Items of significant value always come with important documentation. For diamonds, GIA standardised the nomenclature for describing its quality about 60 years ago. GIA was a pioneer in defining the processes for grading diamonds and issuing the first grading reports in the world to communicate these findings.

Today, GIA enjoys a pre-eminent reputation for unrivalled consistency and integrity in identifying and grading diamonds, coloured stones and pearls.

People around the world trust GIA reports because:

• GIA invests heavily in research, staff training and the latest technology to perfect its understanding of gemstones.
• Every stone is tested to determine whether it is natural or lab-grown.
• Every diamond is tested for laser-drilling, fracture-filling, irradiation, high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD).
• As the world's largest grading laboratory, GIA has greater exposure to and understanding of a wider variety of specimens. GIA is the laboratory of choice for some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond (45.52 carats) and the De Beers Centenary Diamond (273.85 carats)
• GIA operates under a set of core principles designed to protect the objectivity and accuracy of its reports, including anonymity, equality (with all customers and diamonds), security, and globally consistent standards and practices.

GIA is an independent entity in every sense of the term. It is not affiliated with any retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer, which is why gem professionals and consumers everywhere consider GIA reports the benchmark for trusted gemstone analysis.