Zales And GIA Certification

[Elaken]

I''ve read enough on here to know that mentioning Zales is almost blasphemy. I was comparing and saw that Zales has GIA certified diamonds though some are not certified for cut quality. Is a Zales GIA cert. any different than a JA, GOG, WF, certification? Also, why would a diamond be GIA certified for everything but cut? Thanks P-scopers. You guys rock.

 

[kenny]

GIA offers lower-cost reports where fewer things are graded, so does AGS - neither of which have anything to do with Zales.

Please don't buy from Zales.

 

[Elaken]

Haha. Ok Kenny I won''t buy from Zales. So Zales pays for a cheaper less thurough report? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[kenny]

Date: 6/8/2010 6:28:05 PM
Author: Elaken
Haha. Ok Kenny I won't buy from Zales. So Zales pays for a cheaper less thurough report? Thanks for the feedback.

Oh, perhaps it's possible Zales with their high volume has negotiated some GIA-Zales report deal that grades only the things Zales wants graded - but I'm just speculating.
Perhaps someone here knows.

These lower priced report are frequently what accompanies lower-cost diamonds.

 

[AprilBaby]

They probably don''t want you to know the cut quality!

 

[PavePrincess]

Is it for a round brilliant? I''m sure you''ve already read this somewhere else, but GIA doesn''t grade cut for fancy shapes. Good luck!

 

[denverappraiser]

As far as I know all GIA reports for round brilliant cuts issued since 2006 include the cut grade although there may have been a brief time when the client had a choice of which format to use. Their services and reporting options are the same regardless of who ordered the job. Zales gets no special treatment. Your local Zales may have stones graded before the system was in place and/or stones with a different faced design.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[oldminer]

Nearly all Zale''s diamonds with reports come with Gem Scan Laboratory reports on them. This is a lab which works exclusively for Zales in the Dallas area. They have, or had, another lab in Canada at one time, I believe. Maybe Zales gets in some stones with GIA reports, too, but it would not come as a surprise if Zales might casually offer their GSL report as if it was the same as a GIA report. Other than it being printed on similar paper with ink, it is not an identical report nor an identical lab.

Lots of folks buy diamonds without a cut grade and even without any report. Pricescopers know so much more than the vast majority of shoppers who have not taken the time to learn about diamonds and how to buy them. Most consumers still believe a diamond is worth as much to sell it as they paid for it. Most also believe that any laboratory cert is the same as any other. We''d all still believe in Santa, too, if we had not learned about the story at some point in our lives. It is sad and sometimes humorous with all the free and available information on the Internet that so many consumers, dealers, and retailers have not yet learned the facts.

 

[Elaken]

Thanks all for the replies. I did not know that GIA does not certify cut for "fancy shapes". The ones I am thinking of were princess cut diamonds. Some were certified and some were not. Are princess cuts considered "fancy"?

 

[kenny]

Date: 6/9/2010 7:39:28 PM
Author: Elaken
Thanks all for the replies. I did not know that GIA does not certify cut for 'fancy shapes'. The ones I am thinking of were princess cut diamonds. Some were certified and some were not. Are princess cuts considered 'fancy'?

AGS grades Princess cut diamonds for cut quality.
Get an AGS 0.
AGS is the only non-GIA lab that also has color and clarity grades I trust.

Better yet do a search here.
I suspect you can do even better than AGS 0 from a couple PS vendors.
Whiteflash, GOG and Paul's company (it's either called High Performance Diamonds, Infinity or Wink Jones - please clarify) reportedly have super duper groovy princess cuts that may be cut to even higher or tighter specs than even AGS 0.

Please stay away from Zales.

 

[John P]

Date: 6/9/2010 7:39:28 PM
Author: Elaken
Thanks all for the replies. I did not know that GIA does not certify cut for 'fancy shapes'. The ones I am thinking of were princess cut diamonds. Some were certified and some were not. Are princess cuts considered 'fancy'?

Yes, they are fancy shapes. GIA does not grade cut for shapes other than round. This means you could have one D Flawless with excellent polish and symmetry that looks beautiful and another that looks lifeless with no differentiation made on the lab reports.

 

[John P]

Date: 6/9/2010 8:39:59 PM
Author: kenny

Whiteflash, GOG and Paul's company (it's either called High Performance Diamonds, Infinity or Wink Jones - please clarify) reportedly have super duper groovy princess cuts that may be cut to even higher or tighter specs than even AGS 0.

Please stay away from Zales.

Paul Slegers founded Infinity Diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium. We are a boutique diamond cutting operation, crafting fewer than 1000 diamonds a year. As implied, all diamonds earn AGS0 performance, but our tolerances go beyond any minimum lab-grading threshold. Those accolades are a by-product of the brand's premise.

We have 16 dealers in the US and several in Europe chosen to represent our small production. High Performance Diamonds, owned by Wink Jones, is one of our authorized US dealers.

Thank you for asking for clarification.