{"id":12335,"date":"2020-11-15T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=12335"},"modified":"2020-11-15T13:53:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-15T18:53:12","slug":"what-does-gia-certified-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/what-does-gia-certified-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT DOES GIA CERTIFIED MEAN?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What<\/div>\n

GIA certified?<\/h2>\n

\nA lot of people see “GIA certified<\/strong>” or “Certified by GIA<\/strong>” on a website, description, or catalog, and have no idea what it means<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What does GIA certified mean?<\/h2>\n

\nIs it a good <\/strong>thing? Bad?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nDoes it really matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Should you care?<\/h2>\n

\nAbsolutely!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nGIA means that the diamond you’re looking at, has not been graded by the jeweler or the jewelry store<\/strong>. The store has no say-so in what the actual grade<\/strong> is (so you’re not taking their word<\/strong> for what the quality is, which also means… You don’t even have to trust the jeweler for the quality<\/strong>). <\/p>\n

\nGIA <\/strong>(The Gemological Institute of America<\/a>) is an independent outside source that grades stones by expert Diamontologists and Gemologists, that evaluate the stones for cut, color, clarity, carat weight, and more, to identify and classify that particular stone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nSee their official website here<\/a>…<\/p>\n

\n\"GIA<\/a><\/p>\n

\nGIA tells you what the quality really is<\/strong> by the strictest and most technologically advanced systems on earth. When they say that a diamond is SI1… It’s an SI1 hands down.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No question about it!<\/h2>\n

\nIf the diamond is not GIA certified<\/strong>, you could get yourself ripped off by hundreds and thousands of dollars<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nJust because it’s not GIA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nYES!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do I have your attention now?<\/h2>\n

\nGood, now lets take a closer look at GIA<\/strong> and see what it all means…<\/p>\n

1) GIA is highly established<\/h2>\n

\nGIA is the most established certification company in the world<\/strong>. They have been around since 1931<\/strong> and are the foremost authority<\/strong> on diamonds, gems and pearls. They are a non-profit organization<\/strong> that sets the standards for jewels and identification world-wide.<\/p>\n

\nTheir main headquarters are located in Carlsbad, CA<\/strong>, but they have training offices<\/strong> around the globe like: London, Thailand, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. These locations make it perfect for individuals to build a career<\/strong> in the diamond, gemstone, or jewelry field.<\/p>\n

See their locations here:<\/h2>\n

\n\"GIA<\/a><\/p>\n

\nGIA has made break-through discoveries with gemstones, and even patented the professional jeweler’s triplet loupe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nResearch, education, grading, and analysis<\/strong> is their goal. They are the Gemological Institute of America and there is no one better<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nPeriod!<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) The founder of the four C’s<\/h2>\n

In the 1940<\/strong>‘s, GIA established the 4C’s<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nThey wrote the book<\/strong> when it comes to diamond grading and education. <\/p>\n

\nWith extremely strict standards<\/strong> for cut, color, clarity and carat weight, they made the guidelines that all jewelers use today<\/strong> to grade, buy, sell, and evaluate gemstones.<\/p>\n

\n\"GIA<\/a><\/p>\n

So there is nobody better to trust<\/strong> with your stone, than the professionals who made the system<\/strong> and perfected it.<\/p>\n

3) GIA is admired and trusted<\/h2>\n

\nGo to any jewelry store and ask them what the best diamond certificate is, and 9 out of 10 times they’ll say “GIA”<\/strong> (the other certificate would be AGS<\/strong>, which is the second best diamond report<\/strong> to get… And if for some reason they don’t say GIA <\/strong>or AGS<\/strong>, then that just means they don’t sell them<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nThere is no debate here<\/strong>. Jewelers all agree that GIA puts out the most trusted and accurate report ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Test it!<\/h2>\n

\nYou’ll know this is true if you ever try to sell your diamond at a jewelry store<\/strong>. You tell them you have a certified diamond, and the first question they’ll ask is “Who certified it?<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

\nIt’s a very important question<\/strong>, because what they really want to find out is, whether GIA Certified it, or any of the others (the others don’t count<\/strong>). <\/p>\n

If it’s GIA, they’ll trust the grade<\/strong>… If it’s EGL or IGI, they’ll dismiss the certificate<\/strong>, because they’ll usually find that these reports are not accurate<\/strong>, or are lax in their gradings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\"Certified<\/p>\n

“Is it GIA?”<\/h2>\n

\nThat’s what everyone cares about<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nSo that should be a huge eye-opener<\/strong>. If that’s all any jeweler cares about, shouldn’t that be what you buy as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nPlus, GIA certified diamonds<\/strong> also hold their value better (because the report and grades are accurate<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nThe cert really does matter!<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) GIA triple checks<\/h2>\n

\nGIA is redundant<\/strong>. And that’s a good thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThey don’t just have one person evaluate a diamond and come to a conclusion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nThey have multiple experts<\/strong> view and grade the stone. They call it “triple checking<\/strong>“, but it’s not even just 3 people… It’s actually 4 or more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nYou see, GIA knows that grades are opinion based<\/strong>. They know that some diamonds are borderline stones, so they get at least 4 people to critique a diamond and arrive at a unified grade<\/strong> for all of the diamond traits and characteristics. And, if a diamond is a borderline stone<\/strong>, they always grade the stone lower<\/strong>, just so there’s never ever a question about the grade. That’s smart.<\/strong> (you’ll never over-pay<\/strong> for that stone)<\/p>\n

\nThese strict policies<\/strong> are why GIA is the most trusted and admired diamond grading company, and their findings are truthful and just<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If it’s GIA, you get what you pay for.<\/h2>\n

\n\"GIA-Certified-Means-You-Get-What-You-Pay-For\"<\/p>\n

5) No replacement value<\/h2>\n

\nWant to know whether to trust a diamond report or not?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check the replacement value.<\/h2>\n

\nIf there’s a monetary value<\/strong> on the report, then I would never buy it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nA diamond that has a value determined by the grading company can never be factual or accurate (GIA never puts a value on their diamond reports<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

\nDiamond prices change<\/strong>, often daily, just like the gold market<\/strong>. So if the value of the diamond changes, then how can this value, sealed in cement<\/strong>, be real?<\/p>\n

\nThe value would be higher or lower<\/strong>… It doesn’t make sense. I would bet it’s probably way over-inflated!<\/strong> (just so the value looks good and you think you got a good deal<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\nI say keep the replacement values where they belong, on a jewelry appraisal<\/strong> so you can turn it in for insurance purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Replacement value example<\/h2>\n

\nHere’s an example of a replacement value<\/strong> on a EGL diamond report:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\"EGL<\/p>\n

DON’T BUY IT!<\/h2>\n

\nThere’s no way that value can be up-to-date<\/strong>. Look at how much diamond prices have escalated<\/strong> over the past 30 years…<\/p>\n

\nGIA puts no value<\/strong> on their diamond reports. Neither does AGS<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\nThey are not bias <\/strong>or swayed by how much money a store could, or could not make. <\/p>\n

\nAll they want to do is to grade the stone as accurately as possible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nSimple as that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6) Compare GIA to GIA<\/h2>\n

\nHere’s the thing that I love<\/strong> about GIA certificates…<\/p>\n

\nThey make comparing diamonds a breeze.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nIf you’re looking at a GIA certified loose diamond<\/a> at one store, then by all means, make sure you’re looking at a GIA certified loose diamond<\/a> at the other as well.<\/p>\n

\n\"Compare<\/p>\n

\nThat way, you’re comparing apples to apples<\/strong>. For you can’t compare a GIA diamond to an EGL or IGI stone<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

It’s not the same stone.<\/h2>\n

\nThe stone quality, certificate and price will all be different<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nPlus, some companies, like EGL<\/strong>, even have a different grading system <\/strong>for diamonds. They have added in a new clarity grade, called SI3<\/strong> (as shown above in the EGL certificate<\/strong>), that GIA doesn’t even recognize<\/strong>. So it’s not a fair comparison<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nTo truly compare diamonds, quality and prices, you need to:<\/p>\n

Compare GIA to GIA<\/h2>\n

\nThat’s how you’ll find out what store really has the better stone<\/strong> and better deal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nAnd make sure when you’re comparing, that you compare all these characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n