EGL vs. GIA vs. AGS

[me1234]

I''ve heard there are differences in the various certifications listed above. Is it best to stick just to GIA? What are the problems with GIA or AGS?

 

[BecomingACutNerd]

AGS provides the most information, as they provide crown and pavilion angles/percentages. Without
this data you cannot make an accurate assessment of the cut quality. GIA is very accurate as well,
only they do not provide the crown and pavilion angles/percentages. Actually, from what I understand, AGS was established by some of the GIA folks who felt that more information should be provided on a diamond certification.

EGL, as a general rule, grades diamonds less rigorously, and they also introduced some extra clarity grades that most people don't appreciate. Diamonds with EGL will generally be worth less than those with AGS or GIA certifications. Also, it appears that diamond cutters realize this as well, so they will send their lower quality diamonds to be graded by EGL, because they will get a higher grade.

If you do a search on this forum for this topic, you can find alot more information about this.

 

[69gm]

hi me1234,

GIA and AGS are 2 of the strictest, most highly respected labs in the world. in fact they were started by the same person. if you have a diamond certified by either of them you can rest assured that their grading is either dead-on or conservative.

the difference between the GIA and AGS certs is that AGS actually gives you more information on the cut of the diamond, ie. crown and pavilion angles, which as everyone on the forum will tell you, is incredibly important in determining if this is a good diamond or not.

EGL certified diamonds can be a crap-shoot. they either tend to be dead-on accurate, or generous in their grading. and this only goes for EGL-USA certified stones. any other EGL certification tends to be VERY generous...in some cases 2 grades. if you are looking at a EGL-USA certified diamond, they are probably okay but because they also can be off, i would recommend getting an independant appraiser to verify the cert.

the other thing to keep in mind is that you will pay a slight premium for having a GIA and AGS certified diamond. EGL certified diamonds tend to be slightly cheaper. but the peace of mind might be worth it.

hope this helps.