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EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold setting

T

tgr4y813

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
12
Newbie here! So grateful to have found the site, the community here is awesome and so helpful. I have been perusing for awhile, and finally have a question of my own I would love opinions on.

I am having a designer, one that has gotten great reviews from this site, design a engagement ring for me. I am providing him with my own diamond since my boyfriend is able to "trade up" a diamond he already owns for a new one, if he trades it back to the place where he purchased it.

The designer has said that a 1.5 carat or larger diamond is needed to fit properly in the setting I am having made. So, I am trying to find one that is within my budget. The band/setting will be rose gold.

I found a diamond through the vendor where we can "trade up" the old diamond. Catch is, it is an EGL International diamond, and it seems that this certification does not get much grading respect. I am aware that the diamond is likely not aligned with the values it has been given. That being said, because we can trade up, and can also do so again in the future for the exact value we bought the diamond for, I feel like the risk of getting less than what we "paid" for, is ameliorated some.

With that, I would still like opinions on the diamond I am eyeing:

EGL International
Natural Diamond Type IaAB
Shape and Cut: Round Brilliant
Carat Weight: 1.52
Color Grade: G
Clarity Grade: VS2
Cut Grade: Excellent

Measurements: 7.34-7.32 x 4.56mm
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluoresence: Very Slight Blue

8 Hearts and 8 Arrows, Ideal Cut

Table Width: 57%
Crown Height: 16%
Total Depth: 62.2%
Pavilion Height: 43%
Medium

I want to be totally upfront, so I can get the opinions based on all available information: The price of the diamond is $9300, but we only have to spend $1000 (not including taxes) because we are getting the value paid for the old diamond to apply to the new one.

Not going to lie, it is a pretty diamond, but it definetly has a yellow tinge to it. Though with the rose gold, I am wondering how much this matter?

All this being said, we are on a budget, and this, for the most part, fits well within it. I could keep looking, but don't want to if this diamond seems like an ok enough deal. Plus, when we our finances improve, the idea is to trade up again, for the value paid, and obtain a new diamond.

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Well, the proportions are probably correct, so you can at least evaluate the cut. It appears to be within GIA EX range, but the HCA doesn't like it because it's deep.

I can tell you with certainty that at $9,300 it is overpriced. I know this because if EGL International had graded it anywhere near its GIA values, they would have put the EGL cert in a drawer and sent the stone to GIA. It's irrelevant that someone once got an EGL cert that was a good match; no one would sell this diamond with that (hypothetical) cert.

EGL does not grade hearts and arrows, so you are just hearing what the jeweler has to say, and he has a conflict of interest.

The real question here is whether you can get a better stone for $1,000 + the old diamond. Then there's the intangible of whether these are the people you want to continue to work with, or whether you want to cut your losses and switch to a dealer you feel better about.

There's the "send it to GIA and if GIA likes it I'll cover the expense" trick, but that isn't quite right as you are only paying $1,000. I would start by looking for a dealer that takes other dealer's stones as trade-ins.
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

EGL does not grade hearts and arrows, so you are just hearing what the jeweler has to say, and he has a conflict of interest

EGLUSA grades hearts and arrows. Our store has several stones with Ideal H&A grading.
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

tgr4y813|1392644195|3616904 said:
I am aware that the diamond is likely not aligned with the values it has been given. That being said, because we can trade up, and can also do so again in the future for the exact value we bought the diamond for, I feel like the risk of getting less than what we "paid" for, is ameliorated some.
Click to expand...

The flaw in your thinking is that even with "upgrading", all you're really doing is continuing to overpay for lesser quality with this dealer. You might get $9300 credit down the line, but against a $15000 upgrade stone with the same dealer, you're still paying $5700 out of pocket for a stone that probably wouldn't be more than $10k at fair market grading value with a GIA/AGS report. So you just overpaid $5000, again. Make sense?
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Thanks for the posts. I understand that we are overpaying. Unfortunately, the SO prefers to stay with the vendor and continue to "trade up", rather than psychologically loose money by selling it at its true value elsewhere. So, I'm giving him this one. That being said, my main concern is at the very least, though overpriced, the stone that ultimately goes into the ring for now, is generally a pretty good one for the specific setting I'm having made.

I have been told that since I'm using rose gold I have greater flexibility with color, and that this particular diamond tending to be on the yellow side, though grade inaccurately, and despite being a bit overpriced, would nevertheless work well. So, any thoughts on the actual stobe, versus is pricing, would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Depending on which EGL lab it is (US being slightly less off grade) that G is probably a J/K. In rose gold, it should still face up pretty white though, in contrast. Cut-wise, it's 3.1 HCA, which is not ideal. It's not horrible and looks to be close to what GIA might grade as Very Good, but when paying for an ideal/excellent cut grade, you usually want something that scores <2. These are the pitfalls of lab grading that's not AGS/GIA. But that's also why these stones are sent to labs like EGL. Higher grades obviously command a higher premium, so looser standards benefit the seller.
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Well, it gets tricky. Keep in mind that everything I'm about to say is based on one brief set of numbers and letters. I obviously haven't seen the stone.

It claims to be a G. We know it is off, but by how much? Is it an H or an M? Based on what you've said, it appears to be out of the "almost white" into the "faint yellow" range.

The cut isn't doing you any favors. Deep cuts are far from ugly, but one thing they don't do is make a yellow stone brighter.

If you put rose gold under it, it will look pinker.

If you put rose gold beside it, the pink will contrast with the yellow and it will look yellower.

If you can put white gold under it, it will look lighter.

Over the years I've read many threads on Pricescope from people who were trying to set away yellow in their diamonds, and there's no consensus. White gold. Yellow gold. Yellow gold with white prongs. The only thing I got out of it was that a white basket behind it will make it look whiter and that everything looks good in jewelry store lights.

I think the real answer is that there are too many variables. Overcast outdoors? Blueish fluorescents at your workplace? Candlelight dinner? The setting may make a difference sometimes but don't expect miracles. This stone will look visibly tinted under normal circumstances.

Back at the beginning I said I obviously haven't seen the stone. You have. I think you already know the answer and were hoping someone could tell you differently. I wish this were true.

There's plenty of people would love a faint yellow stone in rose gold but I don't think it's for you. I'm sorry, but I don't think this dealer is going to sell you what you are looking for at a price you can live with.
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Okay so your stuck with this jeweler fine I am sure he can get GIA stones. So that being said you may have to upgrade laterally for a real GIA stone and not EGL. I am the owner of EGL international stones and I am sure I over paid for them but I knew exactly what i was getting into I was sort of in the same situation that you are in in that I had to give my earrings in for trade and I had to sell gold and lay away the rest but the only reaon I did it as they had 2.41 studs that with other GIA certified stones I would only get 2.00 or less and I wanted size and earrings don't matter as much as an ering

If I were doing this tradein with my ering I would buy a stone the same size but GIA better quality.
 
Re: EGL certification advice and opinions - Rose Gold settin

Thanks for all the replies. After reading all your posts, you have helped me decide that I won't go with this stone. I think it's not so much that it's an EGL necessarily, it's that when I looked at it I questioned whether I liked it, and that was before even knowing is stats. It's that uncertainty I think that will not go away, so it's better that I pass. Maybe try and rework the setting to fit a smaller diamond; I would rather have a bit more sparkle than size. Again, appreciate all the input.
 
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