Diamond Certification – Why It’s Important to Get a Report

Before purchasing a gemstone, you should always ask for a grading report. Diamond certification plays a very crucial part in the diamond buying process because it is your only assurance of quality. If you are contemplating a purchase, here are some reasons why a certificate is essential.

What Is A Grading Report?

Also called a diamond dossier or diamond quality document, this is a report created by a team of gemologists. It is a detailed blueprint of a gemstone’s qualities. Using trained eyes, a jeweler’s loupe, a microscope and other industry tools, the stone is evaluated, measured and scrutinized. A completed certificate will include the stone’s dimensions, clarity, color, symmetry, polish and other characteristics.

Why Is It Important?

Diamonds are priced based on their quality grade in accordance with the 4 C’s. Unless you receive a report from a reputable laboratory, you will certainly not be getting the exact quality you wanted to purchase. For example, a 1.00 carat F/VS2 stone with a certificate will sell $300-$800 more than the same stone without a certificate. This is mainly because most jewelers know that a gemstone that is graded F/VS2 will usually be a G/SI1 if you send it to one of the best independent labs for more accurate testing. Small local labs are often affiliated in some way with a store, and for this reason, they tend to grade diamonds more favorably in order to assist the sale. The GIA, AGS and EGL are very biased when it comes to grading gemstones. This is because they don’t sell diamonds, nor receive a portion of the sales. For this reason, diamond certification from one of these labs is highly recommended if you want to avoid paying more for a stone of less quality.

Another reason to ask for a dossier is that you have increased security when it comes to cleanings and repairs. Many people are hesitant to bring their gold to a jewelry store for these services. They often wonder if they will be getting the same stone back that they brought in. It is extremely rare for a jeweler to intentionally switch diamonds, however, accidents do happen. Diamond quality documents act as an additional safety measure in this case. The document maps your stone’s unique inclusions like a fingerprint that you can check in the store before it is returned to you. Many labs additionally laser inscribe the certificate number right on the girdle of the stone. This set of numbers is invisible to the naked eye, but can easily be seen with a 10x jeweler’s loupe.

Having a certificate also allows you to protect your investment. It is not an investment where you can reasonably make a profit, per se, but rather an investment in beauty and pride of ownership. If however, you decide to sell or upgrade your diamond in the future, the process would be easier because you have documentation of how much the stone is worth and why it was valued at that amount. Without it, many dealers will hesitate to buy a stone of unknown quality. For this reason, it is wise to have a grading report at the time of purchase for your current protection and for future possibilities of selling.

Diamond certification is an important factor when it comes to buying diamonds. This is why it is sometimes referred to as the 5th C. It is strongly recommended that you do not purchase a gemstone that does not come with a report. Without it, you will never know the value and worth of your stone.