Without a MOT certificate, would you purchase a car? without being aware of its long-term roadworthiness, not just during the test drive? Additionally, you would confirm that the MOT certificate comes from a reputable garage that has been authorised to provide these certificates, correct?
In the past, your neighbourhood jeweller would either hand over a store piece of paper saying the quality or verbally assure you that "Oh, the diamond you are buying from us is very good quality, do not worry, you are getting an excellent deal." This is when the jeweller profited greatly at your expense. For quality control, you had to rely on them and their expertise.
The issue we face today is whether your diamond is natural, synthetic or lab-grown. Even a reputable qualified jeweller today without a GIA or IGI certificate will not know the difference. Guaranteed.
Natural Diamonds – Since the cost of mining, cutting, and polishing these gems has gone up over time and demand is high, natural diamonds hold their worth the best in terms of percentage of cost and eventually recover their cost and gain value.
Lab-grown diamonds – Since lab-grown diamonds are man-made and will eventually be produced in infinite quantities, they currently retain between 30 and 40 percent of their cost, and in the long run, they may be almost nothing.
Synthetic diamonds – As synthetic diamonds are mostly utilised as fashion accessories and have no resale value, they maintain between 0% and 10% of their original worth.
Diamond certificates from the GIA, IGI or other trade-recognized labs are an important document to demand while purchasing diamond jewellery, but what is a diamond certificate and why are they important? The certificate only relates to the larger central diamond in your engagement ring which has the most value in the ring you are buying (on average around 80-90% of the total value). Firstly make sure from the report that the diamond is 100% natural without any enhancement or treatment.
The most prominent labs, the GIA or IGI, train and prepare their graders to be qualified to check the colour, clarity, cut and carat weight of the diamond and the laboratories they work in are fully equipped to check the authenticity of the diamond. For grading the colour, a gemologist checks it against master colour samples and to determine the clarity, they inspect the diamond for crystals, cracks, chipped elements, etc. How do they look inside the diamond? Well, they do so with the help of the 30x microscope, sometimes not available to even a specialized jeweller.
The first and foremost reason is the value of the diamond. Diamonds are expensive and when you are spending large amounts on something as special as your engagement ring, you should be sure of its authenticity and what is better assurance than a diamond with GIA or IGI certification. Besides this, if you want your jewellery to be insured, you will have to provide the insurance company with some kind of documentation of its authenticity so that they can analyse its replacement value.
Apart from diamond certification, there is also a diamond appraisal and people often tend to get confused between the two. While a diamond appraisal is for insurance purposes and is prepared by the seller keeping in mind the estimated value of the diamond, a diamond certificate is an analysis of the diamond’s quality and is prepared after the gemologist checks the stone for all the parameters.
Traditionally, the central diamond in a certified diamond engagement ring is graded based on 4Cs (Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat weight):
On a scale of importance, we outline the 4c’s 4 U -
Carat weight - With diamonds, size is most important. Choose a larger diamond that comes within your budget but in doing so, make sure it's GIA or IGI certified.
Colour – is visual. Colourless diamonds are considered to be of the highest quality, with colours ranging from D to Z and then fancy colours, some are extremely expensive.
Clarity – Measures diamond imperfections (inclusions or blemishes), Flawless being the best clarity, down to I3 with visual imperfections.
Cut – This is the final factor to be looking at. The better the cut, the more attention a diamond would grab as it would sparkle more.
Learn more about the 4 cs here
Finally, cash and certification go together. Make sure your cash buys you the right certificate for your diamond.
So, now that you are aware of the importance of certified diamonds and have read about 4Cs, buy only a certified diamond ring. These rings are great value for your money. The key is to visit a reputable jeweller and still demand the GIA or IGI diamond grading document so that the quality can be verified by any other person in the trade.
