EGL International to shut operations; network reorganization in the offing

EGL International is shutting down, says a report. The lab will soon cease to exist with the International” brand name being phased out, adds the report.

Menahem Sevdermish, the EGL network’s new global manager, has been appointed to with a mandate to develop and maintain homogenous grading standards across EGL-branded labs. (EGL USA remains independent of the network and is not affected by this reorganization.) The move comes in the wake of RapNet’s decision to ban all EGL reports from its trading platform, citing inconsistent grading standards from the different labs, says a report. The new network will have the EGL labs in Asia, India, Belgium, and South Africa, as well as Sevdermish’s Israel-based lab, EGL Platinum—will show consistency in reports and grading standards.

Menahem Sevdermish said, “Grading will all be controlled. There will be one type of certificate, not 10 types. All the labs will be under one umbrella. We will make sure all the masters are the same, and we will train and fine-tune each laboratory.” But he stresses the grading will be done to EGL’s traditional standards, not necessarily GIA’s. “Our masters were also slightly different than GIA masters,” he says. “It’s the system we have used for 40 years. We used to give grades of 0, 1, 2, 3. But we went to D-E-F because that is what took over.” He further added, “We take into consideration the way the stone looks not only from the side, which is how the GIA taught everybody to do, but also from the top. So a nice GIA G may be an F.” In the lower grades (J, K, L, M), the difference can be more pronounced, since founder Guy Margel did not believe in yellow grades, says Sevdermish. It has also added SI3 to the traditional clarity scale. Sevdermish says he may write an article spelling out the differences in the two systems, adds a report.