AllAboardTheBlingTrain
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2020
- Messages
- 2,961
If you are colour sensitive, I wouldn’t take the risk of going with IGI. They have definitely cleaned up their act quite a bit but customer perception that they are softer on colour than GIA still persists. How true it is, I can’t say, but usually they do trade at a slight discount to GIA so there is some truth I would suppose.
GIA has a stranglehold on the US market, less so in other countries, but imo it is the gold standard. I would say HRD, which is the gold standard in Europe, is probably comparable to GIA. IGI has definitely become more stringent over the years and it is entirely possible that they grade similar to GIA now but I would not be surprised if there’s a 1 grade difference between IGI and GIA (1 grade is considered acceptable tolerance).
I would not hesitate to buy an IGI stone if it was appropriately discounted and I could see it in person first, by the way. But since you would be required to order the stone and return it internationally, possibly being “out” the customs duty and shipping cost, it might not be feasible for you.
Are you able to see other H colour IGI stones of a comparable size to what you’re looking for in person? It would help if you get a feel for what IGI H looks like.
GIA has a stranglehold on the US market, less so in other countries, but imo it is the gold standard. I would say HRD, which is the gold standard in Europe, is probably comparable to GIA. IGI has definitely become more stringent over the years and it is entirely possible that they grade similar to GIA now but I would not be surprised if there’s a 1 grade difference between IGI and GIA (1 grade is considered acceptable tolerance).
I would not hesitate to buy an IGI stone if it was appropriately discounted and I could see it in person first, by the way. But since you would be required to order the stone and return it internationally, possibly being “out” the customs duty and shipping cost, it might not be feasible for you.
Are you able to see other H colour IGI stones of a comparable size to what you’re looking for in person? It would help if you get a feel for what IGI H looks like.
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