Diamond certification is crucial to ensure that the diamond you are buying is as valuable and rare as you are led to believe. There are three certificates that you can rely on, namely, GIA, IGI and HRD. Your certificate is the most important part of purchasing a diamond. It is the only way of knowing that the diamond in your engagement ring is what you think it is.
When you are shopping for your diamond in Ireland or Dublin you might still hear, for example, "This diamond is G-H colour and VS quality". This is usually the case when the diamond is uncertified or 'in house' certified. These days there is no need to buy an uncertified diamond and there is an obvious risk attached to purchasing a diamond without a certificate or with an 'in-house' certificate. Simply put, a G colour diamond is much more premium and therefore valuable than an H colour, therefore, what is it – G or H!!!
Laser Inscribed Diamond
The certificate should be from one of the three main certifiers, namely: GIA (Gemological Institute of America), IGI (International gemological institute) and HRD (some Belgian words!). These global organisations use the latest technologies to ensure accuracy and uniformity when grading diamonds. Each diamond is also considered by up to five diamond graders before the final grades are decided. EGL (European Gemological Lab) use a different system and should be treated with caution.
The majority of diamonds that we supply are certified by GIA. In addition these diamonds normally have their unique GIA serial number laser inscribed onto the girdle of the diamond. The certificate will tell you about your diamond's 4 C’s and it will include the diamond's individual serial number.
There are only three GIA qualified diamond graders in Ireland and Diamond.ie’s Fraser Brown is one of them. Our strong recommendation is that you make diamond certification one of your strictest requirements.
To learn more about these certifiers, view their websites and see examples of their actual certificates, click here