Labs recommended?

Moderators: PinkDiamond, John

Post Reply
Nabbosa
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:37 am
Location: Italy

Labs recommended?

Post by Nabbosa »

Good evening :)
Today I'd like to have any gemologist's (or anyone more experienced than me, really) opinion.
I have won an auction for this beautiful alexandrite gem: https://www.gemrockauctions.com/product ... ne-2266156
and since it was a little pricey, of course I want a certification of authenticity!
The seller wrote me: "We Can Go AIG , GFCO,WGJ, BIGL,GRA".
Any thoughts on these labs? I tried looking online and AIG seems a little sketchy; I didn't find a lot of informations about others. I have also asked the seller if we can get the gem certified by IGI anyways as it seemed the most reliable.

Let me know your opinions on the labs!
And let me know what you think about the gem too, I was a little worried since no one else bid but the estimated rrp was much higher and the seller has 99.96% good reviews, so... :lol:

Thank you in advance.
-Michele
User avatar
PinkDiamond
Posts: 15606
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:30 pm
Location: Ozark Mountains

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by PinkDiamond »

We used to be part of opalauctions.com, their sister site when they had a forum, which I ran for them for quite a few years, and for a few of those years I was also their Gemstone Sheriff, which is why they only verified the photo and description in the ad since they never see the stone in hand; it's up to the seller to be honest so I hope you dealt with a truly reputable seller since those seller ratings are prone to being manipulated on all websites that have seller ratings, and the RRP's given are often greatly exaggerated.

Most of our good articles on the labs came from Robert James, founder of the International School of Gemology, which shut down its forum and moved to FB, at which time the photos that were on their forum and in their newsletters disappeared, but things haven't changed much with the labs so what he says should still be verifiable.

The problem with the labs is that it clearly states that if they make a wrong call, they accept no responsibility for it, and I don't know of any who do accept responsibility for that so if they're wrong the buyer loses even more money.

In the video it appears to be a clean, lightly saturated stone with definite color change, although the candlelight makes it look brownish instead of reddish. It should look better under a Reveal incandescent light which is what I prefer for color-change gemstones. The website says they only allow natural gemstones, but you want that verified too because if the seller isn't a gemologist who tests all his stones, even he could be duped if he's relying on what the person who sold it to him said about it, since lab-growns match the exact atomic structure of their natural counterparts, which is why they will even fool gem testing equipment.

So, since the labs hide behind their disclaimer clause, you might be better off finding a local gemologist and having them take a look at it. They may even give you a verbal appraisal for free, but of course a written one would have a fee, but it wouldn't hurt to ask how much they'd charge to give you their opinion whether in writing or not.

Since I don't use or recommend the labs, I can't say one is better than the other, but we did get word that something like 80% of IGI was bought by a Chinese company some years ago, in case that matter to you.
viewtopic.php?t=2515

Here are two more articles from the ISG on how the labs get around accepting legal responsibility for the bad calls they occasionally make. Thankfully it doesn't happen too often, but when it happens to you you're SOL if the stone wasn't what it was represented to be.
viewtopic.php?t=2631

And you should also be aware of the legal defect in their lab reports because these things matter.
viewtopic.php?t=2845

I'm not so much trying to dissuade you from sending the stone to any lab you choose, as much as trying to make you aware of the problems with them before investing your hard-earned money, and to suggest having it looked at by a local gemologist, especially if the fee the seller charges to have it verified is a bit high.

I hope the information I gave you helps you make the best decision for yourself, and there are plenty more articles in the Labs category that you can access via the Board Index. The ones I showed you are from pages 4 and 5 so you may want to check the newer ones.

So what will you do with the stone, have it set, and if so, in a ring or earring or what? I bought a .35ct alexandrite last year and had it set in a 14kt YG earring that brought the price to what your stone cost.

Let us know what you think of it when you get to see it in hand. It looks like you scored a very nice stone, and I'd say the price was about right for that size, so I hope it turns out to be exactly as the seller represented it to be and you're pleased with your purchase. :)
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
Nabbosa
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by Nabbosa »

First of all, thank you for the exhaustive and well-written reply! :)
The stone will actually be a christmas gift for my mother, her name is Alessandra (and italian name of the stone is alessandrite), and also green and pink are her favourite colors (that's why I don't mind red not being so bright), so it seemed like a pretty on-point gift. I was thinking about a necklace but I need to see it in person to understand how big/small it actually is; maybe I will change my mind and make it into a ring.

That being said, I will definitely take your advice and have someone take a look at it in my city.
P.S. I'm happy with the gem for the price I got it regardless, but why do they pump the estimated price up soo much? It was 4000$ estimated on the auction and I got it for 600.
I know that making an appraisal of a gem based only on photo/videos is not recommended, but the fact that the price is so off makes me wonder. Should I just NOT trust the estimated price in the future?

M.
User avatar
PinkDiamond
Posts: 15606
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:30 pm
Location: Ozark Mountains

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by PinkDiamond »

When I was the Gemstone Sheriff I kept telling them the RRPs sellers were giving were bogus and outrageously inflated. They were going to stop the practice of showing them but then changed their minds and let it continue. To me it's just a ploy to make people think they're getting a stone worth a lot more, but a search online of other sellers for a comparably sized stone of light color would be a better gauge to judge it's worth by.

Your mom is going to love it, and it says it measures 7.650 x 4.350 x 3.250 mm so you can figure on its length being just over 1/4", and its width being less than that at its widest point, which might be a bit small for a ring, but at least in a ring she can stare at it, whereas if it was in a pendant or earring she couldn't. Maybe making it into a pinky ring would make it appear larger on the hand, if she wears pinky rings; if not I'd use a simple solitaire setting. I hope you'll show us what you eventually do it with, and tell us how she reacts to it when she sees it. Like I said, she's going to love it. :)
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
Nabbosa
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by Nabbosa »

Got it.
It's actually pretty nice to know you were a gemstone sheriff, I think it gives some retrospective about how these auction sites work.

Yeah I read about the measurements but I'm not quite familiar with jewelry and figured the jeweler would suggest me something too :lol:. Besides, I'm in no hurry as it is going to be a christmas gift.
I too think mom is going to like it. :)

Thank you again PinkDiamond.
M.
User avatar
PinkDiamond
Posts: 15606
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:30 pm
Location: Ozark Mountains

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by PinkDiamond »

You're quite welcome, I'm glad to help where I can. There are only 82 more days left til Christmas, and it will likely take a week or two for the stone to arrive in Italy I imagine, and then unless there's a stock setting it can be fit into the jeweler may have to cast one specifically for the piece, so I hope the project is ready in time to surprise Mom on Christmas day. You're a good daughter and every mom should have one like you. :!:

Also, while I'm mentioning being the former opal sheriff I thought I should mention that when you buy opals from their sister site for opals, or anywhere else for that matter, if a stone you like is only shown on a black background I recommend you ask the seller to show it to you on a white background so you can see the true body color, especially if it's an Ethiopian opal.

At one point I talked them into having the sellers include one photo on a white background for that purpose, but the sellers objected because they look better on black, and flaws become more visible on white so that rule didn't last long, so rather than be disappointed when you get an opal always ask for a shot on a white background if they don't have one in their ad. That way you can judge it better and will know what it will look like in daylight in hand.

Oh, and Happy Birthday! :)
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
Nabbosa
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by Nabbosa »

Thanks for the tip!
P. S. I'm a man :p
M.
User avatar
PinkDiamond
Posts: 15606
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:30 pm
Location: Ozark Mountains

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by PinkDiamond »

Oops, my apologies. In that case every mom should have a son like you. It would help if that question was in the profile so when people sign up we'd know if they were guys or gals, but I know if it said 'sex', some people would just write 'occasionally'. I know I would. :lol:
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
crazy8s
Posts: 1801
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:10 pm
Location: farm country Calif

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by crazy8s »

:oops: :lol: :lol:
Nabbosa
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: Labs recommended?

Post by Nabbosa »

haha yeah!
You're too kind and don't worry, my username might be misleading
Post Reply