Igi Vs Gia Vs Ags

We purchased five igi certified diamonds and sent them to the gold standard of laboratories.

Igi vs gia vs ags. Igi is improving but is still not on par with gia the gemological institute of america or gia is the best lab in the world. For example a diamond graded to be g color by egl igi might probably be graded as an i color by gia ags. Like the egl this for profit diamond certification lab is prominent throughout europe but is also popular in the united states. The biggest problem with the igi is their laxed diamond grading standards.

We decided to put igi to the test given all the conflicting reports about their reliability. You will end up with a diamond that is far inferior and which would cost lesser if graded accurately and ethically. They work fast and their prices are much better than gia s and ags s. Igi certifications can be as far as three grades off from gia certifications.

The same goes for diamond clarity grading. Opting for labs like igi and ags is scary because it will turn out to be a big rip off. Igi tends to service large volume jewelry chains and therefore issues thousands of reports on commercial quality mass market diamonds. Ags stands for american gemological society and it is also a us based laboratory with main offices in las vegas the ags laboratory is renowned for its scientific approach and research in diamond cut grading.

It is very consistent and a standard bearer for diamond grading in the industry. They are like a factory. Averaged over all strata igi is approximately 12 cheaper than gia. Gia pricing the results of the pricing comparison are shown in table 4.

A stone that is graded as s11 might end up being an i1 grade when it is certified by gia. The international gemological institute or igi is also a very large institution and it has been around since 1975. The results were predictable and unfortunate. The same goes for the clarity of the 0 70 carat h si1 diamond of igi and ags against the one graded by gia.

Igi stands for international gemological institute. Gia is based in the united states and well known as the industry standard form of grading. Typically clarity and color grades of egl igi diamonds are off by at least 2 4 ratings if the same diamond was to be graded by gia or ags instead. Individual price curves stratified by color and clarity for igi and gia diamonds 1 5ct are shown in figure 3.