Diamond Reports
Full Diamond Report
The Independent Diamond Grading Report includes an assessment of a diamond’s 4C’s – Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat weight along with a plotted diagram of its clarity characteristics and diamond’s proportions. Independent issues diamond grading reports for loose, Natural Diamonds in the D-Z color range that weigh 0.15 carats or more.
Credit Card Certificate
The Independent Credit Card Report includes an assessment of a diamond’s 4C’s – Color, Clarity, Cut, and Carat weight along with Dimensions and Cut Grade of Polish & Symmetry. Independent issues Credit Card reports for loose, Natural Diamonds in the D-Z color range that weigh 0.15 carats or more.
Vision & Corporate Responsibility
Jewelry Credit Card Certificate
The Independent credit card certificate includes an assessment of a diamond’s 4C’s – Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut weight along with an assessment of polish and symmetry of Diamonds. The image of jewelry is placed on the certificate.
Jewelry Full Report
The Independent Jewelry Full Report includes an assessment of a diamond’s 4C’s – Carat, Color, Clarity and Cut weight – along with an assessment of polish and symmetry of Diamonds. The image of a jewelry item is placed on the certificate. For Solitaires, which are pre-graded by Independent prior mounting, proportion of diamonds are also mentioned in the certificates.
Co-Branded Card Certificate
Co-Branded card is a customized program offered to the National brands or in-house proprietary brand of the retailer using their color theme and art work provided by the retailer along with Independent’s assessment of Diamond’s 4C’s- Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat weight and an image of a jewelry item on the certificate.
Colored Stone Report
Colored Stone Reports are based on precious stone analysis which is designed to identify the species and variety of a colored gem. The Report states if the stone is natural or synthetic, and provides other data with respect to shape, cut, weight, measurements, color, transparency and major optical characteristics as well a a detailed photograph of the stone.
Limitations
As mounting permits is an important distinction used in Independent Jewelry Identification Reports. This specification allows the Independent graders to provide detailed information, but perhaps not as accurately as in an un-mounted situation. In these cases, the words “approximate” and “range” are clearly used in descriptions. Ultimately some pieces may require un-mounting, if the style or makeup prevents our gemologists from performing the scientific tests necessary for meaningful assessment.
Colored Stone Report
The quality grading of diamonds are summarized by what is known as the 4C’s. These are the 4 parameters that define the quality and beauty of a diamond.
Diamonds are sold by carat (shown as ct.), which refers to a unit of weight. Carat weight is unrelated to the similar sounding karat, which refers to gold’s purity. The weight of a diamond is expressed in carats
One carat = 200 milligrams in weight
Each carat is divided into 100 points
Diamonds come in a variety of colors, some of them highly prized (pinks, blues, even yellow). Although, most diamonds used in jewelry are nearly colorless with tints of yellow or brown.
Color grades are determined by comparing each diamond to a master set. Each letter grade represents a range of color and is a measure of how noticeable a color is.
Diamonds are found deep within the earth’s crust and are created under extreme heat and pressure. All diamonds contain individual characteristics; small imperfections inside the diamond (called inclusions), or on its surface (called blemishes).
These characteristics help the gemologists to distinguish natural diamonds from synthetics and stimulants and identify individual stones.
A diamond’s cut does not refer to a diamond’s shape, but to its proportions, symmetry and polish. The cut of the diamond defines its true beauty.
A polish diamond’s beauty lies in its relationship with light. How it strikes the surface, how much light enters the diamond, and how and in what form light reflects to the eye.
This study then constitutes for the display of three attributes:
- “Brightness” is the combination of all white light reflecting from the surface and interior of a diamond
- “Fire” describes the flares of color emitted from a diamond
- “Scintillation” describes the flashes of light you see, on the diamond when the light or the observer moves
Importance of certification
In every culture around the world, the diamond holds a unique position as a symbol of purity, excellence, strength and sheer beauty. The gift of a diamond is invested with emotional significance and is an emblem of love and commitment. Romantic notions aside, purchasing diamond jewelry typically involves a considerable financial investment.
How does a lay person know the true worth of the diamond jewelry he is buying? In older times, customers put complete faith in individual jeweler whom they worked with for generations. Today, gem and jewelry manufacturing has expanded into a huge industry, with professionally run companies entering the market. This is where certification by independent gemological laboratories comes in as an essential service, offering objective reports based on universally accepted diamond grading systems.
Certification benefits all stakeholders in the high value business of diamonds. Manufacturers are ensured a consistent supply of quality rated diamonds. Diamond retailers, for whom a sound reputation is integral to business, are benefited when they sell diamonds certified by an independent, expert authority. For customers, certification is a means to educate themselves about the “4C’s” of diamonds – Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat that determine the quality and value of their precious investments.