Understanding the GIA Report

The GIA report of your future diamond is a vital part of the purchase that needs to be carefully examined and well-understood in order to get the diamond you want. The report includes detailed scientific and unbiased assessment and description of the diamond including many aspects of a diamond invisible to the naked eye.

The GIA report isn’t the be-all and end-all of diamond shopping as there are other factors that aren’t included in a standard GIA report which need to be considered. However, the grading report is still an invaluable and necessary tool in the diamond trade.

What is the GIA report?

GIA stands for the Gemological Institute of America which is one of the world’s foremost authorities on diamonds and diamond grading. Established in 1931, the GIA has become a cornerstone of the worldwide diamond trade and their diamond grading reports are a guarantee for quality. This means that getting a diamond with a grading report from the GIA is reduces the likelihood of purchasing an overpriced low-quality stone.

On the other hand, when you do get a GIA report with your stone, you’ll need to read it thoroughly and to understand its components. If this is the first time you’re dealing with diamonds, working with reputable vendors or consulting with a third-party jeweler to help you understand the GIA report is a advisable.

What are the main components of a GIA grading report?

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll get in a GIA report:

• A unique 10-digit report number assigned to your diamond. This identifier can be used to look up your report online.
• The 4Cs of your diamond:
  • - The carat weight of the stone, i.e. 1.21 carats
  • - The stone’s color grade on the GIA’s alphabetical D-Z color scale for colorless diamonds
  • - The clarity grade which shows how clear and void of inclusions your stone is, i.e. VVS2, SI1 or other of the 11 clarity grades
  • - The cut grade of your diamond indicating the cut’s quality, not its shape
• Detailed tables explaining how the color, clarity, and cut of your diamond are measured and categorized.
• A clarity diagram and report that show how many inclusions your diamond has, what type they are, and where on the stone they are situated.
• A diagram of the diamond’s precise dimensions – its girdle thickness, table size and star length, its crown angle and pavilion angle, total depth, pavilion depth, and crown height, the lower girdle facet length, and the culet’s size. The diagram shows the diamond from several angles and displays not only its numerical dimensions but its percentile proportions as well.
• A description of the diamond’s fluorescence or lack thereof.
• If the diamond is engraved, that will be mentioned in the report as well.
• Every GIA report also has a comment section that describes whether and what treatments the stone has been subjected to and what other identifying characteristics it may have.
• Every GIA grading report also has a number of sophisticated security features that are usually showcased and explained on the lower right side of the main page of the report.

The GIA grading report authenticates your diamond and is proof of its value. All diamonds graded by the GIA are laser inscribed on the girdle with the unique serial number, which is invaluable to identify and evaluate your diamond.

How To Read GIA Diamond Grading Report

1- Date : Date diamond was examined by GIA

2- GIA Report Number: Unique number registered in GIA’s extensive global database, which is the same number inscribed on the diamond’s girdle.

3- Shape and Cutting Style: Diamond shape (Round, Oval, Princess, Cushion, ...etc) and the diamond cutting style or facet arrangement (Brilliant, modified, Excellent, ..etc).

4- Measurements: Diamonds dimensions listed in millimeters.For Round diamonds, measurements are listed as ( smallest diameter-largest diameterxdepth).

5- Carat Weight: diamond weight given in carats, recorded to the nearest hundredth of carat. One carat is equal to ⅕ gram.

6- Color Grade: Rates absence of color in the diamond, from colorless to light yellow or brown when you compared to a master colorless diamonds. Diamonds color scale starts from D (colorless) to Z (Yellowish, relatively to colorless stones). If “*” is next to the color grade, a color treatment was detected.

7- Clarity Grade: Rates absence of inclusion and blemishes. Diamond clarity graded on a scale from Flawless to included, based on size, nature, number, position, and relief of characteristics visible under 10X magnification.  

8- Cut Grade: Evaluates quality and craftsmanship of the diamond cut. Diamonds are examined face-up. Cut graded on scale from Excellent to poor.

9- Polish: Examines the smoothness of the diamond’s surface. Graded on scale from Excellent to Poor.

10- Symmetry: Evaluates the exactness of diamond’s outline, shape, placement, and alignment of its facets. Graded on scale from Excellent to Poor.

11- Fluorescence:  Level of glow and color of the diamond under ultraviolet rays (such as black light).

12- Inscription(s): Texts, symbols, logo, or numbers inscribed on the diamond’s girdle.

13- Comments: Any additional descriptions or features that are not mentioned on the report. If the diamond was gone under any sort of treatments, such as laser drilling, it would be represented in the comments section.

14- Proportion Diagram: Graphic representation of the diamond’s proportions.

15- Plotted Diagram: Graphic representation of the diamond’s clarity indicating the type, position and approximate size if clarity characteristics.

16- Key to Symbols: Lists the characteristics and symbols shown in the plotting diagram, if present.

17- GIA Color Scale: Representation of GIA Scale of diamond color grades. Available from D to Z.

18- GIA Clarity Scale:  Representation of GIA grades of diamond’s clarity. Available from Flawless to I2.

19- GIA Cut Scale: Representation of the GIA grades of diamond. Available from Excellent to Poor

20- Security Features: GIA microprinting , security screens, watermarks, a two-dimensional barcode, a hologram, and sheet numbering safeguard report integrity and facilitate document authentication.

21- QR Code: When scanned, it verifies data on the report against GIA database,