdle. I don't think I've ever seen a brand such as Tiffany or Cartier inscribe their brand name on the girdle Although I guess it might be possible.
And yes, if there is a gemological lab inscription on the girdle you can always just reorder the certification however it might cost you up to a couple hundred dollars.
However, it is important to remember that gemological labs do not always inscribe the stone. And even when they do it only helps for getting the certification as to the color and clarity of the stone, while that does affect the value of the stone to have a better grade it does not play into the arena of getting premiums such as like one would get from proving that the stone was from Tiffany Cartier.
My Wife's engagement ring came with a GIA cert, but I do not believe the cert number is inscribed on its girdle. However, I've seen the stone under a microscope while its loose and you can easily see it matches the plot that is on the cert (showing where any inclusions are and the type of inclusions). In addition to color and clarity, GIA certs also reference the carat weight, cut (mentioning extra facets if any, girdle thicknes), floresence, they have a map plotting out the stone, and a few other things I'm probably forgetting at the moment.
While a GIA cert does not create the premium that one would get for buying a stone through Van Cleef, Cartier, or Tiffany, once you are buying something that's 1.5 carats or more I would only purchase something that has a GIA cert. Not specifically for any kind of premium, but as proof that what you are buying is in fact the quality that you are paying for. Having an independent appraisal from a respected company gives some piece of mind that some place (even if its good quality jewelry store or boutique) isn't calling a stone an F when its a G and saying its a VS2 when its maybe an SI1 in an effort to sell the stone at a greater price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hayward
Why didn't Rolex just put the bigger GMT/Sub hands on the new bigger Explorer? If they did that and retained the luminous numbers it would be an awesome watch...
+1 .
Although on the prior model (ref 114270) the numbers had white paint, but they were not luminous. I prefer the white paint on the numbers but always wished they had been luminous.
