Related to another thread I was posting in, I was wondering if having a GIA certification for a gemstone or “Certificate of Authenticity” for your Babe Ruth autographed baseball means anything in the real world.
My concern is specifically with regards to a buyer getting the item from a seller that they don’t know, but let’s assume that it might even be a seller you DO know. Just because I buy a gemstone from a big jewelry chain who gives me a GIA cert, or that autographed baseball from ‘Field of Dreams’ that has a certificate of authenticity, how do I know the certificate itself is real? They could have gotten it from a wholesaler who duped them, certs for similar stones could get mixed up, or the whole thing could be a 100% fake all the way around. I can Photoshop a picture of Bigfoot and Elvis assassinating JFK, but for some reason it is assumed I wouldn’t Photoshop the certification of authenticity to go with it. So I ask, for those of you who own items with a cert, how do you know that autographed baseball, baseball card, stamp, shipwreck coin, etc. isn’t a forgery, even though you have the cert to prove otherwise?
With regards to diamond grading, the major graders usually offer a service where you can contact them to verify the authenticity of the grading report. Usually, if you provide the report number and the diamond carat weight, and they can tell you whether or not they issued the report in question.
The grading report contains information on the various attributes of the diamond (carat weight, dimensions of the cut, color, clarity, imperfections and their locations in the stone). From that, you (or a qualified jeweler) can verify that the diamond matches up with the certificate.
All of my artwork that was bought from reputable dealers came with a CoA. I trust the CoA because with it I can establish a chain of possession for each of my numbered pieces, thus proving that they really are what I paid for. I have a couple of pieces from personal friends that are signed by hand, and if I needed to, I could get video of them saying they made it. All the rest of my art is self-made, and I try and sign all my stuff too.
Ooh, ooh! Buy some of my Art. I promise I’ll tape a C of A to the back!
I’m just jealous. All the art in my house is done by friends (though I’ve got some friends with Oil Paint Chops, but nothing of Certificate calibre).
I’ve thought about grading some of my comics (if I ever sell them). Since I can’t afford a real grading service, I’d invent the Dig’s HotLine Comic Grade. No deceit: I’d admit that this was my own criteria. I could grade based on Writer’s Avoidance of Cliches, Audience Maturity Level, Gratuitous Boobage, and “Am I tempted to keep this and re-read it?” Certified “Hotter Than Hendrix” would command top dollar, while *“Lukewarm Like Lucy Liu” *would go for cost and “Cold As Wasilla, Alaska” would run you twelve for a buck.