What am I missing here? (Diamond price comparison)

[LuckiestGuyonEarth]

Ok I figured I would start a new thread here so my other one stays on topic.

Can someone tell me what I am missing here? We have two diamonds, on paper seemingly very similar yet the price is extremely different. The only obvious difference is the EGL-I to GIA cert, but that should not make up the difference.

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=1677292663&src=builder

VS

http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=42525085&src=builder

2.64ct vs 2.63 ct, both J, VS2, both "ideal" cut.

The 2.64 has a GIA cert and is 20,100
The 2.63 has an EGL cert and is 10,600

even assuming say a 3k price difference for the certificate, is the EGL ideal cut that much worse? Assuming the GIA is higher quality and better then the cheaper one has a shallower and wider diamond. The GIA has excellent polish and symmetry while the EGL is Very Good for both. Obviously I''d love to see both side by side. Has anyone seen this?

I was thinking "well it must have a very bad inclusion" but obviously if their ratings are even close a VS2 should not have any visible issues. I am all about getting nice things but 10 grand can go a long way if saved now, haha.

Please enlighten me!

thanks

Ben

 

[swingirl]

I think you need to request more information. Do you have angles? Photos? Copy of the reports? A 2.63 ct for $11K seems really low. There is no way that cut is ideal!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Grading details make a big difference. EGLI often differs by several grades from GIA on the same stone and it can lead to some serious miscommunication when you try to compare two stones sight unseen. A rose may be a rose by any other name, but a J may be K or even an L.

GIA doesn't use the grade 'ideal' at all and EGLI uses it very loosely. This too leads to confusion when trying to compare stones based on the documents.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Jewelry Appraisals in Denver

 

[niceice]

Date: 3/25/2008 12:02:50 PM
Author:LuckiestGuyonEarth
Can someone tell me what I am missing here? We have two diamonds, on paper seemingly very similar yet the price is extremely different. The only obvious difference is the EGL-I to GIA cert, but that should not make up the difference.

Oh but quite often in my experience, this is exactly the difference. As I recall, EGL is a franchise based laboratory (or at least was in its inception) and from that perspective there were often differences in grading between the various EGL divisions due to differences in how each facility graded and established their parameters. And as Neil has pointed out, the EGL has added additional grade levels to their clarity grade system and thus they have created an offset of terms in comparison to the GIA system which tends to be considered the standard base for the platform of clarity grading. In my experience, it is possible to compare GIA and AGS graded diamonds with relative success in terms of clarity and color, but I''ve had no success comparing GIA or AGS graded diamonds across the platform to those graded by the EGL - thus as Neil also pointed out, it is necessary to view both diamonds side-by-side to make an accurate assessment of the differences which may explain the difference in price. Note that this is not to say that the EGL graded option may not be a beautiful diamond, it certainly may be worthy of your consideration - I''m merely providing a possible explanation for the difference in price based upon my personal experience.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 3/25/2008 12:02:50 PM
Author:LuckiestGuyonEarth
Can someone tell me what I am missing here? We have two diamonds, on paper seemingly very similar yet the price is extremely different. The only obvious difference is the EGL-I to GIA cert, but that should not make up the difference.


http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=1677292663&src=builder


VS


http://www.abazias.com/database/NewDiamondInfo.asp?stock=42525085&src=builder


2.64ct vs 2.63 ct, both J, VS2, both 'ideal' cut.


The 2.64 has a GIA cert and is 20,100

The 2.63 has an EGL cert and is 10,600


even assuming say a 3k price difference for the certificate, is the EGL ideal cut that much worse? Assuming the GIA is higher quality and better then the cheaper one has a shallower and wider diamond. The GIA has excellent polish and symmetry while the EGL is Very Good for both. Obviously I'd love to see both side by side. Has anyone seen this?


I was thinking 'well it must have a very bad inclusion' but obviously if their ratings are even close a VS2 should not have any visible issues. I am all about getting nice things but 10 grand can go a long way if saved now, haha.


Please enlighten me!


thanks


Ben

Well, it's probably as easy as saying that the GIA stone actually IS a J/VS2, and the EGL-I, probably not. Could be a K-M/I1 or below stone and poorly cut. I think I posted this on your other thread last night. This is why you cannot do a side by side comparison of a GIA/AGS stone compared to an EGL/IGI, etc. stone...You're not comparing apples to apples.

 

[LuckiestGuyonEarth]

Haha, how funny is that, the 2.63 just increased 600 dollars today alone. Do prices usually fluctuate that rapidly?

I appreciate all the help from the experts. I will definitely need to see these in person or get more specs/pics from them. thanks for the feedback so far! Any more input please let me know.

Thanks

Ben