The plans were unveiled by EGL Platinum president and co-founder Menahem Sevdermish at a recent Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) meeting, according to a statement on the EGL Platinum website.
Sevdermish was appointed global manager of European Gemological Laboratory’s (EGL’s) international network in December 2014 and tasked with overseeing the diamond grading activities of all affiliates – located in Asia, India, Belgium and South Africa – as well as directing the network’s global policies and communications.
“EGL has taken a strategic decision to improve its reputation and reports for the benefit of the industry,” Sevdermish told IDE members at the meeting, adding that the reorganisation process had already been initiated at all EGL laboratories.
It was explained that the reorganisation plan would be rolled out in several phases, requiring gemmologists from all EGL branches to undertake new training where they would be educated on the EGL Platinum standards. The training would reportedly entail a two-week course in Israel to verify each gemmologists’ standards and technical skills.
The EGL Platinum statement added that the Israel-based grading laboratory would be checking the master stone sets of each international affiliate “to ensure tighter grading standards”.
“All labs will be issuing the same EGL Platinum report, using uniform standards and the same professional language,” the statement read.
Complying with the wider industry
The new standards were said to have been set by the late Guy Mergel, founder of the EGL network, and to be in line with the diamond colour grading policy released by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), CIBJO (the World Jewellery Confederation) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) earlier this year.
The policy, which aimed to address over-grading concerns by introducing an arbitration process to evaluate suspicious diamonds, recognised the standards set by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) as being “industry-accepted”.
Interestingly, when EGL grading reports were barred from being listed on diamond trading network RapNet in September last year, the main reason cited was concern that EGL laboratories were using GIA grading terminology in a misleading manner.
The decision by RapNet sparked a slew of industry reactions and brought the issue of diamond over-grading to the fore.
It was reported that EGL was now encouraging former clients of EGL International – the EGL affiliate at the centre of the controversy – to have their diamonds re-graded under the network’s revised standards, and that this service would be offered at a significantly discounted cost.
EGL International was reportedly stripped of its licence to use the EGL name earlier this year. The Israel-based laboratory is now believed to be non-operational.
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