You might be planning to order your engagement ring from any online diamond retailers. While searching for diamonds, you will need to compare various stones. When it comes to comparing diamonds, it is important for you to look out for consistency rather than watching for the strictness of grading.

For instance, IGI will not grade a diamond the same way the GIA grades the stone. The reliability of the clarity and color grades is usually only as good as the reputation of the certifying lab. However, if a particular lab consistently gives a clarity grade higher than some other lab, it does not mean that the lab is less authentic.

We can take color grades as an example to understand the issue in a better way. While choosing a good diamond setting, you need to select at least an H color diamond. You might feel that you have struck a good deal when you find an H color diamond with an IGI certification. However, you might later realize that the diamond has a yellow tint. The reason is that the diamond will be of I color as per the GIA certification. So rather than just comparing the grades between the different certifications, you also need to look for the consistency within the grading decisions.

Diamond Grading Can Be Subjective

All diamond grading is subjective. We need to understand that there is no central organization, which mathematically defines what a G color diamond will look like or what an SI1 clarity stone should look like. If one of the labs consistently calls a color grade “G” while some other lab consistently call the same color “H”, it is perfectly reasonable and acceptable, as long as both the labs do so consistently.

Note that it is not logical to buy a diamond with a poor grading at a higher price, even if the gemological lab is very consistent in their diamond grading. Of course, you will not get the value for the price that you are paying this way. You will also need to evaluate the price of the diamond regardless of its certification. Just make sure that the price of the diamond reflects the actual beauty and quality of the same.