Could the EGL cert be off....for the better????

[alicat]

I just got engaged a week ago and have been obsessing and oogling my diamond since I received it. Here''s the thing. The EGL cert claims it is an "I" color, but i SWEAR to you, under no circumstances do i see even a hint of yellow. I''ve also had the chance to take my sister''s ering (about the same size and is a confirmed "G" color and mine actually looks whiter than hers, even when i put them side by side, upside down, and against white paper. even my co-workers, who all have F-H colored diamonds all agreed mine was the whitest (i didn''t tell them it was an "I", said i didn''t know

. so, could it POSSIBLY be that the EGL cert is wrong? i''ve tried to find the yellow in it in various lighting and consistently see a sparkling very very white diamond. i am overjoyed and all, but wondering if the EGL cert was off....for the better? is this possible? has anyone heard of this happening? from reading various posts, most people have said that in a white gold/platinum setting, the majority of people can see some hint of yellow in an "I" color, so why can''t i? not that i''m complaining of course!
what do y''all think? maybe EGL is not so bad? here are the stats of my ering if anyone is interested:

1.64 carat RB diamond, VS2 clarity, I color, 62.8% Depth, 55.0% table, no culet, no fluorescence, good polish and symmetry, 15.7% crown, 43.2 pavillion.

thanks.

 

[Mara]

Not all EGL labs are loose on their grading.

I personally couldn't see yellow when I viewed an I colored stone in a platinum setting. Some people's eyes are just not as great at detecting color. Grading IS subjective and done by a human, their eye nuances will play a part in it.

Lastly, your stone could be slightly heavy on white brilliance vs fire. My stone is. It's got more white sparkles than fire sparkles, so I think people tend to think it's whiter than it is (it's a G and at times it's blinding). That could be the case with your stone.

 

[fire&ice]

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On 8/3/2003 5:32:42 PM Mara wrote:

Not all EGL labs are loose on their grading.


Lastly, your stone could be slightly heavy on white brilliance vs fire. My stone is. It's got more white sparkles than fire sparkles, so I think people tend to think it's whiter than it is (it's a G and at times it's blinding). That could be the case with your stone.
----------------

Yep, same w/ my I 3c. Also, though your cert says no fluor, have you checked this out?

 

[NYDiamond]

Aren't you planning on having it appraised to verify the EGL cert and for insurance purposes? That should clear up the mystery.

 

[aljdewey]

NY Diamond, I'm sure she will have it appraised.....that was the topic of a former discussion on this diamond, and Alicat asserted that she was certainly going to get an appraisal.

Let us know what the appraiser says, Alicat. It would be nice to see that EGL graded conservatively instead of leniently! Also, where it's been the subject of a recent (hotly debated) thread, I'd recommend not giving your appraiser the EGL cert in advance of his evaluation. As Rich Sherwood (one of the HIGHLY respected, regular appraisers who contributes here) astutely pointed out, it's difficult not to be influenced by the cert if you see it in advance.

Good luck!

 

[trichrome]

Do all women have nothing else to do at work than looking at coworkers
diamonds???

Trichrome.

 

[alicat]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I am getting it independently appraised tomorrow in fact. Also, do i lie and tell the appraiser that i do not have the cert? or be honest and tell them i want to get their unbiased opinion. which is more appropriate?

I also have another question on the channel setting i received with the diamond. the finish work on the setting is not that great. some of the white gold is not quite straight surrounding the channel-set diamonds and one part of the band is thicker than the other side. what should i do? will the jeweler replace the setting? can they fix it? its not terribly bad, but there are a few inconsistencies in it that bother me, especially considering my fiance spent about $7500 on this thing.

any advice would be great. thanks for all your responses.

 

[aljdewey]

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On 8/4/2003 3

5:20 PM alicat wrote:
Also, do i lie and tell the appraiser that i do not have the cert? or be honest and tell them i want to get their unbiased opinion. which is more appropriate?

----------------Up to you.....whatever you're most comfortable with.

As you know, I'm fairly blunt, so if a jeweler asked if I had a cert, I'd tell him that I want HIS evaluation and that I'd prefer not to give the cert.

If you can't be that direct, then tell him a) you didn't realize it was required for an independent appraisal so you didn't bring it, b) it was uncerted, c) the cert is not accessible, stored in a safe deposit box,
whatever.

I personally prefer the non-lying route....if I were to get flack, I'd just select a more self-confident appraiser. But's that me....and I've gotten the impression previously that you aren't that direct.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[mike04456]

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On 8/3/2003 4:59:52 PM alicat wrote:
The EGL cert claims it is an "I" color, but i SWEAR to you, under no circumstances do i see even a hint of yellow. I've also had the chance to take my sister's ering (about the same size and is a confirmed "G" color and mine actually looks whiter than hers, even when i put them side by side, upside down, and against white paper. even my co-workers, who all have F-H colored diamonds all agreed mine was the whitest (i didn't tell them it was an "I", said i didn't know

. so, could it POSSIBLY be that the EGL cert is wrong?

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

A grading report is just an opinion. Maybe the grader was having a bad day that day and was downgrading his or her diamonds without realizing it. So, yes it can happen that the report undergraded the stone.

If you want to know for sure, get it regraded by GIA or AGS.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

-----------
Also, do i lie and tell the appraiser that i do not
have the cert? or be honest and tell them i want to
get their unbiased opinion. which is more
appropriate?
-----------

Be honest and tell them you want to get their unbiased opinion. Tell them you understand the subjective science of diamond grading, and you just want to add additional infomation to your diamond purchasing decision by getting their opinion without having seen the cert first.

Then you'll be able to show them the cert, and ask questions about any differences. It will give the appraiser a chance to give you additional relevant information.