June 29, 2009
EGL Certificate Not Accurate
Mark had his diamond ring resized in another store and called to see if we could help him identify his diamond. He was concerned that it did not look the same as he remembered. He said it had a certificate so we told him to bring it in. With a certificate it is usually a simple, quick confirmation using the microscope to confirm the plotting of the imperfections.
Even with our having over thirty years of experience it was still surprising what we saw. The diamond was graded by EGL (European Gemological Laboratory) International and came with a plotting. Upon inspection we noticed that there was an obvious omission on the plotting of a large fracture located in the middle of the stone. There was no way the imperfection could not be noticed. All other imperfections toward the edges were listed and the measurements and the weight coincided with the information on the certificate.
The diamond was a listed as 1.01 ct. SI1 clarity grade , H color. The diamond as inspected under the microscope would have been graded as an I1 clarity grade taking in account the fracture not listed.
Within the industry it is known that EGL is not graded quite as strictly as AGS (American Gem Society) or GIA (Gemological Institute of America). Further inspection revealed that the color grade was a J color. The lower color and clarity grade of the diamond would have lowered its value by $3000.
The diamond was the one listed on the certificate but with the appalling omission of the fracture. Mark had paid more than he should have for the actual grade of the diamond and to make matters worse did not get the grade that he thought he purchased.
Unfortunately the average consumer does not know enough about diamonds and the industry to always make the proper decision.
We have written an article on Oceanic Time Warner’s Around Hawaii website to help people understand the information about diamonds necessary to make a wise purchase. You can follow this link to read the complete article.
Russell Oshita
The Diamond Specialists Inc.
Diamonds Hawaii
