Alright, well, I'm relatively new to the world of colored diamonds, actually, I only have one, but I've got a few questions about the one I have.

My stone has never been appraised (to my knowledge) or graded by a lab.

Should I spend the money to have the stone graded by GIA or should I let the local guy send it off to EGL, who I understand also appraise the stones instead of just grading them.

How much does a GIA grading cost a private individual?

I've attached a photo of the stone... or at least I'm going to try to attach it..

The photo isn't very good, all the spots and things are dirt on the stone, not in it (It's dirty, but I'm not sure the best way to clean it) It's about a carat I think. My calipers read 5.00mm x 7.97mm x3.41mm

Thanks for any help!

HI All!

newhope: I'd certainly suggest you go the GIA route.

It;s not like the EGL is free- both cost money- but the GIA report will be far more valuable in fixing what the stone is.

The cost of a GIA report is $150 for a 1.00 diamond.

In terms of appraisals- a qualified appraiser could give you a much more relevant appraisal- say, for the purposes of insurance.

Well, the first thing to do is send it to the GIA- that will give you a better idea how to proceed.
You can submit the diamond yourself- no need to involves a third party.
Their number
212-221-5858


I don;t love the sound of that, by the way- a jeweler trying to convince a consumer to use EGL by charging excessive margin on the service of submitting a diamond to GIA..... which you can do yourself anyway!