Gem Certificates: When and When Not

Last week I got asked again if I provide gem certificates with my stones.  Customers want to know this periodically, so let me share my thoughts on this.

Who certifies gems?  There are several recognized gemological labs in the U.S. The best known is GIA, and their main gem of expertise is diamond, but they also certify colored stones.  Other known labs are: American Gemological Laboratory (AGL), American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), and Gemological Appraisal Laboratory of America (GEMLAB).  All of these have locations in New York, but there are many others, and their reputations vary.

What does the certificate say?  Minimally, you can get a verbal or written gem id.  That’s useful if there’s a dispute about whether or not the gem is real, or when there’s a mixup of parcels.  A full lab report will also provides you with the gem’s origin, treatments/enhancements, comments on clarity and color grade, aside from the standard stuff (weight, cut, color, dimensions).

What does the certificate not say? A certificate does not provide you with the appraisal value of the gem.  Determining value depends a lot on the current market and on the purpose of the appraisal (an appraisal for insurance purposes is usually done at full retail value, a wholesale appraisal or an appraisal for an estate sale is much lower). 

What does it cost? A full GIA report costs over $200.  Minimally, if you want just a verbal gem id from a smaller lab, that’s $20, and GIA does not offer it as far as I know.  I only went to GEMLAB once, and they did it for me for $20. 

How about appraising an entire parcel?  That’s done by sampling.  So it doesn’t cost more.

Are gem certificates standard when you buy gems?  With larger diamonds, they’re fairly common, but with colored stones, no.  They are rare, in fact.  I’ve only ever seen them for gems that cost several thousand dollars. And even then, most gems don’t have certificates.

Are gem certificates 100% reliable?  No.  They are only as good as the expertise of the certifier.  Every week, someone asks my gemstone dealer, D. for a second opinion on a gem and lab report.  D. only uses only a gem microscope, he does not do refractive index tests or use other machinery, but when it comes to rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, from what I have observed, his opinion is more trusted than that of some of the labs.  And does he challenge what the report says?  On occasion, yes. 

Do gem reports affect the price of the gem?  You bet.  And not just by the cost of the report.  It can easily add another $1000 to the price of the gem because of credibility alone.

What about the certificates that are offered by online gemstone sellers?  I’ve never asked for one, but this is what I think: if the report or the website doesn’t identify the lab that’s used, then it’s just the seller printing you a guarantee.  But you don’t need that, because you can usually return any gem that you bought on the internet (you should double check that of course), and the seller is not supposed to lie anyway (a direct lie is illegal, don’t forget that, and the internet is public).  So what does the report give you that you don’t already have in the online gemstone listing?

How can you really be sure that your gem is real, untreated, or what have you?  After a year and a half in the diamond district, this is what I’ve learned: not all gemstone dealers are gemstone experts.  Many are knowledgeable, but others are just in for a quick buck, moving a parcel or a single gem from one dealer to another.  And they don’t know diddly.  Also, not all dealers know if and how their gems are treated.  But when you ask directly you will get the best answer they can offer because otherwise they will lose their reputation.  A gemstone dealer that cheated you on purpose may never sell on the street again if this becomes public knowledge.  In short, all he or she has is reputation, and you have the power to destroy it.  Other than that, you have to get to know your sources.  Choose a few trustworthy ones for the gems that are difficult and expensive.  For some of the cheaper stuff, or the stuff that’s easy to id and isn’t usually treated, you can, to a degree, take your chances.  For the expensive stuff, you have to assume that the gem is at least heat treated or oiled (in the case of emerald).  Very few dealers will guarantee that a gem 100% untreated. 

The anecdote that led me to write this entry.  On my way home the other day, I cut through the local mall and happened by a large jewelry chain that had a special sale.  They had an independent gemstone and diamond dealer there with lots of gems, mountings, and a professional setter who would work on the spot.  So you could pick your gem and have it set right away.  I stopped to look at the colored stone section  There were several sapphires, all neatly packaged with weights and sizes listed, as well as the price tags: $2000 and up for 1 carat gems.  I pointed at a purple sapphire listed at around $2000 (an oval of approximately 1 carat) and asked about the origin.  “We’re not given the origins,” the rep said.  Well I thought that was just ridiculous.  I left, but not without pointing out to the guy that origin greatly affects price.  For example, a 1 carat heated purple Tanzanian sapphire might sell for $100 on the street.  A 1 carat purple Ceylon of the right saturation might sell for $500 or more.  A x5 markup is expected for retail, because everyone has to get paid (the rep, the guy the rep bought from, the jewelry store, and everyone who works there).  A x5 might in fact just cover those costs, to be fair.  But x20 would be totally unacceptable, even at a retail outlet in the mall. 

So what do you get from a reputable jewelry store chain that you don’t get from a small time, reasonably knowledgeable gem dealer on 47^th?  Apparently, nothing.

Approximately 1 Carat Burmese Ruby, Unheated (and untreated), No Certificate

All Sales are Final: How to Save When Buying Gems

The wholesale price of any particular gem can vary drastically – as much as, I kid you not, 90% - depending on the context in which it is bought.  But: is extremely hard to get super low prices on gems, and unless you live in the right place, know the right people, and are willing to do a lot of hard work, it is simply not possible.  While I do manage to get gems at very good prices most of the time, even I rarely save that much. 

If you manage to save 40-50% over the average internet price of a gem, or perhaps 70% over a sale on T.V., then you’ve done good and your investment will retain its value over time.

What follows are some do’s and don’ts when you want to get low prices.

1. Don’t buy on the web or on T.V.:

Buy direct whenever possible.  A photo (or the flat screen) is never 100% accurate.  Also, when the “wholesale” website is open to the public, then that’s not really wholesale.  Prices can be lower than retail, but photos, listings, shipping, or producing a gem show take time, and time is money.  If you must buy on the web, make sure you get an inspection period and a return option.

The downside to buying direct: most sales are final.

2. Save by buying at shows:

Gem shows are definitely worth it.  Even gem dealers sometime buy from each other at shows!  Sellers have to make back the cost of their booth, and a show is a good way of advertising and connecting with potential new buyers.  But don’t rush yourself to buy. Walk around. Prices can vary drastically.  Take your time looking at the gems, and have them weighed before committing.  A low per carat price can fool you about the cost of a larger gem.  Make sure you have good lighting.  And ask questions about treatments.  If you don’t, you won’t be told.  Don’t just ask “is it natural?”  That just means it’s not synthetic.  Plus, many sellers think that “heating” does not mean “treating.”  So ask: “is it heated, oiled, glass filled?”  Finally, double check the invoice (make sure you ask for one).  Shows are busy, and both buyers and sellers can make mistakes.

The downside to buying at a show: gem show parcels, especially the loose ones in the little bowls, can contain scratched stones.  And sales at shows are definitely final.  It may be hard to get in touch with the same seller if you want to re-order (many are not on the web, and/or they live far away), and sometimes their non-show prices are higher.  Some sellers only sell at shows, period. 

3. Save by matching your own pairs for earrings:

When you try to match gems yourself, look for relatively uniform parcels – that saves time.  But: the more uniform the parcel, the higher the per carat price. Again: time is money. Use the groove between your index and middle finger on a tray to see how the gems will look against the skin.  Don’t work in dim lighting conditions and loupe your gems when you’re done.  Make sure you match color and size!

The downside to matching pairs yourself: some gems are incredibly hard to match.  Tourmaline and spinel are among the toughest.  You can think you matched your pair perfectly but when you go outside in the daylight you see that one gem is more pink, one more blue, etc.

4. Save by buying parcels:

This is definitely not for the uninitiated, but in rare cases, the savings are incredible.  However, a parcel may be large, so even if the per carat price is $1, you may have to dish out several hundred bucks for a ton of gems most of which you’ll never sell. 

When you buy a parcel, this is the most important rule of all: make your calculation based on one, ten, or a few more gems you know you can sell.  The sale should make you your money back on the entire parcel.  That’s how low the price has to be for you to make this investment.  80-90% of a parcel may be unusable material, and the lowest priced parcels are very uneven in quality.  So if you have time, put to one side the very best stones.  Regard the rest as garbage and recalculate the per carat price of the parcel based on what you’ve pulled out.  Is it still worth it?

Once, I was presented with a 50 carat parcel of untreated half to one carat Afghani rubies for a very low $40 per carat.  It was an “all or nothing” buy, no pick.  The parcel was very glittery and beautiful, but after I spent about 15 minutes pushing to one side the really nice stuff, the parcel that was leftover looked dull and unappealing.  Meanwhile, I had not even pulled out 10%.  That meant the per carat price was $400 for the good stuff, and that was way overpriced.

The downside when buying parcels: you can get sucked in by a few pieces of glitter and lose your shirt.  Parcels are for the long haul if you want to use most of it, or a quick turnaround based on one or two pieces only.  And – yes, you got it: all sales are final.

5. Save by Bringing Cash on a Friday:

First of all, most gemstone sales (except for shows and the web) are cash sales.  Most of the time, you can still get an invoice, just ask.  But some sellers travel, a parcel can have several bids on it on the same day, meanwhile, any check can bounce.  A credit cared sale can be challenged.  Cash is the guarantee.  Cash down on a memo of 60 days is a possibility, but cash is paid down first, and cash is king.  Cash on the table, not in your wallet (you might literally have to put it out there to get the lowest price).

And what’s the story with buying on a Friday? Gemstone dealers go home for the weekend, and they need some money to bring home.  The younger ones want to party.  So if you pay cash out on a Friday, especially later in the cay, you’ll get the lowest prices of the week.

The downside to cash buys: an experienced gemstone dealer will ask you one of two questions you should not get suckered into answering (or answering honestly).  One: “how much cash do you have on you?” And Two: “what is your budget?”  If you give an honest answer, the price they give will reflect what you said.  Then you will never know how low the offer was really going to be.  So just look at the parcel, then ask for a price.  If the price is more than you want o pay and you say that you don’t have that much on you, you’ve got the upper hand.

The Final Word: if you have someone in the industry that you trust, use their expertise.  Let them help you, and if you can, show them what you are considering buying.  People who have done this for a lifetime always know more than you do.  By the same token, if you’re a repeat buyer, you are always honest and you always pay (on time), sooner or later you will be offered very good deals.  In the long run, honesty pays – both for the gemstone dealer and for you.  A lost reputation is a lost future opportunity.

A Parcel of 2.5mm Burma Pink Sapphires: looks very sparkly but only 10-20% are usable.

“Could This Gem be a Little Bigger?” (How Big is Your Wallet?)

I get asked the question posed in the title about once a week.  Two out of three times I don’t hear back after my response.  I guess it's time to cut down on some of these questions, and put the request for bigger gems into perspective.

Let’s start with basic gem sizes and weights: each mm increase in diameter roughly doubles the weight of the gem.  Since gem prices are determined by weight, this also doubles the cost (or more, but I’ll get to that later).

An approximation of colored stone weight can be given by referring to standard diamond weights.  Here’s the standard table for brilliant cut diamond rounds:

1.3 mm	.01 carat
2.1 mm	.04 carat
3 mm	.1 carat
3.4 mm	.15 carat
4 mm	.25 carat
5 mm	.50 carat
6 mm	.85 carat

Now let’s make some sample adjustments for other cuts:

4mm round = 5x3 oval (1mm more in length, 1mm less in width, now you can do the rest)

5mm square = about 1.5 times the weight of a 5mm round (because you have to add in the corners)

5mm triangle = about 1/3 less than a 5mm round (because you cut down from the diameter)

Note that cabochons weigh roughly twice the amount of the same size faceted gem. 

Next, there are some basic adjustments for colored stones:

1. Most colored stones are denser, so they weight a little more.

2. Most colored stones are cut more deeply for color, so they weigh more again (if they are brilliant cut, they are cut like diamonds, but step cut for instance is rounder in the back and therefore heavier).

A good rule of thumb is that colored weigh on average 1/3 more than diamonds of the same weight.  So a 6mm round, or a 7x5mm oval weighs about 1 carat or a little more.

Finally, with some gems the size affects per carat price – drastically.  So let’s look into that.

First, we can exclude some gemstones where the per carat prices stay relatively constant, regardless of size.  That’s Amethyst, Apatite, Citrine, Chrome Diopside, Iolite, Mexican fire opal, Moonstone (and Labradorite), Quartz (any not already listed), Spessartite, Topaz (any)

Zircon.  Take this list with a grain of salt; there are always exceptions for special cuts or huge sizes.

Next, here are some gemstones where the per carat price jumps only in the large sizes.  The equal sign denotes price constancy.  The multipliers are in terms of the base price.  Also, I am only here talking about untreated stones.  So no heat, no oil, no glass filling   Oiled emeralds are probably similar in price, heated sapphires might be up to half these prices, but glass filled rubies are essentially worthless.

(Disclaimer: these multipliers are rough guidelines at best.)

	Below 1 ct	1-2 ct	3-5 ct	5+ ct
Aquamarine	=	=	x 4	x 10
Peridot	=	x 2	x 2	x 10 minimum
Red Garnet	=	=	=	rare
Rhodolite Garnet	=	=	x 3	x 5- x 10
Spinel	=	x 5 or more	rare	NA
Tourmaline	=	x 2	x 10	x 10
Tsavorite Garnet	x 5 after .25 carat	x 10	rare	NA

There are many exceptions to this, i.e. huge sizes in aqua or peridot can command prices in the hundreds of thousands.  Origin also plays a role with most of these gems.  Other prices fluctuate according to demand. 

Lastly, here are the gemstones where the per carat price jumps drastically starting with small sizes:

	.10-.25ct	.25-.5ct	.5-1ct	1ct	2ct	3ct	4-5ct
Alexandrite	x 2	x 4	x 10+	x 20+	Rare	NA	NA
Diamond	=	x 2	x 4	*	*	*	*
Emerald	=	x 3	x 6	x 10	x 15	*	*
Ruby (Burma)	x 2	x 5	x 20	x 45	x 100	x 1000	x 1000
Sapphire (Ceylon)	x 2	x 4	x 12	x 30	x 30	x 30	*
Sapphire (Australian, Thai)	=	=	x 4	x 8	x 10	x 15	*

* These are prices I was asked not to provide.  Not so much that they’re a secret, but the fluctuations can be drastic.  Suffice it to say that a large diamond approximates the price of a large ruby, or more.  Diamonds are more available but controlled, rubies (Burmese, untreated) in the 3+ carat size are nearly non-existent.   So those two are more or less the two most expensive gems you can buy in large sizes.  Emeralds are cheaper and larger sizes are available, but they too can be in the hundreds of thousands in the very large sizes (5 carats or more).  Sapphires are also more abundant and will cost quite a bit less than rubies in the large sizes.

To those of you who have been quoted prices by me that are blow this list: congratulations. I probably got a good deal and passed it on. 

More about how to beat prices on gems in my next entry…



Matched Pair of 4mm Unheated Ceylon Sapphires I recently acquired



This Ring in Your Size: A Note on Ring Resizing

Every time I get an Etsy order that says in the note to seller something like: “please change the size to ….,” my heart sinks.  I need you to feel my pain.

Adding to, or subtracting metal from an existing design requires cutting and soldering.  To size a ring, you have to cut it open with a saw and then either take out metal or add to it.  Then you close the seam with a torch and solder, pickle it in warm acid to remove the fire scale, and file down the seam (or use sandpaper).  Finally, you repolish the ring.

I hope this sank in.  Now let’s sort out the logical consequences of the procedure I just explained.

1. Obviously, resizing takes time.  How long?  If I did it here, half an hour minimum.  If my jeweler friend does it, it’s faster, depending on the job.  If my setting shop does it, they have it broken down to two or three guys, and they’ll do a bunch of rings in an hour.  One only solders, another only polishes, another deals with the gem if there are issues.  (I get to that later.)

2. Time is money.  So what does resizing cost? $8-10, out of my pocket.  And that’s cheap, right?  If you ask your jeweler to do it, it will cost more because he has to maintain a retail shop and/or because he may ship it out to have it done.  Also notice that I only bill you $5.00 in my shop.  I pay the difference.

3. What if the ring has to be much smaller?  That’s not so bad, you just take out silver.

4. What if the ring has to be much larger?  That’s a recipe for disaster.  Note how many sizes there are: 2mm, 3mm, 4mm …., domed, flat, …., gold, silver, and all in different thicknesses.  Jewelers don’t have 50 kinds of different wire sitting around (there are probably 200 different kinds).  So I have to bring the extra, or they use a piece of metal and shave it down (now it will take an hour), or I might have another ring somewhere and they can cut into that one (turning it into scrap, by the way).  Recently, I asked a jeweler to add 4 sizes to 2 rings, and 3 sizes to another.  He was busy all afternoon.  I paid him $10 per ring.  That was hugely unfair.  I ended up overpaying him the next couple of times to make up for it.

5. What if it’s an irregular ring design?  I might be out of luck.  Nobody wants to touch it because no matter what they do, I will not be happy with the result.  My ring may turn into scrap.

6. What if there’s a pattern or texture on the ring?  If it’s simple, i.e. hammered design, I go back over the soldered spot with my texturing tool.  If it’s a pretty texture like flowers or something, you may see a seam that doesn’t fit the design.  If it’s a twig ring, you may see a seam if you look hard enough.  But those are not so bad because the design is very irregular but the thickness even.

7. What if there’s a gem in the ring?  Ok, now it’s getting interesting.

a)  The gem is prong set.  In that case, perhaps we can take it out first.  Good idea, the gem may not like to be heated to 1500 Fahrenheit.  It may burst or fracture internally (and turn out looking like a highly included gem).  But of course, I’m not a setter.  Taking a gem out is one thing, there are prong lifters for that; putting it back is another.  Some polishers who offer ring resizing at a low price don’t set, so they have to get a setter involved, who might break the stone, who costs extra, etc etc.  Also, some settings are fragile, too much bending will break the prongs.

b)  What if the gem is bezeled?  If the bezel is open in the back, the gem might still come out.  That’s more tricky but it can be done.  Nevertheless, it then has to be reset.

c)  What if you don’t want to take the gem out or it is in a flat and closed bezel that you have to destroy get at the gem? 

Here’s the procedure for that: you put the ring upside down into charcoal, where the stone is in the charcoal.  That cools the stone while you solder the ring (so long as the ring doesn’t fall over and all that).  This is a very common procedure, but it brings new problems with it:

Not any gem can be put into the charcoal and heated. Turquoise, pearl, coral and other soft and organic stones are out.  An emerald?  You work on it quickly and with great care.  I wouldn’t try it myself for the world.  And the polisher I sometimes use busted one in January.  Custom order!

8. Last but not least, how often does the gem break or crack during heating, resetting or whatnot?  Too often for my taste.  You know how many rings I list, right?  So I can count it for you: an emerald, a turquoise, a garnet, a topaz, a sunstone, so far.  I think that’s in the neighborhood of 10% of my total sales for the last few months.

I always sweat bullets when this one has to be resized.

If I can get the ring resized before the stone is set, I can avoid most of these worries, as well as a portion of the cost.  But that only works if I have a custom order.  With most of the stackers, there’s also no issue because in many of my parcels, all the gems are identical (i.e. aqua, tsavorite, amethyst, garnet, topaz, citrine).  Diamonds are not a problem, they can withstand almost temperature.  Sapphires and rubies are also pretty sturdy.  Emeralds are terrible, and each is different, so those are a major headache.



My most recent breakage (this is a pic from before it broke)



So now you know.  I hope you can understand a little better why I don’t always offer resizing.  I try to make my best judgment depending on the ring.  Also, if I can stretch it over the mandrel (by half a size or so), or just have the polisher shave out the inside a little to make it bigger, then much of this trouble is avoided.