What to Know About Certification
Why Certification is Important
Both IGI and GIA certifies both natural and lab-grown diamonds.
One of the best ways to make sure you are getting the actual color, cut, clarity and cut-grade the seller represents is to make sure your diamond is certified by a respected laboratory.
We recommend for natural loose diamonds GIA, for lab-grown either GIA or IGI and for jewelry items IGI--GIA does not certify jewelry.
Without certification there is no way to accurately assess if you are getting the color, clarity and cut diamond the seller says your getting.
If you think you’re buying G-H color and SI clarity and the diamond(s) are actually K-color and I3 quality, this will greatly reduce their actual value. The price you are paying may look like a bargain, but can be far from it. Remember: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Reading a GIA Certificate
1.The GIA certificate number.
2.This box contains the date of the certificate, the GIA certificate number again, the shape of the diamond and the measurements of the diamond. Measurements listed as “minimum diameter – maximum diameter x depth” for round diamonds and “length x width x depth”
3.Contains the 4C’s carat weight, color, clarity and cut grade.
4.This box highlights the polish grade, the symmetry and whether the diamond has fluorescence.
5.Details of the proportions of the diamond this is more than you need to know.
6.Highlight the type and location of the inclusions found in the diamond.
(one the next page we have blown up box 6 to explain it in more details).
7.This shows the scales GIA uses to grade color, clarity and cut grade.
Carat weight, color and less so cut-grade are pretty straightforward without having many nuances.
Clarity is different. Two diamonds can have the same clarity grade, but the location and type of inclusion can be different. On the enlargement you can see that GIA will classify inclusions with different symbols as either a crystal, cloud, feather or natural. It also will show where in the diamond the inclusion is located.
A feather located in the on the perimeter of the diamond is preferable to
black natural (a dot) located right in the middle of the diamond.
Reading a IGI Certificate
Once you are familiar with reading an GIA certificate that IGI diamond report/certificate is very similar.
1.The IGI certificate number.
2.This box contains the date of the certificate, the IGI certificate number again, the shape of the diamond and the measurements of the diamond.
3.Contains the 4C’s carat weight, color, clarity and cut grade.
4.This box highlights the polish grade, the symmetry and whether the diamond has fluorescence.
5.Details of the proportions of the diamond this is more than you need to know.
6.Highlight the type and location of the inclusions found in the diamond.
Reading an IGI Jewelry Report
Below is an example of an IGI Jewelry report. Unlike GIA, IGI does certify finished jewelry. This report is very straightforward.
1.The IGI jewelry report number.
2.This box contains the date of the report.
3.This section lists the metal type, the weight of that metal (setting), the number of diamonds that make up the bracelet and the total carat weight of the tennis bracelet.
4.This sections contains the total carat weight, color, clarity and finish of the bracelet.
5.This sections gives an explanation of the IGI color and clarity classifications.
6.This shows a picture of the finished tennis bracelet that was submitted for certification.
Some Final Thoughts
Armed with this knowledge you will understand the basics of reading a diamond certificate. Ferreting out all the nuances that may be contained in a certificate is overkill and takes a lot of education and experience. Rest easy, we have this experience. Feel free to ask any questions you may have by filling in the contact form on the site.
