EGL USA's webguard safeguards consumer and trade E-commerce

Consumer protection has long been a high priority in the jewelry industry, and the growth of internet trading offers new challenges. EGL USA's new Jewelry Webguardä service protects consumers as well as gem dealers in their online transactions.

When a consumer buys a stone online, the seller ships the gem to EGL USA, which provides a third-party endorsement that the stone and its certificate match and issues a Jewelry Webguardä certificate. EGL USA then ships the stone, its original certificate and the new Webguard certificate to the buyer. The fee to the seller is $35.

"Some insurance companies will not cover shipping between a dealer and a consumer without a third-party endorsement," said Mark Gershburg, director of EGL USA. "The Jewelry Webguardä service protects both parties in the transaction.

"Users of this service, which was test marketed last year, are typically wholesale dealers and retailers, according to Gershburg. "We anticipate that its use will grow with the increase in online transactions," he said.