Guide

Understanding diamonds: reports, laboratories, the 4Cs, cuts and buying from Dubai

Factual articles on the questions that come up before buying a certified diamond – written by STIG International, with sources at GIA, IGI, HRD Antwerp and the Kimberley Process.

• How to verify a GIA report: step by stepVerify a GIA report in five minutes: find the report number, open GIA Report Check, compare the data, read the laser inscription. With links to GIA, IGI and HRD.
• GIA, IGI or HRD: the laboratories comparedWhat distinguishes GIA, IGI and HRD Antwerp: history, locations, scales, terminology, verification services. A factual comparison of the three laboratories whose reports are most common in the diamond trade.
• The 4Cs explained: carat, colour, clarity, cutThe 4Cs of a diamond explained simply, with tables for colour D–N and clarity FL–I1, cut grades and the fifth C, the certificate.
• Diamond cuts at a glance: round brilliant, oval, emerald, cushion, princess, pear, marquiseThe main diamond cuts compared: facets, length-to-width ratio, light behaviour, vulnerability and what to look at on the report.
• Fluorescence in diamonds: what it meansDiamond fluorescence explained: what the report says (None to Very Strong), when it is visible, when it matters and when it does not.
• What is a laser inscription (girdle inscription)?Laser inscription on a diamond's girdle: what is engraved, how to read it, what it proves and what it does not, and how it relates to the report.
• The Kimberley Process: conflict-free origin of diamondsThe Kimberley Process explained: origins in 2003, how it works with certificates for rough diamonds, participants, limits of the scheme and what "conflict-free" means for buyers.
• Buying a diamond from Dubai: process, shipping and import into Germany, Austria and SwitzerlandHow buying a diamond from STIG International in Dubai works: selection, report verification, payment, insured shipping, handover against ID, withdrawal – and what to know about import into the EU and Switzerland.