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James Allen tells me IGI as good as GIA. True?

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Yes that's interesting, thanks for sharing
 
oldminer said:
There is nothing improper about James Allen, but when a customer is willing to accept a second tier cert, then the games begin. Some consumers really like to swim against the tide and to take chances. Some are ill-informed.

I'd suggest, stick to the "best" lab recommendations and buy with confidence from PS Vendors. Eliminating a large and successful vendor because they offer some diamonds with secondary lab certs will not make your search a more successful one. The problem of lab accuracy in grading not really a vendor selection issue. Just eliminate searching for lab graded stones from those labs you choose not to accept.
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... but if you tell them they've lost your business because they are, as you put it, playing the second tier cert game perhaps they'll tighten up their ethics and carry only diamonds with honest grading reports.
 
It's wonderful!

What setting did you pick?
 
Tophat1 said:
Too dainty? We can help you pick a setting too!
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I don't know that dainty is the right word. I actually like simple and I am not looking for a wide band. This setting is just . . .I don't know . . .cheap looking? I mean, it was pretty inexpensive -- but I expected 2.9 mm to be wider on the hand.

I definitely like the stone to be set high -- and 6 prongs are a must.
 
The Vatche U113 is a very popular six prong setting. About as close to Tiffany as you can get.

I have a different Vatche setting and it feels really substantial.
 
CVB's "Jovyn" is also lovely... It's like the Tiffany, only sexier and more refined (but I'm biased). ;)
 
Thanks for these suggestions. I appreciate them all.
 
Somewhere hidden in https://www.pricescope.com/articles is a survey that we undertook on PS with the then owner and Dave Atlas.
We discovered that buying an EGL USA grade diamond was a better bet than a GIA or AGSL.

We had a group of diamonds submitted to all 3 of the labs by various vendors so as to not alert the labs.

The point was that each lab's graded diamonds is 'priced' in the market with a premium or a discount.
So yes, in my experiance IGI india grades very close to GIA (no idea about the US lab) with most of the differences being slightly lower color in maybe 1/3rd to half of cases.
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
Somewhere hidden in https://www.pricescope.com/articles is a survey that we undertook on PS with the then owner and Dave Atlas.
We discovered that buying an EGL USA grade diamond was a better bet than a GIA or AGSL.

We had a group of diamonds submitted to all 3 of the labs by various vendors so as to not alert the labs.

The point was that each lab's graded diamonds is 'priced' in the market with a premium or a discount.
So yes, in my experiance IGI india grades very close to GIA (no idea about the US lab) with most of the differences being slightly lower color in maybe 1/3rd to half of cases.
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Is this the article you noted above?

https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamond-grading
 
the_mother_thing said:
Is this the article you noted above?

https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamond-grading
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Yes Livedogs. You are right. It is old.
But some interest in the topic it seems.
If any of you want to read or wade thru the survey MotherThing found for us you.may find a different PoV.
Apart from the sad fact that a large % of diamonds sold in Erings in Malls have very soft certs there are good reasons why JA would be offering IGI certed diamonds.

1. Some people like to be able to tell parents and outlaws they bought a E VVS1 etc Ering for their betrothed. It is an expectation in some cultures. This can save some money and face.
Think about it. Most 1ct diamonds measure less than 0.95ct.and look smaller than 0.90ct. So why get all hung up about some letters on some paper?
2. IGI is very popular in Asia and a lot more diamonds can be made available. More choice is a good thing.
3. It makes it harder to cheat JA as ED were doing with GIA certs and a certain platforms help.
4. Many dealers have unfair fights with GIA over grading or need faster services to maintain liquidity. If a dealer thinks a stone is FVS2 and GIA give it G SI1 then why not go to IGI?

But please read the survey. The findings were surprising to Dave Leonid and Me.
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
So yes, in my experiance IGI india grades very close to GIA (no idea about the US lab) with most of the differences being slightly lower color in maybe 1/3rd to half of cases.
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Thanks Garry, I recently purchased a diamond graded by IGI Mumbai and reading your responses made me feel slightly better than I didn't get ripped off. I'm ok with resale value being lower because of an IGI cert here in North America, but I'm not ok with not getting what I paid for in terms of color and clarity!

Just to clarify regarding your comment above, when you say "slightly lower color" are you suggesting IGI India is generally stricter or easier on color relative to GIA?
 
TODiamonds said:
Thanks Garry, I recently purchased a diamond graded by IGI Mumbai and reading your responses made me feel slightly better than I didn't get ripped off. I'm ok with resale value being lower because of an IGI cert here in North America, but I'm not ok with not getting what I paid for in terms of color and clarity!

Just to clarify regarding your comment above, when you say "slightly lower color" are you suggesting IGI India is generally stricter or easier on color relative to GIA?
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Less strict. No lab can afford to be consistently stricter than GIA
 
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