"I told him that I only wanted to see only GIA & AGS lab graded diamonds and he got all indignant on me! He told me that his opinion of the diamond was all that I needed and I didn't need to spend the extra money for a cert. Did I do something wrong?"

Certainly not, you did nothing wrong. Don't worry, this is a clear case of "Small Man's Syndrome". You clearly challenged the size of his... uh, Brain... and insulted his abilities as a "skilled" diamond grader. If he was confident in his diamond grading abilities, he would have responded with "No problem. This diamond is not lab graded and has been priced accordingly, but if you are willing to pay for the expense of having the diamond graded by the AGS or GIA Laboratory, I would be happy to send the diamond to the laboratory of your choice... I'm sure the diamond will be close to, if not exactly, what I'm telling you it is but if by chance it isn't, you don't have to buy it."

Diamond grading reports are one of the few tools available to the public as a way to accurately comparison shop for a diamond. While many jewelers are certainly capable and proficient graders, the fact remains that the public tends to trust the opinion of an impartial laboratory more than they trust the jeweler who is selling them the diamond. What can we say? You have a right to know what you're buying, but you should expect to pay a little more for a diamond that has been graded by a reputable gemological laboratory because the lab reports cost about $150.00 per carat.

Since you're obviously in the mood to push your jeweler's buttons, don't forget to ask for a detailed computerized proportions analysis showing the individual facet-by-facet measurements of the diamond because the measurements indicated on the lab report are mere averages and you happen to be a detail oriented person. Remember to step back a step or two at this point because you might not want to be within arms reach. Of course if you're not in the mood to wait up to eleven weeks for the labs to confirm his educated guess (err, we meant to say opinion) as to the quality of the diamond, all of the diamonds listed in our Private Reserve are already lab graded and can be shipped out on a moments notice and Sarin computerized proportions analysis is part of our normal evaluation process! Don't forget to download the clarity photographs and other images to your computer for future reference. What? Your jeweler didn't offer you any clarity photographs? Really? Who would have guessed?!?!