Comments on: AGS

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:52:04 +0000

Hey “diamond guru” have a look at Van’s comment and my response here: http://www.truthaboutdiamonds.com/2012/01/20/qa-am-i-on-the-right-track-to-get-the-shiniest-diamond/comment-page-1/#comment-78344

AGS is known in the industry to be slightly weaker in color than GIA. That’s a fact.

Also, this pyramid you linked to is badly out of date. Since 2005, AGS cut grades are almost identical to GIA.

By: diamond guru

diamond guru — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:40:44 +0000

Unfortunately, you’re wrong here. AGS’s grading is a lot stricter than GIA. See here: http://pics.whiteflash.com/articlefiles/4cut_pyramid-of-cut-2.jpg

By: Ira Weissman

Ira Weissman — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:08:20 +0000

Mark Levine who wrote this comment is a principal at MDC Diamonds – just for disclosure’s sake so readers understand where this comment is coming from. A quick glance at their site will show you that they sell a number of different certificates, including one I have never heard of before, “EGS.”

Firstly, GIA is a non-profit. Secondly, I can assure any readers that if the stone he bought was purchased for half of what a GIA D VVS1 costs, then the stone was worth half of what a GIA D VVS1 costs. Diamond dealers are extremely shrewd and highly skilled at squeezing every bit of profit out of a stone as possible. Nobody in this business would ever let such an expensive rare stone go for 50% less using a lower quality cert. Meaning, if it’s as he says it is, that the stone is really a D VVS1, why in the world would a company certify the stone with a no-name hard-to-sell certificate that’s only going to fetch 50% of what they can get with a market-wide accepted GIA cert? Don’t tell me because the cert “costs less” or because “they deliver the cert faster.” $50 and 3 weeks cannot make up for what would amount to about $10,000 on a 1ct stone of this quality.

By: mark levine

mark levine — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:43:01 +0000

when Gia started no one heard of them as well , I happen to have bought an abcg diamond and it was d color and vvs1 clarity and guess what I almost paid half of what Gia cost and the diamond is as described , Gia is simply a brand name and they make millions of dollars in profit. bottom Line it’s all about the money

By: Ira Weissman

Ira Weissman — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:58:38 +0000

Never heard of ABCG. That’s a very bad sign. Avoid at all costs.

By: Jessie Brouillette

Jessie Brouillette — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:10:00 +0000

How does ABCG compare to GIA , AGS AND ELG for grading. Im looking for a yellow diamond ring. Tnanks for your help.

By: Ira Weissman

Ira Weissman — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:48:00 +0000

I can’t comment on any “reputation.” I can only comment on my personal direct experience seeing tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of stones certified by AGS and GIA. It was very clear to me and everyone else in the company in which I worked that AGS was slightly more lenient than GIA. Their “reputation” was created by the fact that they’re sold in general by higher end stores – but the fact is that they’re looser than GIA.

By: platinum tangerine

platinum tangerine — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:10:19 +0000

Actually, AGS has a reputation for more stringent grading compared to GIA.

I can only conclude that the above article is not from a GIA independent source.