Should You Buy an IGI or GIA Certified Lab-Grown Diamond?

For higher-value purchases, independent grading documentation can make comparing diamonds substantially easier.

GIA grades laboratory-grown diamonds and identifies the growth process, including CVD or HPHT, on applicable reports.

An important distinction is that a grading report does not automatically mean a diamond is better quality.

Instead, the report gives shoppers an independent assessment of characteristics such as colour, clarity and carat weight. GIA itself explains that comparing diamonds with the same quality characteristics and independent grading is important when determining whether a price is reasonable.

For smaller jewellery pieces, certification may not always be included because the additional laboratory cost can represent a meaningful percentage of the item's total price. For larger centre stones, certification becomes increasingly useful.

Some jewelers may say that they include certifications but if they don't mention GIA or IGI, those certifications are probably homemade and don't actually hold any meaningful value.

We believe customers should feel confident about what they are purchasing. VVS Diamond provides professional appraisals with our jewelry, with authentic IGI/GIA diamond certification available where applicable for larger stones. At the same time, we keep our pricing practical by avoiding unnecessary certification costs on smaller stones where the added expense may not provide meaningful value to the customer.

Explore VVS Diamond's in-stock collection. We also take custom orders to make your dream project come true!