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IGC grading - any opinions?

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dinamit

dinamit

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
465
Hi there,

I''ve come across a stone certified by IGC but I''ve never heard of the International Gemological Laboratories; only of IGI.

Does anyone have experience with stones graded by IGC, an opinion, or information as to how accurate a lab it is?

Thanks!
 
IGC have labs in Russia, India and Israel, more here http://www.igc-gem.com/

Apparently they are thought to be softer on grading than the top two labs GIA and AGS, so an independant appraisal on such a diamond might be prudent, and make the sale final on it checking out to your satisfaction ( get this in writing).

Appraisers tool

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx
 
Lorelei, thanks so much. I am in the UK, so unfortunately the appraisers index link you have shared is no use to me.

I am absolutely blown away by how well oranised and developed diamond trade in the US is. I know you guys constitute the world''s bigest market, but you can''t imagine how poor things are here in comparison. There are no independent appraisers, I''ve called some top guys to check this out in disbelief and they confirmed this. There is no reputable independent laboratories, and worst of all, UK regulations allow retailers to sell diamonds by only making claims about colour and clarity; getting info on the cut is near impossible. Ofcourse, it is possible to get certificated diamonds here, but the bulk of high street shops sell uncertificated ones and yet call themselves ''diamond experts''. Sadly, many people aren''t educated enough, trust the retailers and go for these stones no questions asked. Even in Hatton Garden, London''s diamond quarter, many jewellers sell uncertificated diamonds at prices much higher than certificated ones in the US. Should one wish to buy a certificated stone, they have to pay a premium price, without necessarily purchasing a good stone.

Anyway, apologies for this winge, I just had to get this off my chest. We are years behind and I hope something improves here too. I guess if the public becomes more savvy and informed, they will demand better deals.

If I am being ignorant, and someone would like to add something contrary to the above, I''d be very intrested to read it.

Thanks god for this forum.

All the best.
 
Actually Lorelei is from UK I believe.
 
Date: 6/5/2009 2:30:00 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Actually Lorelei is from UK I believe.
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I am indeed!
 
Date: 6/5/2009 2:23:06 PM
Author: dinamit
Lorelei, thanks so much. I am in the UK, so unfortunately the appraisers index link you have shared is no use to me.

I am absolutely blown away by how well oranised and developed diamond trade in the US is. I know you guys constitute the world''s bigest market, but you can''t imagine how poor things are here in comparison. There are no independent appraisers, I''ve called some top guys to check this out in disbelief and they confirmed this. There is no reputable independent laboratories, and worst of all, UK regulations allow retailers to sell diamonds by only making claims about colour and clarity; getting info on the cut is near impossible. Ofcourse, it is possible to get certificated diamonds here, but the bulk of high street shops sell uncertificated ones and yet call themselves ''diamond experts''. Sadly, many people aren''t educated enough, trust the retailers and go for these stones no questions asked. Even in Hatton Garden, London''s diamond quarter, many jewellers sell uncertificated diamonds at prices much higher than certificated ones in the US. Should one wish to buy a certificated stone, they have to pay a premium price, without necessarily purchasing a good stone.

Anyway, apologies for this winge, I just had to get this off my chest. We are years behind and I hope something improves here too. I guess if the public becomes more savvy and informed, they will demand better deals.

If I am being ignorant, and someone would like to add something contrary to the above, I''d be very intrested to read it.

Thanks god for this forum.

All the best.
Click to expand...

I do understand what you are saying being in the UK myself, we have a LONG way to go in my opinion - no apologies needed as I absolutely agree with you.

If you want a great seller to deal with here, try Dr Indira Marchant in London at

www.bestdiamonds.co.uk She is a true expert and passionate about cut quality, she sells the beautiful Infinity h&a diamonds.
 
Date: 6/5/2009 2:34:47 PM
Author: denverappraiser
Here''s a UK based appraiser that I''m happy to recommend.

http://www.adrian-smith.co.uk/

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
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Neil thats great, thank you! Very good to know.
 
Wow. That''s great guys (and ladies :-), thanks so much!

It''s good to know there are recommended appraisers in the UK, and Lorelei how lovely to know that someone so ''in the know'' is writing from these isles. I''ll check out the recommended contacts. I would have gone along with ordering from abroad, however if I can find a nice h&a stone here and have the opportunity to see it first, that would be great.

All the best.
 
Date: 6/5/2009 4:11:12 PM
Author: dinamit
Wow. That''s great guys (and ladies :-), thanks so much!

It''s good to know there are recommended appraisers in the UK, and Lorelei how lovely to know that someone so ''in the know'' is writing from these isles. I''ll check out the recommended contacts. I would have gone along with ordering from abroad, however if I can find a nice h&a stone here and have the opportunity to see it first, that would be great.

All the best.
Click to expand...
* blush* thank you!
35.gif
 
Thank you for the referral Neil.

I have taken the plunge and signed up to this interesting forum.

There are a few Appraisers in the UK that I would be happy to recommend. Not sure if it is appropriate to list them all here (still feeling my way through the conditions of use etc).
This question of identifying UK based professionals seems to crop up quite often, maybe a thread outlining some of the good ones in the UK might be useful to users.

Regards to all
 
Date: 6/22/2009 9:36:28 AM
Author: Scotgem
Thank you for the referral Neil.

I have taken the plunge and signed up to this interesting forum.

There are a few Appraisers in the UK that I would be happy to recommend. Not sure if it is appropriate to list them all here (still feeling my way through the conditions of use etc).
This question of identifying UK based professionals seems to crop up quite often, maybe a thread outlining some of the good ones in the UK might be useful to users.

Regards to all
Click to expand...
Welcome Adrian! It would definitely I think be useful to know of more appraisers in the UK as we are having more UK buyers request details.
 
Date: 6/22/2009 9:36:28 AM
Author: Scotgem
Thank you for the referral Neil.


I have taken the plunge and signed up to this interesting forum.


There are a few Appraisers in the UK that I would be happy to recommend. Not sure if it is appropriate to list them all here (still feeling my way through the conditions of use etc).

This question of identifying UK based professionals seems to crop up quite often, maybe a thread outlining some of the good ones in the UK might be useful to users.


Regards to all
Click to expand...

Welcome to PS!!!!
I think it would be great for PS to add a listing of UK appraisers.
That may be a better place for a list.
Andrey could send them the same questionnaire the US appraisers received.
 
Date: 6/22/2009 11:36:14 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 6/22/2009 9:36:28 AM
Author: Scotgem
Thank you for the referral Neil.


I have taken the plunge and signed up to this interesting forum.


There are a few Appraisers in the UK that I would be happy to recommend. Not sure if it is appropriate to list them all here (still feeling my way through the conditions of use etc).

This question of identifying UK based professionals seems to crop up quite often, maybe a thread outlining some of the good ones in the UK might be useful to users.


Regards to all
Click to expand...

Welcome to PS!!!!
I think it would be great for PS to add a listing of UK appraisers.
That may be a better place for a list.
Andrey could send them the same questionnaire the US appraisers received.
Click to expand...
I was actually thinking the same thing, I believe it would be very useful if it could be done.
 
Welcome Adrian. Maybe you can supply Andrey with some names of non-retailer appraisers in your part of the world which will be very useful to future Pricescope shoppers.....Good to see you on board.
 
IGC is now this link with a new name http://www.gci-gem.com/

IGL is a small version of IGI. Different owners, not related to IGI, but goes after the major chains as clients similar to what IGI does.
 
Hi,

I would be happy to get a list for any non-US independent appraisals and get it up and running on the site for others to search and find.

Feel free to post them here in the mean time.

If you are the independent appraisal please fill out the following registration this will help me set things up sooner.

http://www.pricescope.net/registration.aspx

Kind regards,

Andrey
 
Date: 6/22/2009 3:44:21 PM
Author: PS Admin
Hi,

I would be happy to get a list for any non-US independent appraisals and get it up and running on the site for others to search and find.

Feel free to post them here in the mean time.

If you are the independent appraisal please fill out the following registration this will help me set things up sooner.

http://www.pricescope.net/registration.aspx

Kind regards,

Andrey
Click to expand...

Andrey, thats marvellous, thank you so much!
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Here are two from another thread

http://www.jewelleryvaluer.com/index.html

http://www.adrian-smith.co.uk/
 
Welcome Adrian and great speaking to you the other day
1.gif


I am really glad this thread led to the creation of something so useful and very much needed. As I''ve previously explained, and Lorelei is very well aware of, we have quite a way to go with diamond market development, which is why you will be seeing more and more people from the UK (myself included) on this forum. I wish there to be other UK-related threads too, like info on jewellers etc.

It''s a start, great stuff!
 
Date: 6/22/2009 5:36:00 PM
Author: dinamit
Welcome Adrian and great speaking to you the other day
1.gif


I am really glad this thread led to the creation of something so useful and very much needed. As I''ve previously explained, and Lorelei is very well aware of, we have quite a way to go with diamond market development, which is why you will be seeing more and more people from the UK (myself included) on this forum. I wish there to be other UK-related threads too, like info on jewellers etc.

It''s a start, great stuff!
Click to expand...
Absolutely, this is excellent!!
 
Goodness, what a lovely welcome.

I can certainly put together a list of top folk in the UK and Ireland. I agree, a list in the Appraiser section would be more meaningful.

Andrey, I will fill-in the registration and encourage a couple of other similarly minded Appraisers to do the same.

Thank you for your interest and support for the UK and Ireland.

David and Neil - See you in San Diego
Dina - I am sorry for hijacking your thread!

Regards to all
Adrian
 
No probs Adrian, good to have you here
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