A folder of reports and a tray of stones
You buy a selection of diamonds from your supplier, each with a grading report from a laboratory such as GIA or IGI. The stones go into papers. The reports go into a folder. Some are sold loose to customers choosing a stone. Others are set into rings in your workshop.
Six months later, a customer who bought a solitaire asks for a copy of her report for insurance. The ring was set from a stone in a paper marked with a code. The report folder is organised by supplier and date. Finding the right report takes most of an afternoon.
Worse, you are not quite sure two stones of similar weight were never swapped between papers. Some reports carry a laser inscription number, but checking it means the stone is out of its setting or under the microscope.
Why reports come adrift
The stone and its report take different routes. The stone goes to the bench, the setter, the window and the customer. The report stays in the office. The only link is a code on a stone paper, which is thrown away when the stone is set.
Report numbers are long and easy to mistype. Handwritten notes like 'GIA 1.02 G VS1' identify several possible stones, not one.
Memo stones from suppliers add another layer. Their reports belong to the supplier until you buy the stone, and they must go back with any stones returned.
What mismatched reports cost
| Problem | Result |
|---|---|
| Reports filed by supplier | Slow to find for a customer or valuer |
| Stone paper codes lost at setting | No link between ring and report |
| Report numbers mistyped | Wrong report quoted to a customer |
| Memo reports kept by mistake | Awkward returns to suppliers |
| No check of report details | Doubt about whether stone and report match |
Customers who buy a graded diamond expect the report to match their stone exactly. Any doubt about that damages trust in a costly purchase.
Resale and remounting bring reports back into play years later. A customer who wants to upgrade a stone, or reset it in a new design, often asks for the original report so the stone can be identified and valued. If the report was handed over at sale but no copy was kept against the ring, you are relying on the customer to have kept it, which many have not.
How we keep reports and stones together
- Each graded stone is recorded on arrival with its report number, laboratory, weight, shape and grades, and a scan of the report. Where the laboratory offers a report check online, the details are verified against it.
- The stone's paper or pot is labelled with a stock number and a barcode, which leads straight to the report.
- When the stone is set, the ring's record is linked to the stone, so the report follows the piece into the window and onto the sale.
- At sale, the report is printed or sent to the customer with the receipt, and a copy stays on the customer's record.
- Memo stones are marked as the supplier's, with their reports, and flagged for return with the stone if not bought.
- Anyone can search by report number, customer or piece, so finding a report takes seconds.
Checking that a stone matches its report is professional work for you and your staff. We do not grade or verify stones; we keep the records straight.
Finding the report in seconds
A customer asks for a copy of her report for insurance. You search her name, open the ring, and send her the report. A valuer asks about the stone in a ring on your shelf. You scan the tag and the report is there.
- Every graded stone linked to its report
- Reports follow stones into finished pieces
- Report copies handed over or sent at sale
- Memo stones and their reports returned together
Signs your reports need linking
- Grading reports are filed in folders by supplier.
- Finding a customer's report takes a long search.
- Stones lose their link to reports when they are set.
- You hold memo stones with their suppliers' reports.
- Report numbers are copied by hand.