Legit EGL Cert and 2 Princess Candidates

[TooMuchInformation]

Well, I think I''ve learnt a LOT in the last few weeks. Lots of reading, and e-mailing back and forth. Many thanks to all of the vendors that I''ve chatted with who are involved with this forum (you know who you are).

It''s getting down to the grind, and I''m trying to get my choice down to "the one". Funny though, because I see a post talking about how Princess cuts, although nice, can be outperformed by other types of fancy cuts, and then I just start to doubt myself.

Anyways, to the point.

Here is a diamond available locally (Calgary, Alberta) at a jeweller that I''ve spent some time with. He seems like a great guy, and the business has been around for a while. My only concerns with this stone is the lack of a FireScope analysis, and I''d rather have a GIA cert than an EGL. Is this a legit EGL certification, and what are some thoughts on this stone?

Princess 0.91ct F VS2
http://209.251.237.148/clientweb/cert.asp?LotNumber=certificate\16870.gif&shape=PR

And, how about this one, from GoodOldGold (I must say, although the depth seems a little excessive, I''m somewhat excited about this stone in particular). It''s certified by GemScan (Canadian?), and again, I''d probably feel much more comfortable with GIA, because for the most part, I haven''t heard much of anything about GemScan. The cert is going to be sent to me after it''s scanned in and available:

Princess 0.98ct F VS2
http://www.goodoldgold.com/princess_0_98ct_f_vs2.htm

The FireScope (or whatever it''s called) looks really nice, and even though the pictures are probably the worst thing to go by... WOW. It looks very nice.

For those of you who can''t see the Sarin on this second stone from GoodOldGold:

Shape: PRINCESS
Weight: 1.00carat
Width: 5.27 mm
Length: 5.32 mm
L/W Ratio: 1.01
Total Depth: 4.02mm 76.3%
Pavil. Depth: 2.87mm 54.5%
Pavil Ang: 56.7 deg
Crown.Height: 0.84mm 15.9%
Crown Ang: 50.4 deg
Table Size: 3.57mm 67.7%
Girdle: 0.15mm 2.8%

So, although this one looks GREAT, I''m wondering about the large Crown Height and Total Depth, as they''re somewhat low on the AGA Ratings (but, do the AGA ratings even matter much, or are they just intended to determine what a nice cut would look like, statistically)?

Okay, thats it again.

Sorry for being long winded!

 

[Giangi]

The EGL cert was issued in Israel. It's a legit buy if you want to get an H/SI 1 or even SI 2.

Stone #2 looks far better to me... Great cut and reputable lab/seller!

 

[TooMuchInformation]

How can you tell!!! I had a strange feeling that would be the case, because after getting back from the local jeweller, I looked around for information on EGL, and read that the Isreal labs were terrible, so I looked over the cert for any location, and wasn't able to find it anywhere! Figured that I'd post it (THANK GOD) online for someone to confirm the legitimacy of it. Thanks MUCHLY Giangi.

So. This sort of strikes me in a bad way. I'll have to bring this up with the jeweller, and see what he has to say about it. I'm assuming that (if you're into diamonds) it's fairly common knowledge that the Isreal-issued certs are very sub-standard?

Thanks again for your quick and informative response Giangi.

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Erm, now that I think about it, I'm sure that I asked about the certification when I was in for my appointment. I'm fairly certain that I was told that these certifications came from EGL out of Vancouver. Looking at the cert, I can't see *any* location on it. How can you tell this one is from Isreal?

 

[Giangi]

I can tell from the cert number and from the report format.

 

[TooMuchInformation]

Awesome.

I'm very happy that I decided to post it onto the forum before thinking about my decision anymore.

So. Another question regarding the second diamond. Some of it's measurements are outside of the AGA "Ideal" cut measurements. Does this have to be a bad thing? The LightScope analysis looks *great*, but I have a very little basis for comparison!

 

[Giangi]

Well, soon you'll learn that numbers mean very little when it comes to fancy shapes and this one, even though it's not an AGA 1A, looks really excellent to me...