Is EGL that bad?

[chinadoll724]

My bf and I found a great diamond at James Allen (who only uses GIA or AGS) that was H&A, but I decided to run a price check on all diamonds on PS for H&A diamonds in the price range that. It looks like the cheapest/carat are all EGL certified and mostly sold by USA Certed.

Does anyone have experience with USA Certed especially with H&A diamonds? I''ve read on this forum that EGL is not as as consistent with grading as GIA or AGS, so is it worth the risk? I could go up as much as .2 carats (from 1.05 to 1.27) if I with with the EGL certified one for the same color/clarity. Does anyone know if USA Certed can take a look at the diamonds for us to give their opinion?

Sorry for all the questions and thank you!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The problem is, you won''t know if the EGL cert is accurate unless you have the stone sent to you, pay for an independent appraisal, and then go to the trouble of sending the stone back if it is not as represented. Those stones usually cost less for a reason. They might be beautiful, but you generally get what you pay for. The cost of a GIA or AGS cert is not that much more, so the best stones are usually sent to those labs.

 

[vespergirl]

In my opinion, no. There are many beautiful EGL diamonds, and several of us here on PS have them. My diamond is a 2.01 ct G SI1 EX/EX H&A. I think the only place that I really noticed softness on EGL''s grading is color, but I''m satisfied that my stone is a low G, maybe an H. Since H was the lowest I wanted to go in color, I am happy with my stone, and got it for less than I would have paid for an AGS G or H. The "Comments" section of the cert said H&A, and I bought an Idealscope to view the H&A and compare to GIA & AGS diamonds, so I am very satisfied with my diamond. That said, I agree with diamondseeker, you may want to get an independent appraisal if you''re not sure about the stone & want to get it checked out.

I am attaching some pics of my stone, in different lighting conditions, where you can see the color, clarity, and arrows - good luck shopping!

 

[vespergirl]

Another

 

[vespergirl]

Another

 

[vespergirl]

Another

 

[vespergirl]

Here''s the last one - also, I should probably mention that since I got my diamond from a local vendor, it was easy to look at & compare stones. If you have to have it shipped, I guess that could be kind of a pain.

 

[isis~goddess]

guess ill chime in here due to an experience i just had today acutally. because of the price difference between gia and egl, i researched to the best of my ability whether it was worth buying an egl stone. i came up with this, stick with egl usa if you must buy egl. they are the most accurate, egl usa MAY be a little softer on color specifically, but most likely your stone will be graded as accurately as gia, or within a half a grade. its not as if you are going to buy an E and its going to come back an L. so anyway, i bought a hearts and arrrows 1.3 G, VS1 last week, under the pretense that it could be returned if it did not check in as what the egl usa cert said. i just came back from my jeweler, a person i have worked with and trusted for 8 years, and he did not appraise it officially because it should be set for that, but he did completely go over the paperwork and the diamond and verified for me that i did NOT get ripped off. i got what the egl cert said, G VS1, hearts and arrows. a very very nice diamond he said. we discussed egl and he said you just want to double check when buying an egl diamond, but there are many beautiful egl diamonds and if you find one, so be it. just enjoy it. i got mine for 6K, so even if it was off a half a grade, there was NO WAY it was going back!!! i got a great deal. i saved a ton of money by sticking with egl usa. just do your homework. if you can get a beautiful diamond for less then go for it.

 

[moderatelypoorstudent]

How can you tell from USAcerted''s site which one is EGL USA vs EGL anywhere else?

Thanks!!

-MPS

 

[isis~goddess]

Date: 4/3/2008 9:02:39 PM
Author: moderatelypoorstudent
How can you tell from USAcerted''s site which one is EGL USA vs EGL anywhere else?

Thanks!!

-MPS

i dont really understand the question, but here is egl usa web site incase your interested http://www.eglusa.com/research.html you can even look up cert numbers to check authenticity. if you buy egl and the cert does NOT have USA after EGL, then assume its egl "anywhere" and stay away. or consider staying away. i would.

 

[sna77]

Date: 4/3/2008 7:09:48 PM
Author:chinadoll724
My bf and I found a great diamond at James Allen (who only uses GIA or AGS) that was H&A, but I decided to run a price check on all diamonds on PS for H&A diamonds in the price range that. It looks like the cheapest/carat are all EGL certified and mostly sold by USA Certed.

Does anyone have experience with USA Certed especially with H&A diamonds? I''ve read on this forum that EGL is not as as consistent with grading as GIA or AGS, so is it worth the risk? I could go up as much as .2 carats (from 1.05 to 1.27) if I with with the EGL certified one for the same color/clarity. Does anyone know if USA Certed can take a look at the diamonds for us to give their opinion?

Sorry for all the questions and thank you!

I asked this same question once and was given a response along the lines of "the cutters know what their stone is. They want to make the most money possible on the stone. They aren''t stupid, and will send the stone to the lab that gives them the best chance of making the most money on that stone. "

 

[honey22]

Date: 4/3/2008 8:20:30 PM
Author: isis~goddess
i just came back from my jeweler, a person i have worked with and trusted for 8 years, and he did not appraise it officially because it should be set for that, but he did completely go over the paperwork and the diamond and verified for me that i did NOT get ripped off.

Not sure if this is a typo, but this is not the case. For a stone to be properly appraised and certified, it actually needs to be loose, not set in a ring.

 

[chinadoll724]

Thanks everyone! Vespergirl, your ring is absolutely gorgeous. It''s so tempting to go with EGL since it''s such a big jump in size for less money, but I wouldn''t be able to see it in person. I''ll probably call them to see if it''s EGL USA and see what their return policy is. Even if it were slightly looser, it might just be worth it.

Such a hard decision. I feel like I''m playing the lottery here if I get it EGL so I''ll see what my bf says about it. Since they say it''s H&A, I''m going to assume it does show hearts and arrows, but I''m worried about the color since it''s already an I. Anyone else have experience with EGL online?

 

[isis~goddess]

i know, i didnt say it was properly appraised. i believe i stated correctly that my jeweler reviewed the diamond and the cert papers. i got what the cert says. im not setting the diamond. its going to be sitting around for a few years, ive got a plan for it.

as for cutters only sending the good diamonds to gia, as someone else stated, there are reasons why cutters would use egl over gia, fees are one reason. also, i believe in some locations it is just more accepted to use egl becuase they are more prevelant (canada i think i read uses egl more often). elg uses different technologies to analyze diamonds as well, perhaps that appeals to the cutter for some reason. i dont know all the answers, im just saying if you are under the impression that all the beautiful stones go the gia and you cant buy a nice stone without paying for a gia cert, then thats just false. there is a survey in the education section that makes for some good reading on the different certifications.

 

[honey22]

Date: 4/3/2008 11:38:52 PM
Author: isis~goddess
i know, i didnt say it was properly appraised. i believe i stated correctly that my jeweler reviewed the diamond and the cert papers. i got what the cert says. im not setting the diamond. its going to be sitting around for a few years, ive got a plan for it.

as for cutters only sending the good diamonds to gia, as someone else stated, there are reasons why cutters would use egl over gia, fees are one reason. also, i believe in some locations it is just more accepted to use egl becuase they are more prevelant (canada i think i read uses egl more often). elg uses different technologies to analyze diamonds as well, perhaps that appeals to the cutter for some reason. i dont know all the answers, im just saying if you are under the impression that all the beautiful stones go the gia and you cant buy a nice stone without paying for a gia cert, then thats just false. there is a survey in the education section that makes for some good reading on the different certifications.

Sorry! I think you mis-understood my intentions. I understand what you said, but when I first read your post it came across as you saying that a stone should be set for appriaisal and certification. Just trying to help out any noobies that might be reading this

 

[moderatelypoorstudent]

Sorry for any confusion: I have been just browsing diamonds on the pricescope search function. I was looking at a few stones listed by USAcerted and it states EGL 484982375957 (exaggeration --not an actual number there) Anyway, I wanted to know if by looking at the number I could tell where it was from, as in US or CA or Europe or Israel?

I looked at the site you posted and tried a few of the certificate numbers but none of them work... maybe USAcerted doesn''t post the whole thing??

Thanks!
-MPS

 

[LuckiestGuyonEarth]

EGL and one other lab, maybe AGLS? apparently certify diamonds that have clarity enhancements. Which I did not know until last night but also would make more sense on why you may get a higher clarity stone for less than one that is GIA with a lower clarity grade. I am glad I know this because I was looking at a lot of EGL certed stones as well, so just look for "clarity enhanced" on the certificate and you will know if it is artifically enhanced or not.

Ben

 

[isis~goddess]

Date: 4/3/2008 11:52:23 PM
Author: honey22

Date: 4/3/2008 11:38:52 PM
Author: isis~goddess
i know, i didnt say it was properly appraised. i believe i stated correctly that my jeweler reviewed the diamond and the cert papers. i got what the cert says. im not setting the diamond. its going to be sitting around for a few years, ive got a plan for it.

as for cutters only sending the good diamonds to gia, as someone else stated, there are reasons why cutters would use egl over gia, fees are one reason. also, i believe in some locations it is just more accepted to use egl becuase they are more prevelant (canada i think i read uses egl more often). elg uses different technologies to analyze diamonds as well, perhaps that appeals to the cutter for some reason. i dont know all the answers, im just saying if you are under the impression that all the beautiful stones go the gia and you cant buy a nice stone without paying for a gia cert, then thats just false. there is a survey in the education section that makes for some good reading on the different certifications.

Sorry! I think you mis-understood my intentions. I understand what you said, but when I first read your post it came across as you saying that a stone should be set for appriaisal and certification. Just trying to help out any noobies that might be reading this

no problem

yes, noobies, if you want a full official apprasial, get it set. if not, just take it to your jeweler, someone you trust, to review with you unoffically. this will still give you insight without having bought and set the stone. im fine with the way i did it.

 

[isis~goddess]

maybe that was their stock number for the vendor, not the cert number. i think it should say US at the beginning, and there may be other letters in there.

Date: 4/4/2008 12:31:22 AM
Author: moderatelypoorstudent
Sorry for any confusion: I have been just browsing diamonds on the pricescope search function. I was looking at a few stones listed by USAcerted and it states EGL 484982375957 (exaggeration --not an actual number there) Anyway, I wanted to know if by looking at the number I could tell where it was from, as in US or CA or Europe or Israel?

I looked at the site you posted and tried a few of the certificate numbers but none of them work... maybe USAcerted doesn''t post the whole thing??

Thanks!
-MPS

if egl certs clarity enhanced, so be it. that HAS TO BE DISCLOSED by law, so it WILL be on there. just read to be sure if you dont want CE, then it doesnt say it is anywhere on the cert. also, your vendor HAS to tell you that anyway.

 

[QD Rocks]

Hi,

There is a massive diffrence between EGL USA and the rest of the EGL Labs

Do you have a copy cert this will state it clearly.

Kind Regards

Paul

 

[frantic983]

i went through this exact process with a foreign egl. color was off a number of grades quoted g appraised at j. sent it back. usacerted is great to work with and ultimately found me a great gia stone.