What a Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report Tells You

Reports for laboratory-grown diamonds are formatted differently on purpose, and the stones are inscribed. Here is what to look for.

If you are buying a laboratory-grown stone, the paperwork will not look like the paperwork for a natural one. That is by design, and it is in your interest.

The reports are deliberately distinct

Grading laboratories issue separate report formats for laboratory-grown diamonds so that the two can never be confused at a glance, not by a buyer, not by a valuer, not by whoever inherits the piece.

The stone itself is marked

Laboratory-grown diamonds assessed by the major independent laboratories are laser-inscribed with "Laboratory-Grown" and an assessment number. The inscription sits on the girdle, is invisible to the naked eye, and is permanent.

Ask to see it. Any jeweller with a microscope can show you in under a minute, and a jeweller who declines has told you something.

Terminology is changing

The descriptive language used for laboratory-grown stones has been diverging from the language used for natural ones, with assessments increasingly expressed in broader quality bands rather than the familiar letter and number grades.

The practical consequence: do not assume a grade on a laboratory-grown report means precisely the same thing as the same grade on a natural report. Read what the document actually says rather than pattern-matching from experience.

The question to ask your jeweller

Not "is this real?", it is diamond, and that question wastes everyone's time.

Ask: what is the inscription, and can I see it?

That single question confirms what you are buying, ties the paper to the stone, and tells you within thirty seconds whether the person selling to you is comfortable being checked.

Book a complimentary design consultation at our Kuala Lumpur atelier: 010-766 7448 · hq@cgarden.com.my

C'Garden is an independent bespoke jeweller in Kuala Lumpur. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by any organisation, laboratory or brand named in this article. Third-party names are used only to refer factually to those organisations and their published standards. All text and imagery in this article is original work created by C'Garden.

Reference

Gemological Institute of America. (n.d.). Laboratory-grown diamond report (LGDR) by GIA. GIA. https://discover.gia.edu/lgdr-by-gia