ice empress
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2013
- Messages
- 436
For those of you who are in Toronto and in need of an appraisal, I thought I'd share my experience with the appraisers in the city.
I brought the loose diamond to 2 appraisers, EGL-Canada (55 Queen St. East, Suite 500) and GemScan (27 Queen St. East, Suite 406).
EGL-Canada
- Price: $70 for appraisal that includes plot diagram; payable cash, debit, credit
- Report format: Laminated 8.5 x 11" trifold plus an appraisal summary (laminated 3 x 5") that included a photograph of the diamond
- Scheduling, etc.: If you drop off the diamond in the morning, the appraisal will be ready by closing time. They were very accommodating, and though I dropped off the stone late at 2:30, they were still able to complete the job within 2 hours. No option to watch while waiting, and I did not get to meet the appraiser.
GemScan
- Price: $70 for appraisal, additional $30 for plot diagram, additional $20 for light/brilliance analysis; payable only cash or cheque
- Report format: Non-laminated 5 x 7" bifold
- Scheduling, etc.: by appointment (3 time options), you are welcome to wait during the assessment (30-40minutes) and can watch (from a fair distance though) from the waiting room through a glass window. The appraiser spoke to me before and after, and answered questions.
Interestingly, though EGL's reputation (even the USA group) is to sometimes/often upgrade the clarity, they did the opposite in my case.
Having examined the stone myself, and referring to the plot diagrams (which are identical between both labs), I would definitely classify it as a VS2, so I'm not too sure what the rationale was for the SI-1 grading...
EGL-Canada
- Measurement: 7.66 x 7.63 x 4.72mm
- Depth: 61.7%
- Cutlet: none
- Cut grade: Ideal
- Color grade: F
- Clarity: SI1
- Fluorescence: Faint
- Polish: Excellent
- Symmetry: Excellent
- Replacement value: $35,075
GemScan
- Measurement: 7.67 x 7.63 x 4.75mm
- Depth: not explicitly stated
- Cutlet: very small
- Cut grade: Ideal
- Color grade: F
- Clarity: VS2
- Fluorescence: No mention
- Symmetry: Very good
- Replacement value: $33,000
Also, though I specifically asked for the "suggested insurance coverage" to reflect the fair market value rather than the inflated retail price, both said they have methods to calculate this number, and would not deviate from this. The appraiser at GemScam did however say that if the diamond had been purchased at Tiffany's or Birk's, for example, that he may have written $45,000 instead, so that if the stone needed to be replaced, the replacement value would allow for re-purchasing at those same institutions. So I suppose it is still worth specifying to the lab/appraiser that you do not want them to appraise the stone's value at the inflated retail price, if possible.
All in all, I'm not sure I can recommend one lab over the other.
To summarize, the most notable differences, were:
- EGL is less more inexpensive, at $70 instead of $100 for GemScan
- EGL gave a slightly more detailed (and official-looking) report
- EGL downgraded the stone's clarity by 1 point
- GemScan allows you to "wait and watch"
I brought the loose diamond to 2 appraisers, EGL-Canada (55 Queen St. East, Suite 500) and GemScan (27 Queen St. East, Suite 406).
EGL-Canada
- Price: $70 for appraisal that includes plot diagram; payable cash, debit, credit
- Report format: Laminated 8.5 x 11" trifold plus an appraisal summary (laminated 3 x 5") that included a photograph of the diamond
- Scheduling, etc.: If you drop off the diamond in the morning, the appraisal will be ready by closing time. They were very accommodating, and though I dropped off the stone late at 2:30, they were still able to complete the job within 2 hours. No option to watch while waiting, and I did not get to meet the appraiser.
GemScan
- Price: $70 for appraisal, additional $30 for plot diagram, additional $20 for light/brilliance analysis; payable only cash or cheque
- Report format: Non-laminated 5 x 7" bifold
- Scheduling, etc.: by appointment (3 time options), you are welcome to wait during the assessment (30-40minutes) and can watch (from a fair distance though) from the waiting room through a glass window. The appraiser spoke to me before and after, and answered questions.
Interestingly, though EGL's reputation (even the USA group) is to sometimes/often upgrade the clarity, they did the opposite in my case.
Having examined the stone myself, and referring to the plot diagrams (which are identical between both labs), I would definitely classify it as a VS2, so I'm not too sure what the rationale was for the SI-1 grading...
EGL-Canada
- Measurement: 7.66 x 7.63 x 4.72mm
- Depth: 61.7%
- Cutlet: none
- Cut grade: Ideal
- Color grade: F
- Clarity: SI1
- Fluorescence: Faint
- Polish: Excellent
- Symmetry: Excellent
- Replacement value: $35,075
GemScan
- Measurement: 7.67 x 7.63 x 4.75mm
- Depth: not explicitly stated
- Cutlet: very small
- Cut grade: Ideal
- Color grade: F
- Clarity: VS2
- Fluorescence: No mention
- Symmetry: Very good
- Replacement value: $33,000
Also, though I specifically asked for the "suggested insurance coverage" to reflect the fair market value rather than the inflated retail price, both said they have methods to calculate this number, and would not deviate from this. The appraiser at GemScam did however say that if the diamond had been purchased at Tiffany's or Birk's, for example, that he may have written $45,000 instead, so that if the stone needed to be replaced, the replacement value would allow for re-purchasing at those same institutions. So I suppose it is still worth specifying to the lab/appraiser that you do not want them to appraise the stone's value at the inflated retail price, if possible.
All in all, I'm not sure I can recommend one lab over the other.
To summarize, the most notable differences, were:
- EGL is less more inexpensive, at $70 instead of $100 for GemScan
- EGL gave a slightly more detailed (and official-looking) report
- EGL downgraded the stone's clarity by 1 point
- GemScan allows you to "wait and watch"
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