You can look for companies with ratings by the BBB or who are JBT or DDC members, etc. Jim and Michele at DirtCheapDiamonds seem to have a fine reputation for customer service, and I know they can point you to places where their happy customers have posted. Perhaps, their customers wouldn't mind if you called one or two of them for references. I'm sure Jim or Michele can try to work this out for you. Also, although I don't know how it works, I believe you can use iescrow service when buying from Jim and Michele.

As far as EGL certs, this lab is known for being less strict in its grading than GIA and AGS. There are a number of EGL franchises and some may be more consistent than others. It is possible that if you were to send an EGL stone to GIA or AGS, the color and clarity would be graded lower (worse) than on the EGL cert. It is possible that if a cutter knows that his/her stone is borderline, he/she might choose to send it to EGL instead of getting lower grades from GIA or AGS. If you know this up front, it's ok, but you should be aware of what you're getting and the price you're paying. A few color/clarity grades add up to a big difference in price.

You should take any diamond you buy to an independent appraiser within the return time allowed to make sure that it matches the cert and to get an overall opinion. Independent appraisers are hard to find and you need someone who really knows what they're doing. An unscrupulous jeweler could try to tell you that a nice stone you got at a nice price is a dog just so he/she can try to sell you his/her own. I know that Jim and Michele at dirtcheap will send a stone before you put up any money to Rockdoc (Bill Lieberum) for him to evaluate the stone. You pay him on a per carat basis. This is a great deal, because you need an appraisal for insurance purposes anyway and Bill is one of the few (and undoubtedly the best) true independent appraisers in the US. His websites are http://www.accurateappraisal.com
and http://www.diamondclearinghouse.com

You can also use his sites to learn a lot about diamonds before you buy. E-mail him at rockdoc@gate.net

Also, I see you are in Hillsborough. If you want to take a trip to Long Island, you can go see Jonathan at his store, Good Old Gold.
http://www.goodoldgold.com

Give him a call. You will get one heck of an education and get to see the whole gamut of diamond cuts. I believe he has appraised stones from DirtCheapDiamonds before although I don't know if he is doing this any longer. You can give him a call and ask.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do!

lawmax

I would be concerned about the EGL report in my opinion. Many jewelers do prefer GIA, or AGS. Whats the reason? We know they are more strict in their grading.

Good luck in your hunt.....

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If you want to cure the nervousness, then have the seller send it to us, BEFORE YOU PAY FOR IT.

Then we'll tell you the facts about the diamond,and supply you with lots of images and results from tests we do.

This week, we even have a new colorimeter arriving to check the color of diamonds. We still have the GIA /AGS graded master color comparison diamonds, but we are adding the new Colorimeter so we can report even more to you.

This way you can feel confident that you know about the diamond youre considering.

We are independent and do not sell or buy diamonds.

rockdoc

Being in Philadelphia, we are somewhat closer, should you really wish to do the appraisal face to face...

I didn't realize you offered this type of appraisal service. It's good to know!

Glad you had a good experience.

It's a great pleasure to hear about positive experience with the friend of our site!

there is no free lunch.