International Diamond Certification

Many diamond are still sold through retail store without any form of international grade certification. Certification is the most vital piece associated with a diamond for a prospective buyer to be able to compare diamonds against each other and ensure that you are going to get the quality that you are purchasing. Introduced in early 2000 when cutting techniques were dramatically improved it is used to help both the industry and retail to identify and standardise the 4 C’s and through laboratory quality testing dramatic improve the grading of the cut of the diamond which can make up to 50% price difference to the price of very similar quality diamonds.

Certification vs Valuation

Certification should not be confused with a valuation. Certification has nothing to do with the retail value of a diamond and is strictly there to grade and assess the quality of the diamond in regard to the 4 C’s, there are no mentioned prices and is more like a fingerprint of the diamond. Valuations are a local certificate usually associated with diamonds set in jewellery and use the diamond certification to provide a localised retail value of the diamond and jewellery.

Diamond Certification Providers

Most certifiers are independent not for profit organisations providing a service between the the wholesale diamond suppliers and the purchaser to make buying a diamond a more simple and secure process. There are several major worldwide diamond certifiers GIA, AGS, HRD, IGI and EGL all of which have their own perceived reputation and their own set of diamond grading standards. Diamonds cannot all be cut perfectly or equally and like any business a diamond will be cut to yield the maximum profit which is why certification exists. Diamond cutting manufacturers will know the general quality cut of a diamond before sending it out for certification and will send it to the certifier who will provide the best grading on that diamond. A perfectly cut diamond will be sent to the strictest certifier to get the best and most valued certificate and these laboratories are GIA, AGS and HRD. A diamond that is not cut to correct proportions will be send the certifiers like EGL where they are a little more lenient on quality and will give a better interpretation of the diamond. The reputation associated with each of these diamond certification laboratories will put a very specific value on the price of the diamond associated with that certificate. The best way to find you way through this is to research each stone and its certification and match as similar stones as possible or have a trusted expert who can guide you towards the best selection.