The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced the details of its new standards for grading laboratory-grown diamonds, which will take effect starting October 1.
Under the new system, the traditional terminology used for natural diamonds will be replaced with the designations “Premium” and “Standard” to describe lab-grown diamond quality. The classification will be based on color, clarity, and cut, as part of GIA’s Lab-Grown Diamond Quality Assessment program.
New Grading Categories:
Premium:
D color
Minimum VVS clarity
Excellent polish and symmetry
For round brilliants: must also receive an “Excellent Cut” grade.
Standard:
Color range from E to J
VS clarity
“Very Good” polish
Symmetry of “Good” for fancy shapes and “Very Good” for round brilliants
Round brilliants must also have a “Very Good” cut grade.
The institute clarified that any diamond combining characteristics of both categories will automatically be classified as Standard.
Certification Fees:
Reports will cost $15 per carat, with a minimum fee of $15.
Example: A 5-carat stone = $75; a 0.50-carat stone = $15.
Stones smaller than 0.15 carats will not be accepted.
Inscription and Reports:
Each graded stone will have its girdle laser-inscribed with the words “laboratory-grown” along with a GIA quality assessment number. Diamonds that do not meet the Standard criteria will not receive a report; instead, they will be returned to the submitter, who will still be charged a $5 evaluation fee.
Transition Period:
Current GIA reports for D-to-Z color lab-grown diamonds will remain available until September 30, after which the new system will be implemented.
Significance of the Decision
GIA CEO Pritesh Patel explained that adopting clearer descriptive terms for lab-grown diamonds is appropriate, since most of these stones fall within a narrow range of color and clarity. He emphasized that it is no longer suitable to use the terminology originally designed for natural diamonds to describe a manufactured product.
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