[Remember to check back to this section
frequently, since I'll continue to add and update the information posted
here.]
What's a cert? No...I'm referring
to
breath mints, I'm
talking about another term thrown around in some advertising. Think of
a "cert" (short for certification), as a type of "quality
insurance policy." It's a means of uniformly grading diamonds
that helps guarantee consumers get what they've paid for...as long as
they're dealing with a reputable seller of course.
There are two different types of "certs":
Actually, there are three, but consumers need to focus on the two that
they'll hear about the most/on their buying level:
GIA: Geological
Institute of America, established in 1931; my late
brother-in-law worked as a trainer for GIA in the 1980's, traveling around
the country/leading training seminars that teach (and certify) jewelers on
how to grade diamonds.
Who's the better scale between the two?
I think they're about the same...you've got bigger things to worry about,
like who's selling you your diamond...
Should you demand a certified diamond? Not
necessarily...just make sure that whoever you buying from is competent
(honest) and can back what they're selling. Anyone who's in
the biz should have enough confidence in their professional expertise
to sell you what he claims that non-certified diamond to be and also have
the confidence to send the diamond off to be certified (by GIA or EGL).
If they know what they're doing (and are honest), the
diamond should grade out very close to what was originally presented.
If they tell you that a certified diamond is
gonna cost you alot more...in other words, they're trying to
convince you that you're better off buying what they have on-hand/right
now--and it's non-certified, then run, don't walk, the other direction.
Dover's Choice? It's a
no-brainer...check out
Dallas Gold
& Silver Exchange's website at
www.dgse.com.
They're a
publicly-traded company
that sells millions of dollars worth of diamond jewelry and fine watches
(they're one of the biggest pre-owned Rolex sources in the world) and
they're trustyworthy...plus
they'll
deal on price.
