More and more diamond vendors are increasingly flaunting their wares (diamond items) as ‘GIA diamonds.’ What they mean when they pass their wares off as GIA diamonds, of course, is that their wares have been certified by GIA, GIA itself being an acronym for the Gemological Institute of America, which is widely regarded as the most authoritative body on diamonds and gemstones in the world.
In order to understand why many vendors are increasingly invoking the name of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) when trying to sell their wares, by branding them GIA diamonds, it is important to get a little background to the trend.
As it turns out, diamond is one of the rarest and most sought after materials in the world. The most distinguishing features of diamond that make it so desirable are mainly its strength (being the strongest material in the world), as well as its exquisite beauty – being one of the most beautiful stones in the world as well. Diamond, especially the higher grades of it, is mainly used in making jewelry, such as rings and necklaces; where it is its beauty that makes it ideal for this particular use. The lower grades of diamond, the dregs of it as it were, are used in making drills bits and similar materials where hardness is called for, where it is diamond’s strength that is the most valued quality.
Unfortunately, diamond is also one of the most imitated materials in the world. Indeed, it is not unheard of someone getting a thick bright piece of colorless glass, cutting it to look like diamond (which typically has a very unique shape); and then passing off the piece of glass so cut as diamond – and often selling it off at hefty prices to unsuspecting people who might never get to know that they have been taken for a ride.
Due to instances like the one described above, where people have been duped to buy what can only be described as crap, it became necessary to come up with a body that would be responsible for certifying what is genuine diamond and what is not – a bill that fitted the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) very well, since GIA was known to be home to some of the best brains in the gemology, the science through which we can work out what is and what is not really diamond.
So what the vendors of diamond products who flaunt their products as GIA diamond are implying is that their products are GIA certified. And indeed, if what is being sold as GIA diamonds turns out to be diamond that has passed through the GIA’s extensive tests (which typically involve stringent tests for color, diamond cut, diamond carat weight and its clarity), then they would indeed be great diamonds worth purchasing.
It is important, of course, to know what constitutes genuine GIA certification and what doesn’t, because in spite of the existence of GIA, there have still been the occasional instances of fraudsters passing off all manner of diamond-like stuff as ‘genuine GIA diamonds.’
