EGL legitimacy?

[Lil_Dal]

Just wondering if you pros could tell me if EGL is legitimate?

Thanks!

 

[valeria101]

Not only that, but also one of the largest (STATS).

You will find allot of talk about how their grades relate to other labs'... and so on.

 

[Diamondsbybree]

I recommend EGL New York.
Of course GIA is known to be more accurate.

 

[JHeebner]

In the trade, word is they overgrade. At least that's the most common assessment I hear when the EGL name comes up. However, a lot of people still do business with them, so ... the truth is likely somewhere in between.

 

[valeria101]

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On 6/28/2004 5:31:16 PM JHeebner wrote:




so ... the truth is likely somewhere in between.

----------------

But the diamonds listed with EGL certificates are also less expensive, as a rule.

One may (legitimately) think that only less-than-greta pieces would be sent to the EGL in the first place, but I would not cut a conclusion so clearly. Not only there seems to be some difference of standards between different EGL labs (branches in the US, Europe and Israel) but those EGL stones can turn out to be realy good buys.

 

[valeria101]

I bet you would ask just how different GIA's and EGL's opinions on a diamond's grades could be and if the discount on non-GIA (or AGS) grades is...

As far as I know, there is (nor could be) some public stats on this, but it seems that the sellers' decision between the two and the pricing does reflect some prevailing opinions of the trade.

Here are two PS threads which dealt with the matter in some detail:

See Garry's posts here

and This thread

 

[oldminer]

The price differential of diamonds, in general, between stones graded at EGL, GAI and AGS paints a very accurate picture of how the diamond trade understands how each lab grades. EGL is generally the more liberal, GIA in between and AGS slightly more strict.

This is IN GENERAL... It may not apply to your diamond or to any single diamond. I just saw a diamond GIA graded VS1, that the other two mentioned labs graded SI1. I found it incredible. While I must assume it is a mistake on GIA's part, there is no way to make an easy correction in such a case. That's why we must keep the general nature of these comments in mind as there are exceptions to nearly every generalization.

The better the diamond deal sounds, the more likely there is some liberal grading involved. This is a generalization, but there is some truth to it, too.

 

[JHeebner]

----------------
On 6/29/2004 3:36:13 PM oldminer wrote:

The price differential of diamonds, in general, between stones graded at EGL, GAI and AGS paints a very accurate picture of how the diamond trade understands how each lab grades. EGL is generally the more liberal, GIA in between and AGS slightly more strict.

The better the diamond deal sounds, the more likely there is some liberal grading involved. This is a generalization, but there is some truth to it, too.----------------

Agree completely.

 

[stillqueasy]

I'm no pro -- but in my search for the right engagement ring, I've heard that grading varies between EGLs offices. I've heard NY is okay but to stay away from the EGL stones graded in Israel.

Can someone confirm this?