Get a Certificate of Authenticity with Your Jewelry.
Why Get Jewelry Certification?
Fifth Avenue Gem Lab Inc. is an independent gemological laboratory and appraisal services company. Fifth Avenue Gem Lab Inc. is located in the heart of New York's international diamond and jewelry district and is renowned for its quality services, extensive experience and knowledge of the gem industry..
Today, as consumers have become more demanding and quality conscious about the products they buy, a jewelry buyer seeking an explanation of why a piece of jewelry is priced at hundreds or even thousand of dollars will not be satisfied with being told simply that the stones are genuine and due to the color or size very rare. He or she will want proof that the stone is genuine. Today's jewelry consumers are more familiar with and lab-reproduced stones than their parents. Jewelers now consider supplying certificates as an integral part of any sale and modern retail training programs stress the importance of providing independent jewelry certifications or gemological reports (this report is issued on gem stones and not jewelry) for gems and jewelry in addition to educating the consumer.
All this has led to an increase in demand for reliable grading or appraisal reports from credible organizations such as Fifth Avenue Gem Lab Inc. certifications.
Jewelers, retail stores, insurance companies, internet sales organizations, catalogue companies (mail order), accounting and securities firms and consumers are relying on jewelry certification reports or gemological reports.
Today the majority of good quality gem and jewelry items are sold with gemological reports. Besides being and exceptional stone of color and size or cut, a gem has no name, no history. The user doesn't know where the stone was found, who extracted it, who polished it, or the name of the dealer. The only document that travels around the world with an item of jewelry or a gem is the certification report or a gemological report.
What should know about man made diamonds?
The most common man made diamonds are cubic zirconium (CZ) and Moissanite. There is a new man-made diamond called the “Nexus Diamond”. The creators of this new man made diamond claim to have created the most perfect lab-grown diamond.
The cheaper and most common of the three lab-created diamonds is the cubic zirconium. This cultured diamond is mounted in silver, gold and other inexpensive metals. It is a fact that a well cut (CZ) mounted on a 14k ring setting can full an inexperienced buyer. The first rule to distinguish a (CZ) from real diamonds is the price. Another difference between these stones is the hardness. Cubic zirconia’s have a harness of 8.5 in the Moh's scale and can not scratch members of the corundum family (sapphires, rubies). Diamonds with a harness of 10 in the Moh's scale can scratch these stones. Cubic zirconia’s can shine as well as diamonds. Unfortunately, some can sparkle too much causing the disco-ball effect giving the stone a fake look. This supper-shine effect is caused by a poor finishing treatment at the lab. Another difference between (CZ) and diamonds is the weight. A cubic zirconium can weigh 65% more than a real diamond of the same size and cut.
Between cubic zirconium and Moissanite the consensus is that Moissanite is the better choice. For a while these lab created beauties could fool diamond testers. However, this is not true today. Unlike cubic zirconium Moissanite stones are not cheap. This lab creation can even fool the experienced diamond buyer. One major difference between Moissanite and real diamonds is the color. Moissanite has a trademark yellowish hue. This coloring is very light and almost indiscernible. But what that means is that Moissanite is not colorless. Diamonds on the other hand come in various colors including the very expensive colorless. In Moissanite this colored hue is caused by the presence of nitrogen impurities found throughout the stone’s lattice.
The newcomer into the market the Nexus diamond is not a cheap stone. The price range for these beauties is $75-125/carat. Once again the price can not compare to that of a real diamond of the same quality. The main difference between Nexus diamonds and real diamonds according to the manufacturer is that this lab creation is always flawless. The Nexus diamond is always created to simulate the perfect colorless (D) diamond. They also boast to always deliver their lab creations with a perfect cut. A real diamond with these same qualities at a weight of 1 carat would cost in excess of $13,000. In addition, this lab creation comes very close to the hardness of real diamonds having a rating of 9.1 in the Moh's scale. With a 9.1 hardness this newcomer is as hard as rubies and sapphires of the corundum family and corundum was the only mineral in the Moh's scale with a hardness of 9. If all the claims are true this new lab creation is quite impressive.
The question is do you want to buy a lab created diamond or a real diamond? The answer varies with the circumstances. Many customers prefer a real diamond over a lab creation when is a matter of giving an important gift for a special occasion or person. I am biased I believe that for meaningful occasions the real diamond should be the first choice. However, lab created diamonds have more practical uses like, showing off when going about town or wearing them to the weekend cocktail party. For individuals with expensive tastes but small budgets lab created diamonds make great substitutes.
If you are a real diamond shopper and would like to avoid a bad experience when purchasing a diamond then always request a certificate of authenticity from a reputable laboratory from the jewelry store.
