Certificates

There are numerous labs that grade diamonds and will provide you with certification paper for the diamond you buy. This is not an appraisal of the diamond's value. This is merely a statement of whether the diamond is natural or lab grown, the weight in carats, the color, the clarity, and the cut and some other vitally important items which I will discuss. Sadly, all labs are not created equal and even the best of labs are not 1000% consistent. A laboratory does not necessarily evaluate diamonds in the same way that most jewelers do. Laboratory and jeweler's representations are tools and should not be taken as gospel.

Just as you wouldn't buy a puppy with the idea of turning it into a show dog without a pedigree, you shouldn't buy a diamond with the idea of turning it into a masterpiece ring without a certificate. For round numbers, a certificate costs around $100 per carat and is usually provided at no charge by the jeweler who sells you a diamond. But, you can obtain a certificate on your own as well (such as for an inherited diamond). Since there are such things as phony certificates. I recommend that you buy a diamond with a serial number laser inscribed on it so you can match the diamond to the certificate. The inscription will not hurt the diamond optically or affect the diamond's durability.

These are the most prevalent laboratories.

1. Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is nonprofit lab. Since it is a nonprofit lab, it is not subject to bribes. The GIA is maddeningly unwavering. By that, I mean that there is a procedure available to challenge the grade given to your diamond, but I like your snowball's chance in the underworld only slightly less. A GIA certificate is generally (and rightfully) accepted as the best certificate available and if you ever choose to sell or trade your diamond, this is THE document you will need. In addition to the information above, it has the exact mm measurements of the diamond, a map of the diamond's imperfections and a florescence indicator. The GIA certificate is laminated and has hallmarks to prove its authenticity.

But buyer beware!!! Diamonds are graded on a continuum within ranges, therefore some F colors, some SI1 clarities, some very good cuts, and some carat weights are better than others. For this reason, I will devote a chapter to each of these subjects.

Addendum to this lesson:

When you go to a horse race, there are the "winners" and the "also rans".

Here are the "also ran" labs in order of overall usefulness and validity in my opinion.

• American Gem Society (AGS) 
• HRD antwerp
• International Gemological Institute (IGI)
• European Gemological Laboratories (EGL) USA
• GSI, GCAL, EGL other countries besides USA

My personal opinion on these labs and also a non-laboratory appraisals is that they can be dangerously misleading and it would be a fatal mistake to assume that these labs and also non-laboratory appraisals are merely one or two grades different than the GIA.  I would personally not rely on labs other than GIA, though you can perhaps rely on their assertion that a diamond is natural and has no fracture filling. I liken their reliability to the speech of a politician running for office … sometimes right, sometimes wrong  but never too shy to express an opinion.

One final disclaimer. If you ask a good 100% honest independent jewelry appraiser for their opinion of what a diamond grade would be if you sent it into the GIA and if you also ask for the LIQUIDATION (not estate) value of that diamond, you will get a useful assessment. This is a procedure I recommend for evaluating a family inheritance or getting a second independent opinion on a non-laboratory certified diamond that you have already bought.

It would also be an acceptable procedure for getting a second opinion on a "kamikaze" purchase. One where you don't care about a diamond’s value and you know it might be a terrible diamond, but you just want the biggest diamond you can buy for a given budget...and, for some unfathomable reason, you are still curious about what might be wrong with the diamond or how badly you got taken. Sadly, this is a common occurrence. It happens when people go on cruises and feel a need to throw away their hard-earned American dollars to help support a foreign economy. I have researched the quote "there's a sucker born every second". While I'm not sure who first coined the phrase, I would not be surprised if it came from a diamond store in Alaska or the Virgin Islands.