EGL International, the lab that has become a flash point in the dispute over diamond grading, is shutting down, says Menahem Sevdermish, the EGL network’s new global manager.
The Ramat Gan, Israel–based lab will “soon cease to exist,” Sevdermish says, with the “International” brand name being phased out.
EGL International CEO Guy Benhamou did not return a request for comment at press time.
Sevdermish was recently appointed the European Gemological Laboratory network’s global manager, 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.
The new network—which encompasses 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, Sevdermish says.
“Grading will all be controlled,” he says. “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.
