Diamond Certificates

A diamond certificate is also known as a Diamond Grading Report. This report comes from a laboratory where trained gemologists examine diamonds and other precious gems. They then write a report for the jewel and this gets included with the jewel when bought or sold. One of the most respected labs is the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

While most dealers refer to the reports as "Certificates", they are not certificates. They are Grading Reports. 

GIA issues Diamond grading reports for stones 1 carat and over. Smaller stones can also get inspected and have a report made. These smaller stones will get a Diamond Dossier, which excludes the map of the stone marking where any visible crystals and other inclusions are in the diamond.

With a diamond grading report or dossier, you can verify the color, cut, carat, weight, and clarity of the diamond. You don’t have to worry about a diamond dealer telling you anything less than the truth, because the report comes from the lab – not the dealer.  The dealer usually covers the cost of the report, which is a couple hundred dollars. Occasionally dealers do ask buyers to pay something for the grading report, but the cost is usually low, and in many cases, it will help you negotiate a better price on the diamond – or keep you from purchasing a lower quality diamond altogether. The diamond selling sites I recommend cover the cost of grading reports.

If you buy a high quality diamond, and then later decide to sell the diamond, you will need to have the grading report, or you will have a hard time selling it to someone else. Furthermore, you can use the Diamond Grading Report to look up the wholesale value of the diamond in question. Use the guide that is used by the diamond cutting industry. You can subscribe to the Rappaport list for a week for the cost of one dinner. This will give you access to the list wholesale prices worldwide.

With the Certificate, or Diamond Grading Report, there won’t be any doubts when you are trying to purchase a diamond. You can easily find out what the diamond is worth. This will prevent you from overpaying, and it

can prevent a seller from under-charging as well.

A copy of the Diamond Grading Report should be given to your insurance company as well, when you insure the diamond. This provides absolute, unquestionable proof of the description of the diamond should it be stolen in the future. Insurance companies cannot argue with the report.

Avoid diamond dealers who are reluctant to provide a certificate. And there is no need to pay a higher fee for a diamond which comes with a grading report. If they charge for the grading report, they are not allowed to add a mark up to the cost they incurred. The cost of a grading report is really not that much in relation to the cost of a diamond. If the dealer doesn’t want to provide a certificate, then you don’t want to do business with that dealer. There are more than 250,000 diamond retailers around the globe. It shouldn't be too hard to take your business elsewhere.

While we think GIA is tops, as GIA has proven itself with a good track record, there are other respectable labs including AGSL, EGL, HRD. 

There are also fly-by-night Gemological labs these days. They could be good, or they could be very risky. I recommend sticking to GIA, unless you definitely trust your dealer/jeweler and have a long standing relationship with them and know that they deliver good deals on good products.

Don’t buy an expensive diamond without paying the extra cost of the certificate. If a dealer tries to convince you to make the purchase without the certificate, or if they want to use a company other than GIA, there is a good chance that the dealer has inflated the price of the diamond.