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A Certificate Is Not Just Paperwork

When you spend a significant amount on a diamond — whether for an engagement ring or a pendant — the certificate that comes with it is your only independent proof of what you actually bought. Without it, you are trusting the seller’s word on cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. That is a lot of trust to extend on something this valuable.

Lab grown diamonds are no different. In fact, the certification question comes up more often with lab grown stones because buyers are still getting comfortable with the category. The short answer: yes, lab grown diamonds are certified — by the same globally recognised laboratories that grade mined diamonds. The two names that matter most are IGI (International Gemological Institute) and GIA (Gemological Institute of America).

Elevé Diamonds carries IGI-certified lab grown diamonds, which means every stone has been independently examined and graded before it reaches you. But what does that actually mean in practice? And is there a meaningful difference between IGI and GIA for a lab grown stone? Here is what buyers in Hyderabad should know before they shop.

What a Grading Report Actually Contains

A diamond grading report is essentially a technical identity document for a specific stone. It does not appraise monetary value — that is a separate exercise — but it objectively documents every quality characteristic that determines what a diamond is worth.

For a lab grown diamond, an IGI report covers the following:

• Origin declaration: The certificate clearly states the diamond is laboratory-grown, not mined. This is a legal and factual disclosure, not a marketing note.
• The 4Cs: Carat weight, cut grade, color grade (on the D-to-Z scale), and clarity grade (from Flawless down to Included). These four measurements are the global standard for comparing diamonds.
• Shape and measurements: The exact dimensions of the stone in millimetres, along with the cutting style (round brilliant, oval, princess, emerald, etc.).
• Polish and symmetry grades: How well the diamond was finished after cutting.
• Fluorescence: Whether the stone emits light under UV, and how strongly.
• Unique report number: A traceable identifier that is often laser-inscribed on the diamond’s girdle.

The report number matters more than most buyers realise. You can enter it on the IGI website at igi.org to pull up the full digital record and confirm it matches the physical stone in front of you. Both IGI and GIA offer free, instant online verification — and it is worth doing before any purchase, since counterfeit reports do exist in the broader market.

For round brilliant cuts specifically, IGI compares the stone’s proportions against its own studies of brightness, fire, and scintillation to arrive at the cut grade — so the grade reflects actual light performance, not just geometry.

IGI vs GIA: Which One Should You Care About for Lab Grown Diamonds?

Both laboratories are legitimate and well-regarded. The practical differences between them are smaller than the amount of online debate suggests, but they are worth understanding.

GIA has been grading diamonds since 1931 and is widely considered the strictest standard for natural diamonds. It began certifying lab grown diamonds in 2007. In 2025, GIA shifted its grading approach for lab grown stones to use broader descriptive categories rather than the granular letter grades it applies to mined diamonds — a change that has made its lab grown reports somewhat less precise for direct stone-to-stone comparison.

IGI, founded in Antwerp in 1975, moved earlier and more aggressively into the lab grown space. It has graded millions of lab grown diamonds and understands the specific characteristics of both HPHT and CVD growth methods. Its reports use the full 4Cs grading system for lab grown stones — the same granular letter grades buyers are used to — which makes comparison shopping more straightforward. IGI currently holds over 70% market share in lab grown diamond certification globally, and the majority of reputable lab grown diamond retailers use IGI reports as their standard.

The one nuance worth knowing: IGI’s grading tends to be slightly more lenient than GIA’s, particularly on color and clarity. Some gemologists estimate the difference at roughly half a grade. In practical terms, this means a stone graded VVS2/E by IGI may be closer to VS2/F on GIA’s scale. Both are still beautiful, eye-clean diamonds — but it is useful context when comparing prices across retailers who use different labs.

For lab grown diamonds specifically, IGI certification is the industry standard and what most buyers will encounter. The additional cost of a GIA report on a lab grown stone does not tend to translate into any functional benefit for the buyer.

Why Certification Matters Even More in India

India’s lab grown diamond market has grown quickly, and Hyderabad in particular has seen a wave of new retailers entering the category. That growth is largely positive — it means more choice and more competitive pricing for buyers. But it also means the market includes sellers at varying levels of transparency.

A certification from IGI or GIA is an independent, third-party assessment. The laboratory has no financial stake in the sale. Its job is to describe the stone accurately, not to help anyone sell it. That independence is what gives the report its value.

Without a certificate, there is no reliable way for a buyer — or even most jewellers — to distinguish a lab grown diamond from a simulant like moissanite or cubic zirconia. Only specialised instruments at a grading laboratory can make that determination definitively. An IGI or GIA report tells you, with certainty, that the stone is a real diamond, that it was grown in a laboratory, and exactly what its quality characteristics are.

For buyers shopping diamond earrings or a solitaire pendant, this matters at every price point — not just at the top end of the budget. A one-carat VS1/E stone and a one-carat SI2/H stone can look similar in a photograph and feel similar in hand, but they carry meaningfully different values. The certificate is what tells you which one you have.

How to Read Your Certificate Before You Buy

Most buyers receive a certificate after purchase and file it away. A more useful habit is to review it before you commit. Here is what to focus on:

Start with the report number. Check that it matches the laser inscription on the diamond’s girdle — a thin band around the stone’s widest point. If the seller cannot show you this match, ask why.

Look at the 4Cs in order of impact. Cut is the most consequential grade for how a diamond looks day-to-day. A well-cut diamond reflects light efficiently and appears brighter than a poorly-cut stone of higher color or clarity. After cut, color and clarity determine how clean and white the stone appears. Carat is simply weight — and a heavier stone with a poor cut grade will often look duller than a lighter stone with an excellent one.

Check the origin declaration. The certificate should explicitly state that the diamond is laboratory-grown. This is not a downgrade — it is a factual statement that the stone was created using HPHT or CVD technology rather than extracted from the earth. The diamond’s physical, chemical, and optical properties are identical to a mined stone of the same grade.

Verify online. For IGI, go to igi.org and use the ‘Verify Your Report’ feature. Enter the report number and carat weight. The result should match the paper certificate exactly. For GIA, the same check is available through GIA’s Report Check portal.

Elevé Diamonds, built on over eight decades of Tibarumal’s jewellery expertise, provides IGI-certified stones across its collections — from diamond rings to necklaces — so buyers have the documentation they need to verify their purchase independently. That transparency is part of what certification is for.