Every appraiser here is trained to GIA diamond-grading standard and re-tested annually. That matters because the gap between a good stone and an average one is invisible to almost everybody, and it is where people lose the most money.
We grade in front of you: colour against masters, clarity under the scope, cut and carat measured rather than estimated. You see the same thing we see. If the stone has a certificate we check the girdle inscription against it, because plenty do not match.
We will tell you honestly when a piece is worth less than you hoped, and we will tell you when it is worth more than we would pay — some things belong at auction rather than in a pawn shop, and saying so costs us a transaction but keeps us in business.
