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thomasw

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Apr 11, 2003
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i am thinking of getting a diamond which has a certificate from HRD Certificates Department which is Beltest accredited. Two things worry me about this:
first I have never heard of Beltest
second the colour grade is stated to be exceptional whilte + (D) is this the same as a GIA d colour?
any help greatly appreciated

(I have posted full details of the diamond earlier today)
 

robbe

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 24, 2003
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147
dear thomas, you never heard of beltest because this is a sort of quality label issued by the belgian government.
be exceptional whilte + (D) means the same as GIA's D color.
robbe
 

robbe

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 24, 2003
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dear richard, thank you for your kind words. i am currently in belgium. regards, robbe
 

thomasw

Rough_Rock
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Apr 11, 2003
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thanks for this advice

any chance of either of you two giving me your opinion on the diamond comparision i posted two days ago under "diamond comparision"

your help would be very gratefully received
 

Paul-Antwerp

Ideal_Rock
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Sep 2, 2002
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Hi Thomas,

HRD is the only lab that bothered to get an ISO-certificate, under the control of Beltest. Basically, this should be a quality-guarantee, but it only means that they have clear procedures on how to handle their business.

However, HRD is a very reputable lab. Of course, there are always minor differences with other labs, but they have a very strict way of working. From experience, I find that HRD is clearly stricter in colour than GIA, so a D-colour HRD will probably also be a GIA-D.

Hope this helps,

Paul
 

robbe

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 24, 2003
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dear paul, have you also been noticing hrd became very easy lately with grades like vvs1, vs2-si1, si2-P1(I1). also with color some things have changed such as their h-i color...i think it is fair to say hrd once was the most consistent lab however not anymore nowadays. regards, robbe
 

Paul-Antwerp

Ideal_Rock
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Hi Robbe,

I sometimes have the same impression, when I am looking at stones to buy. But I have a similar impression when I am being offered GIA-certed stones.

However, last month, I had about 100 stones certified by HRD, and I generally found their grading very consistent.

Live long,

Paul
 

Garry H (Cut Nut)

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Aug 15, 2000
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18,418
Hi guys,
And welcome Robbe
I once stocked SI2 as my lowest clarity grade.

Nowadays I tell customers we stock to SI 1.5.

About 1 in 5 GIA SI2 's make it in my book. The rest are what once was called I1 (or P1 in your part of the world).
 

Yupi

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
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74
Can one make a preliminary conclusion that the grading quality of GIA and HRD are similar these days (since there appears to be a decline in HRD recently)?

If one is going for CUT, would I be looking for IGI and AGS ?

Even for IGI, I seem to remember there are differences across locations ?
 

robbe

Shiny_Rock
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Apr 24, 2003
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dear yupi, first i would like to tell you that from the antwerp dealers' & manufacurers' point of view, gia is not as consistent as hrd and even as igi. i am not refering to the grading 'level' but only to the consistency; submit 10 times the same diamond to gia, to hrd & to igi and you'll understand.
regarding different grading results between gia, hrd & igi:
my experience tells me:
1)gia is a little stricter in high clarities (vvs & if)compared to the hrd.
2)hrd is a little easier between vvs-vs than igi.
3)hrd is stricter in high colors (d,e,f) than gia & igi.
4)igi is stricter than hrd in low clarities (si and lower).
these are the most relevant differences and all the other grades should be identical in those 3 labs.
regarding your last question: i have been looking at igi certified goods in dubai, bombay, bangkok and tokyo (igi has a lab in all those cities) and i must say the grading was consistent and even a little strict at times.
whenever i order goods in india nowadays, they have to come with an igi consultation; very practical as this is reducing my commuting back & forward not to mention all my travelling expenses!!! regards, robbe
 

Garry H (Cut Nut)

Super_Ideal_Rock
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The first grade is GIA, the second is IGI
GIA IGI


1 1 0.96 F SI1 E SI1

2 8 0.99 H VS2 G VS1

3 19 0.96 G SI1 G SI1

4 28 0.93 G SI1 H SI1
5 43 0.98 H VS2 H VS1

6 45 0.96 H SI2 G SI1
 

robbe

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 24, 2003
Messages
147
dear cut nut, thank you for these 6 interesting grading comparaisons.
first, i would like to say that i have seen the oposite situation many times as well, that is, gia being easier than igi or hrd. i think one cannot make statistics and jump to conclusions based on 6 diamonds.
second, the point i was trying to make is that when resubmitting those 6 diamonds to gia and igi a second time, you'll find more inconsistency at gia.
lastly, i would like to ask you what year these were certified and what location, for both gia & igi?.
understand this; i regularly work with gia, igi & hrd; i see results of all 3 and i feel they are all 3 grading seriously. there are however other labs that i really have problems with as they are not serious about their work. i don't intend to name them but you & i know they're out there and no one seems to complain...
regards, robbe
 

Giangi

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Joined
Jan 23, 2003
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2,530
I've found HRD to be quite stricter than GIA... IGI Antwerp works VERY well right now... Yes, sometimes they make mistakes, but let me say that 50-60% of GIA SI 2s are P 1s (or I1s) in my opinion.
IGI is a bit soft on IF, good on all other grades. On color they're quite good. I find them to be very good on fancy colors.
 

Anthonyd

Rough_Rock
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Oct 10, 2004
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how does HRD rate with cut? From what I have read they have less stringent rules than the american labs
 
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