EGL stamps "Conflict Free Diamond" on lab report...

[Todd Gray]

Just when I think I've seen it all... I take a look at a diamond for somebody today, and the words "Conflict Free Diamond" are stamped right below the plotting diagram. Now how could the EGL possibly know this for certain? I mean, I have as much confidence in the provisions of the Kimberley Diamond Act of 2003 as the next guy, but not enough to "certify" that the diamond is 100% absolutely conflict free! Reasonably certain, yea... but unless the EGL has somebody standing around the mines and personally packaging up every piece of rough, and transporting it to the sorting facility, and transporting it to the bourse, and taking it to the cutting facility, how can they be 100% positive that this diamond is conflict free ~ to the extent that they should be able to make this kind of statement to consumers?

And then there is the fact that the seller of this diamond indicted that it is an ideal cut diamond, which exhibits "8 Hearts and 8 Arrows" and is "excellent ideal cut" and "AGS-0 ideal cut" when it has a pavilion depth of 41.0% (that's percent) which converts over to a pavilion angle of like 39.5 degrees ~ which is more like AGS Poor (!)

I'm not going to mention the vendor on this thread, but needless to say that I poured gasoline on them and tossed a match on them via written complaints sent to the legal department of the AGSL and Jewelers Vigilance Committee, they are NOT one of the regulars here on Price Scope... but people, please READ the measurements on diamond grading reports carefully, don't take vendor statements regarding diamond cut quality at face value, if this guy had actually purchased this diamond based on the vendor statements, he would have been ripped bad.

 

[DiamondBrokersofFlorida]

We have always avoided EGL graded diamonds. Our findings are that you will be actually over paying for a stone graded by them.

 

[msop04]

Wow. That's... interesting, to say the least.

 

[WinkHPD]

LOL, even if there was no conflict before, there is now.

Is it, or isn't it.

Wink

 

[denverappraiser]

It does sort of make you wonder what they mean by that. People demand it, so they include it. Anyone want to bet that you couldn’t buy a Certified Conflict Diamond even if you wanted one?

 

[John P]

Thanks for the heads-up Todd.

Complete side-story: Some years ago, at a dinner-event, my wife approaches me with a strange look and says "Maya wants to know if your company buys conflict diamonds. She knows one for sale...Um. That's illegal or something, right?" Long story short, Maya had a friend who'd divorced and she thought that was what the term conflict-diamond implied.

We straightened it all out. And in Maya's defense, she's not the first person to suppose that.

 

[hawk25]

I just worry if this continues, consumers will start to demand EGL certified stones instead of other reliable labs. "It's on the certification, so it must be true. This is much better than GIA/AGS/etc who can't guarantee this"

Putting ethics (and possible legality) aside, it's quite the way to attract more business...