Hobby selling quality reports

[miketmbt]

Hello. Might be a dumb question.
I assume most hobby cutters try to sell their work to help fund equipment and new rough to facet.
My question is.. Do people send the stones for a GIA report or something similar to accompany the sale?

I was just curious because I’ve bought some junk before off of ebay but because I needed stones to practice setting and jewelry making. They always attach a grade in the description.

[flfaceter73]

Hello, i sell some of my cut stones on the Etsy website and i have not yet had any appraised with a certificate. Ive sold mostly stones under $50.00 ea. so i didnt figure it was needed or economically feasable .
I will consider an appraisal for selling once i cut some more valuable pieces.

[brellan217]

I agree about the value of a stone being a factor. I have some VVS longido rubies and some eye clean no oil emeralds. Those are the only stones I’d consider a GIA report for if I was going to sell them. It isn’t worth it to try to sell a $200 stone with a GIA report when the report costs $70-$85. It eats too much into profits. I don’t sell my stones, but if I did the aforementioned would be my business decision.

[Lowjiber]

Like others above, the majority of my stones are not worth paying for a GIA grading. GIA is largely overrated by their own hype for the avrage faceter, in my humble opinion. Most of my cuts are sold in the $40-$50 range.

On two occasions, I’ve sold rare cuts of Oregon Sunstone to knowledgeable jewelers for $200/each, but such rough is very hard to come by.

[Eric Hoffman]

While GIA is the gold standard for diamonds, a lot of people look to the American Gemological Labratory (AGL) when it comes to colored stones. You can get a simple GemBrief card which states a positive identification and any evidence of enhancement for $70. On the other end of the spectrum, they’ll do that plus origin and color grade in a Prestige Grading Report. The price for those depends on the carat weight of the stone, and can run you in the neighborhood of $400-1100.

So the cost is the biggest factor. Is it worth getting a stone evaluated for $70 if you’re only selling it for $150? Probably not. The only stone I’ve ever sent off was a 0.96ct unoiled emerald (less-than-awesome photo attached). We only got a GemBrief because the origin was nothing special (Brazil, but not Muzo), but for a stone like that, a simple report showing no evidence of treatment was definitely worth it.

–Eric

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[scottwkelley]

I have been selling my quartz stones, large for $45, not set. Not bad at 2 bucks a carat I figure. I make $10 for my cab petoskey stones too. These days I concentrate on size to fit a setting. My problem is I take bad pictures.
I have a question, what is up with this material, why so inexpensive?colombian emerald

[miketmbt]

@scottwkelley it says no treatment but when you get it, it will be dripping in oil.

[davidechols]

“why so inexpensive”

Junk. Stay clear unless you just want to say you have some emerald. Such material is too dark. I bought some like it by the pound a few years ago. Something like $15 a pound.

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