We offer Diamonds that have been independently certified for our online store.
Diamond certificates are issued by independent gemological laboratories. There are several grading laboratories, the most prominent being:
- The International Gemological Institute (IGI);
- The Gemological Institute of America (GIA);
- The American Gem Society (AGS);
- The European Gemological Laboratories (EGL);
- The World Diamond Council (HRD)
- and GemEx Systems.
Diamonds often contain minute, invisible to the naked eye inclusions or imperfections. These can have a major influence on the price. So if you cannot actually see the stone it is easy to make a mistake and purchase a Diamond of lower value, believing it to be of higher value.
Certificates by independent gem labs can give you the information to make an informed decision. There are also many beautiful Diamonds that are not certified, however it is better to look at un-certed stones in the store with us, where we can walk you through the 4 C’s and the merits of each individual stone.
If you find a Diamond you like, and it is not certified there is nothing wrong with asking us to send it to a reputable Independent Gemological Laboratory for certification. But remember – everything comes with a cost and certification usually adds $100 or more to the cost of a stone.
A Diamond Certificate is a document issued by a Gemological Laboratory and is essentially a statement confirming the characteristics and authenticity of a Diamond. It is not an appraisal or value document. It will usually contain the following information:
Reference number:
This number allows laboratories to access your Diamond information in the event of any queries you may have
Shape & Style / Cut:
The shape & style characteristics relating to your Diamond. Eg. Round Brilliant.
Measurements:
The measurements for your Diamond, which will either be shown as (minimum diameter) – (maximum diameter) x (depth) for round brilliant Diamonds and (length-top to bottom) x (width-left to right) x (depth) for all other shapes. All measurements will be given in millimeters.
Proportions:
This information is used to highlight your Diamonds values in terms of girdle, culet, durability, weight ratio and tilt.
Finish:
Used to describe the Polish & Symmetry of your Diamond and relates to how smooth the Diamonds facets are. Finish information also takes into account the placement of the Diamonds facets and their uniformity.
Color:
The laboratories opinion on the color of your Diamond. This may be displayed as a letter (D to Z, with D being a colorless Diamond) or as a number (0 to 10, with 0 being used to describe a colorless Diamond).
Clarity:
This information refers to any blemishes and inclusions that your Diamond may have. This information may be displayed as Flawless / Internally Flawless (FL/IF) to I (Included). As with color, this information may also be displayed as numbers (0-10), with 0 representing a Flawless / Internally Flawless Diamond.
Fluorescence:
This part of the report provides you with information on any fluorescence in your Diamond. Fluorescence is a form of illumination that is created when a Diamond is exposed to low or high wave ultraviolet radiation. Fluorescence is graded from none through faint, slight, medium or moderate and continues up to strong and extreme.
Weight:
This section gives your Diamonds weight information, to the nearest thousandth of a carat (one carat = 0.2 grams). Carats are further divided into points. Points are used to describe Diamonds of sizes less than one carat in weight. A hundredth of a carat is also called a point. Therefore a 0.10 carat stone can be called either 10 points, or 1/10 of a carat.
Plot:
This part of a Diamond Grading Report will show an enlarged picture of your Diamond and will illustrate the location/s of any blemishes or inclusions in your Diamond.
Scale:
Use this part of your report to compare your Diamonds characteristics against the Color, Cut & Clarity scales. Worthy of note is that Gemological Laboratories do not sell Diamonds and therefore are able to remain totally impartial when assessing a Diamonds grade.
We offer Diamonds graded by prominent laboratories including:
- IGI (International Gemological Institute)
- GIA (Gemological Institute of America)
- AGSL (American Gem Society Laboratories) and HRD.
Please do take the time to view examples of Diamond Certificates from all of the above laboratories, which can be seen below. These examples should help you to become acquainted and familiar with how each report is structured.
Additionally, feel free to visit any of the web links on the certificate pages for further information.
We believe that by offering independently certified Diamonds our customers are able to feel confident and secure in the knowledge that they are getting the Diamond they want. There cannot possibly be any conflict of interest as each of our stones is graded by an independent laboratory.
Our customers are purchasing the ultimate symbol of love and devotion, commitment and togetherness. We believe that our customers are entitled to expect the best, and deserve to be able to feel confident in their decisions.
For these reasons we only offer independently certified Diamonds.