What Guarantee Does a Certification Give Me?

There are numerous laboratories for certification. Two of the main ones are the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the European Gemological Institute. Here at Diamond Doctor we use the GIA exclusively, because that is the Gold Standard in the industry. Yes, they are more conservative. Often by quite a large margin, and that’s because they are a totally independent, non-profit laboratory staffed by 900 of the world’s leading diamond graders, scientists and educators, all with a mission to “ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry.”

The GIA is the creator of the famous 4C’s of diamond value (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) and the birthplace of the International Diamond Grading System, now used as the industry standard. The GIA have graded all of the world’s renowned stones including: The Hope Diamond (45.52 carats), the Taylor-Burton Diamond (69.42), the Alnatt (101.29 carats), the De Beers Millennium Star (203.85 carats), the Centenary Diamond (273.85 carats) and the Incomparable Diamond (407.78 carats)
The GIA is also where the White House and the Congress go for definitive answers. It is where the textbooks on diamonds are written.

The EGL on the other hand is partly funded by the European jewelry industry and in our opinion, is not as professional, reliable or accurate as the GIA. Even though the EGL consistently gives higher grades for the same stones and would therefore make our sales price seem more attractive, we are more interested in providing you the equivalent of a Supreme Court ruling on your purchase.

A certification is a virtual specification.