Diamond grading laboratories are third-party, non-profit organizations that grade diamonds. They issue diamond certificates that define a diamond’s qualities and quality. Each diamond grading lab will have its own set of criteria and diamond grading standards.
A diamond grading laboratory is an organization that oversees the production, grading, and management of diamonds. Their primary role is to issue grading certificates to those who deal with the purchase and sale of diamonds.
Top Diamond Grading Laboratories
What are the benefits of Diamond Grading Laboratories?
Diamond grading laboratories issue diamond grading certifications, which are essential when purchasing and selling diamonds. These describe your diamond’s qualities and quality, as well as confirming whether or not it is a natural diamond. The value of a diamond is determined by all of these factors.
The information on a diamond certificate will vary, as will the accuracy of the grading, but the 4 C’s are now the industry standard and appear on all diamond certificates thanks to the GIA’s work. Symmetry, fluorescence, depth, a map of any inclusions in the stone, and other details may be included.
GIA Certification
This is the certification by the Gemological Institute of America. The Gemological Institute is a non-profit organization committed to the study of jewelry and gems as well as consumer education. They research and grade a wide range of gemstones. GIA also trains gemologists and provides in-depth education and research support for the diamond business, in addition to lab services.
GIA’s diamond grading reports are now the industry’s top-rated diamond “certification” and verification documentation. The GIA offers two types of diamond grading reports: comprehensive reports and tiny diamond dossiers. The dossiers are less expensive than full reports and do not include a diamond’s whole layout, which shows the exact location of imperfections.
Because the positions of inclusions are not determined in dossier reports, the GIA will require the diamond to be laser engraved. This is not the case with full reports, though. For an additional $30, diamond dealers can add laser inscription to entire reports as an add-on service.
AGS Certification
The AGS, or American Gemological Society, is a high-quality certification that is sometimes compared to the GIA. While their process is scientific in nature, their diamond grades are slightly looser than the GIA’s. This means that a diamond could be 1 to 2 grades below its true value.
The AGS claims to be a sophisticated alternative to the GIA and is the second most popular diamond certification in the United States. Instead of the letter-based scale used by other diamond certifying organizations, they employ a 1-10 rating scale.
HRD Certification
HRD Antwerp is primarily controlled by the Antwerp World Diamond Center, which represents the Belgian diamond industry and is formed in 1973. Antwerp, as you may be aware, is one of the most important centers for diamond trading and supply. The standards employed by the HRD Lab are similar to those used by the GIA. They also adhere to the International Diamond Council’s grading guidelines and are exceedingly dependable.
IGI Certification
The International Gemological Institute was founded in 1975 and is based in Antwerp, one of the diamond industry’s major centers. IGI has multiple locations across the world, is one of the world’s largest labs, and also operates a gemology school. Because IGI is such a broad organization with labs all around the world, different countries’ labs appear to utilize slightly different criteria for grading diamonds.
We think IGI is a tad less stringent than GIA or AGS. When purchasing IGI rated diamonds, you should expect one-grade inconsistency. However, no two diamonds are the same, so buying diamonds with a blanket approach isn’t a good idea—each instance is unique and should be treated as such.
EGL Certification
European Gemological Laboratory is the abbreviation for European Gemological Laboratory. The EGL is commonly used in Europe, despite its lack of popularity in the United States. EGL is divided into two factions: EGL USA and EGL International.
In terms of non-bias and diamond grading, we believe the GIA is far superior to EGL International. Although EGL USA is more accurate than EGL International, the GIA is usually more accurate. EGL USA has a history of evaluating diamonds that are slightly looser than the GIA’s grading standards.
GSI Certification
Gemological Science International mostly grades diamonds in bulk for a few large chain stores. They have recently expanded their activities to a number of nations throughout the world. Large retailers use GSI because they grade gems considerably faster than GIA or AGS.
It evaluates diamonds similarly to IGI and normally scores gems one grade lower than GIA or AGS. Because each diamond will have its own qualities, as previously said, it is critical that diamonds be studied separately.
GGS Certification
Another diamond grading facility is Gemological Grading Services (GGS). Thomas Jacobs, a master gemologist appraiser from Belgium with over 27 years of expertise in the gem grading sector, runs this diamond grading facility. He personally instructs and supervises GGS’s appraisal staff in the use of cutting-edge equipment and magnification.
Despite its high degree of skill, GGS has a poor reputation as a diamond grading laboratory in the eyes of the diamond market. If a diamond grading lab does not have a good reputation, its diamond grading reports are virtually useless for consumers wanting to protect their investment.
Even if the gemologist in charge of the lab knows what he’s doing and can provide a qualitative report on the diamond, the grades provided by his lab are worth almost nothing to the diamond market as a whole because most gemstone dealers will not trust his grades due to his lack of repute.
As a result, the grade reports given by Thomas Jacobs’ team at GGS could be genuine, and they could provide you with an accurate appraisal of the diamond in question. However, such a report has little significance in terms of the diamond’s overall monetary value, as an objective diamond dealer will not place much importance on a GGS diamond grading report. These are the best diamond grading laboratories of the highest caliber. These are reliable places which you can get your diamond graded and will be issued a certificate.
