If you follow this blog, you know to look for GIA reports when making a diamond, pearl or colored gemstone purchase. The “blue” GIA report had been around for more years than we can count – that is, until January of this year, when GIA began issuing its trusted reports in a new look. By integrating new technologies and simplifying the format, the reports were redesigned to set a new standard for jewelry buyers in terms of ease of use and credibility.

GIA’s trusted gem evaluation doesn’t change, but the redesigned reports include some new features:

• They use a lot less paper and other materials, making for a smaller environmental footprint and underscoring GIA’s dedication to environmentally-friendly business practices.

• Reports are printed on paper that is proprietary to GIA and specially designed for security and your peace of mind.

• Reports display grading and evaluation details in a simpler, easier-to-read format.

• A QR code gives you direct access to GIA’s Report Check service, allowing you to quickly and easily confirm the authenticity of the report with a single click.

Since the 1950s, GIA’s diamond grading reports have represented the highest standard of reliability, credibility and integrity. Every GIA report is the result of a meticulous scientific process that provides an objective assessment of a gem’s quality. So whether your jeweler presents you with a 2014 GIA report in the new format or a previous version, rest assured you’re getting the same benchmark evaluation, regardless of report format..

Reports in the new format are just starting to appear in jewelry stores, so expect them to phase in over time.

The post A New Look for the World’s Most Trusted Gem Credential appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

First
Choose a jeweler as you would a doctor, lawyer or other trusted advisor. Your jeweler should be armed with expert training, open to questions and able to provide answers in clear, simple language. One measure of a jeweler’s knowledge is whether he or she is professionally trained. Preferably, his or her training comes from a highly-recognized and internationally accredited program, such as GIA’s Graduate Gemologist (G.G) or Accredited Jewelry Professional (A.J.P.) diploma programs. An educated jeweler will explain the 4Cs of diamond quality to you as well as be able to demonstrate the differences between apparently similar gems. They will also encourage you to compare a number of diamonds that fall in your budget.

Second
Familiarize yourself with the 4Cs of diamond quality in order to understand a diamond’s value and price.

Color − in most diamonds, the term actually refers to the absence of color. The less color in the diamond, the more desirable and valuable it is.

Clarity − measures the number, size and placement of internal ‘inclusions’ and external ‘blemishes.’

Cut − does not refer to a diamond’s shape, but to the proportion and arrangement of its facets and the quality of workmanship. The amount of brilliance, sparkle and fire in a diamond is determined by cut.

Carat − refers to a diamond’s weight. Generally speaking, the higher the carat weight, the more expensive the stone.

We will explore more about the 4Cs here tomorrow so you are prepared to ask important questions.

Third
Ask for a diamond grading report from an unbiased, scientific source like GIA. The differences in diamonds can be so subtle, even a trained jeweler can’t recognize them without lab verification. Insist that any diamond you buy come with verification of its quality.

Fourth
Protect your purchase by having your diamond appraised and insured. Appraisers and insurers rely on diamond grading reports (another good reason to ask for a grading report) to accurately evaluate the value of gems. There are several appraisal associations to assist you with finding one in your area. As an additional measure, consider having your diamond laser-inscribed with its GIA report number, to provide verification if it is ever lost or stolen.

Be sure not to miss our follow-up post tomorrow for more detailed information on the 4Cs, so you can make your diamond purchase with confidence. We’d love to help, so please ask any questions in the comment section below.

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Purchasing a diamond ring can be overwhelming. After you get through the education process of learning the diamond 4Cs there is still one more piece of the puzzle: understanding the difference between a grading report and an appraisal.

A diamond grading report, sometimes referred to as a certificate, is an official “blueprint” of a diamond. It will tell you the specific measurements and shape of your diamond, as well as point out the individual characteristics of your stone. One of the most widely recognized reports is the GIA Diamond Grading Report. Based on the International Diamond Grading System™ that GIA created nearly 60 years ago, the GIA Diamond Grading Report is an unbiased and scientifically-based assessment of your stone’s qualities. The report lets you know that your stone is in fact a diamond, and not some other material.  It describes your diamond’s Clarity, Color, Cut, Carat weight, proportions and finish. The report also identifies any known treatments.

A grading report, or certificate, is not the same thing as an appraisal. An appraisal is an estimate of a diamond’s monetary worth. An appraisal assigns a value based on current market conditions and the quality of the diamond. A GIA report, on the other hand, provides an objective assessment of a diamond’s quality, information which appraisers often use in assigning value.

Though a diamond’s value may appreciate or depreciate over time, a diamond’s qualities are unlikely to change. To document those qualities, GIA has developed three different types of grading reports: Diamond Grading Report, Diamond Dossier® and Diamond eReport. Most appraisers and insurance agencies consider GIA reports to be the most accurate and highly regarded official documents of diamond quality.

GIA Diamond Grading Report
In addition to a diamond’s 4Cs information, the Diamond Grading Report provides a plotted diagram of the stone’s clarity characteristics and a graphic representation of its proportions, information which serves to identify the individual stone.

GIA Diamond Dossier ®
The Diamond Dossier, available for diamonds that weigh between 0.15 and 1.99 carats, is a more concise, compact version of the GIA Diamond Grading Report. Instead of a plotted diagram of the clarity characteristics, this service includes the laser inscription of the diamond’s unique report number on the stone’s girdle.

GIA Diamond eReport
The eReport is a digital-only, paperless report that includes a graphic representation of the diamond’s proportions, and the added feature of a detailed face up image of the diamond captured during the grading process.

All GIA grading reports are intended to be used as a source of accurate, unbiased and trustworthy information about a diamond’s quality. Remember, a diamond report is not a certificate or guarantee and does not indicate a diamond’s monetary value. While an appraisal does not guarantee a price that can be fetched on the market for a given stone, it is an indicator that helps consumers understand the potential value of their diamond.  Both are important, but be sure to get a Diamond Grading Report before purchasing your very special diamond, so you are clear about what your diamond’s quality is.

The post What is the difference between a Diamond Grading Report and an Appraisal? appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

Perhaps a special piece of diamond jewelry has been passed down to you. It may be a ring or a pendant set with a beautiful gem. Because this item did not come from a jeweler or gemologist, you really have no way of knowing anything about the diamond’s color, clarity, cut or carat weight – those factors that determine quality, and help you decide whether the diamond is  worth resetting or leaving it as it came.

GIA Diamond Grading Report

A GIA Diamond Grading Report is ideal for this exact situation. The report is easy to read and provides important information about your stone.   First, a GIA Diamond Grading Report will confirm that your stone is in fact a diamond – and not a diamond simulant or diamond synthetic.  It will tell you the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut, and carat weight) of your diamond’s quality as well as give you a plotted diagram of its clarity characteristics and a graphic representation of the diamond’s proportions.  And while a GIA report does not list monetary value, appraisers will use the report as a basis for determining your diamond’s value should you decide to insure or sell your stone.

People from all over the world send their diamonds to GIA for grading and analysis – and you don’t have to be a jeweler or industry professional to do so.  If you’re lucky enough to live in a city where GIA has a laboratory, you can walk in and request the service in person.  If this is not an option, your best bet is to find a reputable jeweler who carries GIA-graded diamonds or has GIA-trained associates on staff, and request them to submit the stone on your behalf.  While you can certainly send your diamond to GIA on your own, the complexities of packaging, shipping and insuring items of high value are best handled by people who do this regularly.

Another reason to submit your diamond through a jeweler is that the diamond will have to be removed from its setting prior to being sent to GIA, since GIA Diamond Grading Reports are only issued for unmounted stones.

The post How to Submit a Diamond for GIA Grading appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

GIA strives to make sure diamond grading is objective and fair, keeping a standard in the diamond market, so that the public can buy a diamond with a GIA report and know that the report is accurate and absolutely impartial. This creates the ultimate peace of mind for your diamond purchase.

GIA takes elaborate steps to ensure that its grading processes remain impartial. One way is by making sure that a diamond goes through the process anonymously – meaning that the graders and gemologists who examine the stone do not know who its owner is, and the diamond’s owner has no way of knowing who grades his stone. This ensures that a diamond will be evaluated with the utmost objectivity and integrity.

Blind grading is very important because a diamond’s price is directly tied to its grade. So you want to be certain that the grade is based on independent, unbiased evaluation. As a scientific institute dedicated to protecting the public trust, GIA remains scrupulously focused on nothing but the truth of the stone.

When GIA receives a diamond at the laboratory, it’s immediately placed into a custom designed, transparent storage case, and all references to its owner are removed or concealed.

The diamond is then assigned a bar-coded label with a unique internal identification number that is used to track it throughout the grading process.

GIA’s Inventory Control Department serves as the hub for laboratory operations. Between grading process steps, a diamond is distributed from and returned to this department, ensuring that the distribution of diamonds to graders is random. This is just one of several critical measures in an independent and impartial grading process.

Additionally, client information is masked within the software diamond graders use to enter their assessments. GIA asks clients to assist in this process by submitting items in parcel papers free of information that identifies them as the client or refers to grading information.

Source:

http://www.gia.edu/lab-reports-services/diamonds/index.html

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In 2011, We’re proud to have introduced a new technology that enables GIA laboratories to daily assess much larger groups of pearls more quickly, and in greater detail, than any previous technology.

A natural pearl occurs as an act of nature, over a long period of time, in oysters, mussels or clams. The ability to consistently generate what was once a rare phenomenon has created a much wider audience for the appreciation and purchase of pearls. But it has also led to confusion about levels of quality and how to determine them. In 1998, we created a standard for pearl grading and terminology, just as we did for diamonds with the 4Cs. You can read more about GIA’s pearl grading here.

We’re excited to continue technological advancement in pearl grading to ensure quality and origin of natural pearls. These new, significant advancements in the pearl testing process feature highly advanced micro-CT X-ray units that produce high-definition 3-D images of individual pearls. We installed the units in April after months of tests and evaluations. These new units enable us to rapidly gain fully rotational 3-D images of the internal growth structures of pearls in just 15 to 20 minutes; older units take 3 to 5 hours or more.

To find our more information, read the official press release on GIA.edu.

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Here’s our U.S. list of appraisal associations and networks:

http://gia4cs.gia.edu/cm/diamond-buying-guide/resources.htm

The post Learn About Diamond Appraisals appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

As it turns out, in the New York jewelry district on Maiden Lane, neighboring buildings were painted yellow—and these buildings faced the windows from which dealers judged color in the north daylight! Several dealers said they would need to vacate their offices because of the colors—so they pooled their funds and offered to repaint the offending buildings.

Thanks to John M. King, Ron H. Geurts, Al M. Gilbertson, and James E. Shigley for the story in Color Grading “D-Z” Diamonds at the GIA Laboratory, Gems & Gemology, Vol. 44, No. 4.

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GIA’s grading scale begins with the letter D, representing colorless, and continues, with increasing presence of color, to the letter Z. Diamonds are color-graded by comparing them to stones of known color under controlled lighting and precise viewing conditions.

Historically, metaphoric terms were used in the very old days. “River” and “water” were used for the most colorless diamonds, or they might be categorized by a geographic location from places where similarly colored diamonds were seen. For instance, there was “Cape” for pale yellow diamonds from the Cape of Good Hope.

The choice was made to differentiate the GIA grading system from other less clearly defined ones that used designations such as “A” or “AA”. Additionally, American Gem Society (AGS) had its own numerical scale, which was only for AGS member use. So when GIA chose to develop a diamond grading system, it had to use new terms. Hence, the “D.”

The post Why Start with “D”? appeared first on GIA 4Cs Blog.

Early attempts to synthesize diamonds date all the way back to the nineteenth century. But the process of duplicating the extreme heat and pressure under which natural diamonds are formed was elusive. In 1955, General Electric overcame these technological barriers and produced small, industrial-quality stones – the first synthetic diamonds. Since then, the processes of synthesizing diamonds have gotten better and better.

Gem-quality synthetic diamonds have been available to consumers since the mid-1980s. While they represent a small segment of the market, they are becoming more widespread and increasingly difficult to detect when purchasing diamonds. GIA is at the forefront in meeting this challenge, giving a distinct report for synthetics so that there is no confusion in the marketplace.

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