5/13/2014
Lindsay Greatorex
Director of Social Media and Marketing
What Certificate is Most Trustworthy?
What cert are we suppose to trust? Why do the gradings vary when it’s the”same” stone? How am I suppose to know which cert is the most accurate? These are all questions you may find yourself asking a jeweler or someone else when you are looking to buy a diamond. This can be very confusing to the average consumer when it comes to diamonds because most people off the street are usually uneducated about diamonds. And that’s perfectly o.k. but you absolutely need the right educator to tell you everything you need to know (like Eyal) before making such a large purchase.
This is where the trust comes into play. You need to first trust your jeweler. It is always good to go to someone who is a professional who has an educational background concerning gemology, diamonds, stones and gold. It’s also important to see if they come from a long line of gemologists and family members in the diamond business. This is not to say that many first generation jewelers don’t know what they are talking about but it builds confidence for the consumer to be able to trust someone with a lot of knowledge and experience behind their work.
Your jeweler may tell you they’re all the same, don’t worry about the cert, and so on but those are all red flags that something isn’t right. A well educated and experienced jeweler will tell you the grading for different certs varies for different reasons.
GIA (Gemologist Institute of America) is the strictest grading system there is and the most recognized. Second to that is EGL USA (European Gemology Laboratory), then EGL International, IGI and so on.
GIA will give you the strictest, most honest appraisal of the diamond. EGL, however is more lenient than GIA in their grading so it is likely that a better grading will be given for the same stone by EGL.
It is not wrong to use any of the other grading systems besides GIA, as long as jewelers educate their consumers.
It always comes down to trust and honesty. In the end you need to find someone you can trust to take you through all the fine details when purchasing a diamond. A good jeweler will let you in on everything you need to know to make the best possible purchase for your budget. Certs just back up what an educated and honest Jeweler will tell you.