Ever heard of EGL or DIA certs?

[nebula]

Folks,
Was browsing in a jewelers yesterday and they showed two diamonds whcih were from south africa and had south african certificates caleed EGL and DIA certs.
Has anyone heard of these? are they reputable?

 

[denverappraiser]

EGL is a major lab with offices in many countries around the world, including South Africa. They do not all have the same reputation for accuracy or consistency. You can read about them with the search utility at the top right of this page and by looking for 'EGL' or 'European Gemological Laboratory'.

I don't think I've heard of DIA. Do you know what the acronym stands for? Around here it means 'Denver International Airport'.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[oldminer]

I have no idea what DIA is, but EGL is well known, as has already been said.

However, EGL is rather consistent, as proved by http://grading.pricescope.com/
EGL appears to use a somewhat different standard than GIA or AGS, but it is not a fault of lack of consistency. Those who sell diamonds tend to acknowledge the somewhat different EGL standards by adjusting prices downward for the seemingly slightly optimistic EGL grading. In truth, it is more accurate to infer that EGL has its own standards which it seems to meet and that experts know how to adjust to make it work for them. The fact that EGL uses what looks like GIA grading standards does confuse the public a little, but it does not confuse diamond dealers at all. On first glance it does seem a little sinister, but if anything much was really wrong don''t you think the GIA would have made a large fuss about it by now? We are in a little gray area in how to apply GIA standards. Even the GIA-GTL does not always act in a consistent manner in all cases.

In the grading study link above we found a couple instances where EGL stones represented better values to consumers than GIA graded diamonds. There is no one answer that fits all circumstances. I feel you and I can rely on US domestic EGL grading, with the complete understanding that prices will need to be adjusted, so that equal diamonds are equally valuable regardless of the range of grades applied.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 1/11/2005 2:37:44 PM
Author: oldminer

However, EGL is rather consistent, as proved by http://grading.pricescope.com/ ...

....I feel you and I can rely on US domestic EGL grading,

David,

EGL-SA is not the same company as EGL-USA and their work was not included in the grading study. I have seen very few of the SA reports and don''t feel qualified to comment on them but I think it''s important not to confuse them with EGL-USA in considering the wisdom of relying on their opinions.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[oldminer]

I don''t see anywhere I or anyone else referred to EGL-SA....Don''t even know what that is.

I wrote " US domestic EGL grading" diamonds meaning EGL-USA......No other EGL lab.

Thanks for the clarification. We don''t want to confuse anyone,,,,,,

 

[denverappraiser]

Dave,

No problem. The original poster asked about South African certificates from EGL and DIA.

Neil

 

[oldminer]

Yup, you are dead right..... EGL-SA, no go for us in the USA..... I agree.

 

[nebula]

I saw these certs on this rish site below.
http://www.diamondsandgoldireland.com/pages/solitaire03.htm
http://www.diamondsandgoldireland.com/pages/solitaire01.htm

 

[denverappraiser]

Nebula,

I don''t know enough to discuss EGL-SA and I''ve never heard of the other firm. Perhaps others have dealt with them and will care to comment.

I would hesitate to buy from that dealer in any case. It looks as if you are required to buy the diamond, sight unseen and in advance, based entirely based upon the data included in these reports. It looks rather like you never get the opportunity to examine either the diamond or actual ring beyond a computer model during the sales session. Perhaps they are better in person and the website doesn’t properly describe their service but I would avoid them unless they have a more substantive program available.

Read through the tutorials at the top of the page under knowledge. Compare what you read there with what you read on the dealer site. If you find important discrepancies, look into why the advice is different.

Neil Beaty
GG (GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver