Diamond Certification

Bid08

Hi All,

just wondering what is your views on having your diamond ring certified?

Some forums have said it is not necessary to have the diamond certified but then when you are reading information about purchasing it states the importance of having the diamond certified. From what I have read there is a small number of prestigious bodies who certify and other less known ones may not be worth the paper they are wrote on

from what I have read I dont think I would be comfortable not getting a cert but just wondering in peoples experiences of buying did you get a cert and is it the less reputable jewellers that would not offer a cert

I havent went to any jewellers yet as I am trying to get as much knowledge as possible so I know what I am looking for

Intothesea

Hello there. In general jewellers won't want to spend extra time/cash on getting smaller stones certified (this is typical for the half-carat-and-under range in Dublin, IME) -- which means that not all non-certed diamonds are no-go. It's a must-have on the net as there's usually not much else to go on, but in real life, trust your eyes. Check that stones are eye-clean at a reasonable distance, (8-10 inches) and that they're not visibly tinted in daylight (especially under diffuse/overcast conditions).

To feel comfortable, you can look at a lot of stones and when one interests you seriously enough, ask to loupe it, (you can buy a jeweller's loupe for this, or borrow one, but that might be pushing it with the typical jeweller, tbh.) and satisfy yourself that there's nothing untoward about the stone. If you're interested in being able to identify issues look up pictures of feathers, black and white crystals, indented naturals, twinning wisps, clouds and cavities.

If the stone is eye-clean and suffers from no 'dead' spots (i.e. areas that return no brilliance at any point as you move the stone around) and you're happy with the colour then it's a good candidate. If you're worried about its authenticity as a diamond there's a couple of simple ways to put your mind at rest, the first is to breathe heavily and quickly on the clean stone's face (i.e. top). If you look at it directly afterwards the mist from your breath should disappear very quickly, leaving no trace and your stone as clean as before. Outside that there are diamond-testers (checking to see how the material disperses heat, which is essentially what the first test does) -- but really, nothing gives a visual response like diamond, and a jeweller would be out of business swiftly if a duplicity like that was uncovered. So, unless you're dealing with an unlikely source, I wouldn't worry. HTH and good luck with your purchase.