EGL Israel Cert vs Appraisal

[amber0928]

My fiance and I just got engaged last Friday and he got my ring through a family friend who knows a jewler. I absolutely love my ring.
The papers are ELG International (Isreal)
Round Brillant
1.17 cts
VS2
F

We took it to get appraised and they graded low and told us that EGL Isreal is soft on the grading.
Round Brillant
1.17 cts
SI2
I

WHen we spoke with the jewler he said that he is confidant in his work and the cert and he will send us an appraisal. SHould I get a second appraisal and see what they say? Or should I just get a new diamond? Plus everything I"m reading about EGL Isreal is bad and I"m not sure I want a diamond that is certified by them. I just want to make sure that we got what my fiance said he wanted in quality.

HELP!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Just had a bit of deja vu. Similar thread.

 

[strmrdr]

ouch that is soft.
Another appraisal wont get you much, likely it would be between the 2 or match the second.
EGL Israel paper is useless.

 

[BigDiamonds]

Amber, it''s a beautiful ring but I understand your concern. As the thread that John linked to shows, this isn''t uncommon with EGL-Israel stones.

I would not put a lot of faith in a jeweler-provided appraisal. The most reliable appraisal is from an independant third-party, not anyone who sells diamonds, or is hired by someone who sells diamonds.

Two things I would consider:
1) Did you pay a fair price based on the appraisal? If you look at GIA/AGS stones with the same specs, how does your price compare? You probably got a discount from a GIA stone with the specs of the cert, but how much?
2) What are your options? Will the jeweler allow you to trade your stone for a GIA/AGS stone? Will they allow a return?

EGL diamonds aren''t bad (no diamonds are BAD

) as long as you aware that they may not be exactly what you would expect based on the cert.

 

[shminbabe]

I hate to see you second-guessing the ring when you said you loved it already. Nothing worse than feeling "buyer''s" remorse when you didn''t actually buy it and it was a once-in-a-lifetime gift.

Questions to ask: is your fiance open to the idea of getting an independent appraisal and returning the ring if the appraiser doesn''t agree with the original certification? Will it cause difficult feelings if you start questioning the ring? Or will your fiance be supportive of your wanting to know if the ring he chose and paid for is truly what it''s supposed to be? All things to know before you head down this path.

It''s a tough spot to be in right now. There was another poster who had a similar thread earlier this summer. She was going back to the "family friend" jeweler with her fiance who was slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. She was uncertain about the quality of the ring he''d bought and hoped to either verify its quality or get a different stone, I think. Just an awkward situation in that he''d proposed and presented her with the ring.

Remember you do love the ring as you said. If your fiance is all for checking this out, I''d say go for it. If he isn''t, you might want to decide to love it as is. It sure looks pretty in the picture!

jeannie

 

[FireGoddess]

Jeez maybe I should start grading stones. I''m sure as a layperson I could probably do better than that.

I would have more faith in the independent appraisal. And if you love the stone, make sure you paid a fair price for what it is you really got. If not, perhaps you might want to return this one.

 

[amber0928]

Two things I would consider:
1) Did you pay a fair price based on the appraisal? Based on the appraisal it was only $200-$300 of what my fiance actually paid for the ring which has me concerned.
2) What are your options? Will the jeweler allow you to trade your stone for a GIA/AGS stone? The jewler will allow us to trade in and get another one that is GIA certified. Its just frustrating cause it already took my fiance 2 months to pick this diamond (he was looking at them based on specs no in person) Will they allow a return?

I do love my ring but knowing that it isn''t what we thought it was makes me feel un easy.

There is one that has the following specs...what do you think?
WEIGHT 1.21 Cts.
Shape and Cut: ROUND
Measurements: 6.78 x 6.70 x 4.23 PROPORTIONS
Total Depth: 62.8%
Table Width: 58%
Girdle: MED
FINISH
Polish: VG
Symmetry: VG
CLARITY GRADE: VS2
COLOR GRADE: G
Fluorescence: STG BL

 

[Haven]

Hi, Amber,

First of all--your ring is gorgeous.

As far as whether you should get a different stone, I would base this decision on two things:
1) Are you happy with an I colored stone?
2) Did your fiance get a fair price for a stone with the appraisal specs (not the EGL specs)

The link John directed you to was one that I started because I fell in love with an EGL Israel stone, but was a bit scared off by the EGL cert. We ended up having the stone appraised by two third-party appraisers before we decided to purchase, and we found out that the EGL specs were in line with the appraisals. However, if the appraisal had differed from the EGL specs, we would have expected to been able to purchase the stone for a fair price for those specs, and if not we would have passed until we found a better stone.

Whatever you decide, make sure that you end up with a stone with which you are completely comfortable and happy--as the PSers told me when I was searching for my own diamond, if it sings to you, it''s the one!

Good luck!

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I feel bad for your husband though! I can just imagine the excitment when he found the diamond and he thought it was such an amazing deal! but at least it doesnt sound like he was ripped off. Good luck with your decision! care to give us any prices so we can see what you are talking about? It coudl be that the appraisal was inflated in itself, in which case he might have actually paid too much? If not, do a search here and see if it is comparing to the price of other I-H SI2 specs.

Also, if this was a different jeweler that appraised it is it possible he is exaggerating and it is really an H SI1 but he is hoping to get your buisness for himself?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would certainly return it if he thought he was getting you an F VS2 and it turned out to be I SI2. I hate to be harsh, but I''d want my money back and I would refuse to work further with someone who did this to me. I believe I, as a consumer, could tell the difference in an F VS2 and I SI2, so there was no excuse for a jeweler to allow you to buy this stone with such a meaningless cert. He should have known better. As it turned out, it wasn''t a good deal at all. People who buy diamonds from vendors on here often get appraisals a lot higher than what they paid, but the grading is usually very accurate when you get a GIA or AGS graded stone.

All I can say after being on this forum over a year and a half is, never buy diamonds through "family friends"!

 

[oldminer]

Usually when a consumer buys a diamond with overgraded paper, the price they actually paid reflects the correct grade and not the overgraded one. This is little comfort to what all of us see as a huge problem for individuals and for the entire diamond business. The diamond may look just fine and be worth the money for exactly what it is, but the missrepresentation on paperwork issue sort of ruins the deal.

Most retailers using worthless paper know what they are doing, but put the liability off on the Lab to the extent you''ll believe it. For every ten they sell this way, maybe one creates a problem where it pays them to give you a properly graded diamond without a big argument. Putting out your little fire prevents a larger firestorm from developing.

I have no cure to offer. There is no one listening for these complaints in any position of power. Consumer Rights governmental agencies simply won''t look at issues of this rather small financial nature. The FTC doesn''t seem to care. District attorneys have far larger and important problems. Suing individually is so costly that you cannot really win even if you happen to get a judgement in your favor.

In spite of all advice to the contrary, we see the vast majority of consumers still buying expensive items, like diamonds, virtually uninformed even when very complete information is freely in circulation. No one who reads Pricescope has any excuse for remainiing uninformed, but most consumers just don''t look for advice until after a purchase. It is a little late then but good for future purchase satisfaction.