The Certificate Is Half the Asset

Certificates are stored in a different place from the stones, or the stone is re-set and the certificate is filed and forgotten. Reuniting them later means re-certifying, which costs money and time and occasionally comes back with a different grade than the original.

Stones also get separated from their certificates during resetting. A piece goes to a jeweler, the stone is moved into a new mount, and the paperwork stays in a file at home referencing a piece that no longer exists in that form. Reconnecting them afterwards is frequently impossible without recertifying.

• Each stone recorded with its certificate number.
• Certificates held with the stone, not filed elsewhere.
• Individual packaging — stones scratch each other.
• Weight and dimensions recorded from the certificate.
• Any laser inscription noted.

Diamonds scratch everything including other diamonds, and colored stones vary considerably in hardness. Stones stored together in one parcel abrade each other over time, and the damage is permanent and reduces value.

Individual packaging is inexpensive and it is the single most common storage failure with loose stones — usually because they arrived that way and nobody thought to change it.

1. 01Record each stone against its certificate on intake.
2. 02Hold certificates with the stones they belong to.
3. 03Package individually so nothing sits against anything else.
4. 04Log every movement, and re-check on return.
5. 05Provide the schedule to your insurer on your authority.

Keep the certificate physically with the stone. It sounds obvious and it is the single most common documentation failure in this category, and re-certifying is both expensive and occasionally unwelcome.

All 5 →