AGS, EGL, GIA, or IGI? Does it influence worth?
The controversy over diamond certification and grading is just not new, however the rising growth of Web diamond jewellery gross sales has fired up this debate and introduced it to the patron’s doorstep. Diamond jewellery buyers are overwhelmed by data, some correct, some not, however principally complicated.
The aim of this text is to not settle the talk, however merely to offer an actual world perspective for what I’ve seen evolve during the last decade from throughout the industry of diamond sellers, to the road for the diamond shopper.
Ten years in the past shopping for a diamond or diamond jewellery was a magical expertise requiring the session of an professional. Diamonds have been purchased and cherished. At the moment it’s a dog-eat-dog Web world, the place diamond sellers are “perceived” to not be trusted and customers are educated to the purpose of commoditizing one thing that was as soon as treasured and uncommon.
The attract is gone, trusted experience dwindling, and the talk over diamond worth rages on. For my part, this isn’t a superb factor or a nasty factor; it’s simply the results of an evolving industry. Simply as in any industry there’s a continuum of change and management, with the sellers at one finish and the consumers on the different. Typically the change goes too far in a single route or the opposite, however over time management comes again to steadiness due to primary economics. The diamond industry is in the course of this alteration.
The diamond certification is a technique diamond sellers are differentiating their product. With a lot data out there on diamond training, the patron has turn out to be a self-proclaimed professional and is in the hunt for the proper diamond on the most cost-effective worth. When making an investment in a wonderful high quality diamond it needs to be licensed by an accredited impartial gemological laboratory and naturally bought from a good seller. The most well-liked certifications being mentioned right this moment are:
– GIA – Gemological Institute Of America (based 1931)
– AGS – American Gem Society (based in 1934)
– EGL – European Gemological Laboratory (based 1974)
– EGL USA (EGL USA is just not affiliated with every other EGL labs exterior North America. Based 1977)
– IGI – Worldwide Gemological Institute (based 1975)
Let me deal with the most typical client questions on certification:
1. Are all certifications created equal?
Based mostly solely on repute, not all certifications are created equal. That is reality within the diamond industry, there are biases within the market and this additionally varies by what nation you’re in.
In the US, GIA and AGS, are the market leaders, probably the most trusted sources. For that motive a diamond graded by both of these establishments might be costlier than like diamonds graded by their rivals, interval. Conversely, count on a reduction for EGL and IGI graded diamonds diamonds princess.
The controversy is just not purely about repute, however about requirements of high quality. Regardless of the way you have a look at it a diamond remains to be graded by a human and open to subjectivity. Subsequently, the extra standardized the instruments and strict the method the extra constant the outcomes. GIA and AGS based the requirements and have refined them during the last 75 years. For this reason evaluating two like diamonds with the identical grade for shade, readability and lower, the EGL and/or IGI diamonds might be cheaper. It’s assumed it is off by at the least one grade, e.g., graded F shade by EGL could also be grade G or H by GIA. It is a widespread assumption within the industry that IGI and EGL diamond grades are softer than GIA and AGS.
For now the patron simply wants to know that these biases exist within the market and drive pricing. An essential issue driving the rise of EGL and IGI licensed diamonds into the market is the commoditization I discussed earlier, when diamond grades are simpler to get it will increase the margin for the seller.
2. Will my diamond be extra beneficial with a certification?
A diamond is just not extra beneficial with a certification per se. A diamond may be despatched to any grading lab and obtain a certification at any time (observe it needs to be un-mounted). The preliminary worth of the certification is 2 fold, first it offers the credibility at time of buy that it has been independently graded. Secondly, in the event you ever need to promote or commerce your diamond, the certification will make this course of simpler.
3. How do I do know the certification is for a similar diamond?
It is a trickier query, and why a diamond shopper nonetheless wants trusted sources and consultants. A diamond certification gives detailed standards in regards to the diamond, together with particular measurement information. One technique to know for a reality the certification goes with the diamond is the measurements, this requires specialised diamond measuring instruments. If it is advisable confirm a certification/diamond mixture I recommend taking it to an impartial jeweler who can offer you a Sarin Report, a high-tech automated lower grade and diamond measuring gadget.
One other means knowledgeable can confirm your diamond and certification is by readability grading. A diamond’s readability is akin to fingerprints, no two diamonds are alike. An expert jeweler can inform you the precise location of the readability birthmarks, feathers, inclusions, and so forth. and confirm the certification.
4. Ought to all diamonds be licensed no matter dimension?
I regularly get questions on whether or not or not all of the diamonds within the ring are licensed. It’s not obligatory or really helpful to certify a number of small diamonds in a hoop. Certification is reserved for bigger middle stone diamonds, .75ct and larger. Whereas you will get all of the diamonds licensed, it would not add any worth and it is costly.
As a diamond shopper your decisions are limitless, what’s essential to remove from this text is the understanding that certification is just not a assure of worth, however merely yet one more determination that impacts worth. A diamond shopper might want to make this determination together with shade, readability, lower, and carat, in your seek for the proper diamond at the perfect worth.