Diamond Certification Australia, Where to Get a Diamond Certificate Worldwide & Why DCLA Leads

 

Whether you’re buying an engagement ring, insuring a family heirloom or selling a stone, one document matters more than any other: an independent diamond grading certificate. It is the diamond’s passport, the record of its identity, quality and origin. But not all certificates carry equal weight, and where your diamond is graded can shape its value, its insurability and its resale prospects for decades.

Where to Get a Diamond Certificate Worldwide

Diamond certification is offered by a number of laboratories around the world. In the United States, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the American Gem Society (AGS) are widely known. In Europe, Antwerp is home to HRD Antwerp and the headquarters of the International Gemological Institute (IGI), which also operates extensively across India and Asia. Each has its own strengths, and each serves markets primarily in its own region.

For Australian buyers, sellers and jewellers, however, sending a diamond overseas for grading introduces real complications: international shipping, insurance limitations, customs, weeks of waiting and, most importantly, no chance to see who is grading your stone or ask them questions. That is why a locally based, internationally accredited laboratory matters.

DCLA: 25 Years of Independent Diamond Grading in Australia

The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA) was established in 2001 in Sydney, marking a quarter of a century serving the Australian diamond trade and public. From its laboratory at Suite 901, Level 9, Citisite House, 155 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, DCLA has become the benchmark for diamond certification in the country. Learn more about DCLA.

International Accreditation: CIBJO, WFDB and IDC

A certificate is only as credible as the standards behind it, and DCLA’s credentials are recognised at the highest levels of the international diamond industry.

CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation). DCLA is the official CIBJO laboratory for Australia and holds the CIBJO C2 AU Diamond Masterset for colour comparison. The Masterset is the reference set of stones against which diamond colour is graded, so every DCLA colour grade is anchored to an international standard.

IDC (International Diamond Council) and the WFDB. DCLA is a recognised IDC laboratory, as noted in the WorldFed Newsletter No 6. The IDC is the grading standards body established by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) together with the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, representing the world’s diamond bourses and manufacturers. DCLA’s grading protocols align with CIBJO and IDC standards, so its reports are directly comparable to certificates from other internationally recognised laboratories.

Listed on IDEX and RapNet

Credibility in the trade is measured by acceptance in the global marketplace. DCLA is listed on RapNet and IDEX, the two leading international diamond trading platforms. Diamonds carrying a DCLA report can be listed and traded by dealers worldwide, giving owners of DCLA-certified stones access to international markets, not just local ones.

What Sets DCLA Apart

A written full-replacement guarantee. DCLA is the only laboratory in Australia offering a written full-replacement guarantee on every report. Read about the DCLA Diamond Certificate.

Complete independence. DCLA is privately owned and operated, with no trade funding, influence or conflict of interest.

Transparency you can see. Every diamond is graded on-site in Sydney by qualified gemmologists, and clients can meet the team who grade their diamond. Your stone never disappears into a distant facility. See the technology and grading process.

Uncompromising standards on treatments and colour. DCLA screens every diamond for enhancements and issues grading certificates only for diamonds of natural colour origin. Learn about colour authentication and diamond treatments.

Natural and lab-grown expertise. DCLA certifies both natural and lab-grown diamonds, with clear origin disclosure. Understand synthetic diamonds.

Trusted where it counts. DCLA reports are relied on by jewellers, insurers and courts in Australia and beyond.

Beyond the Certificate

Owners can check a certificate online, protect their stone with cold laser inscription, and use diamond verification and traceability services. DCLA also provides diamond and jewellery valuations, rough and uncut diamond services, bespoke jewellery and independent advice on selling a diamond.

New to diamonds? Start with The 5 C’s of Diamonds, explore diamond shapes, or browse the glossary and picture library.

How to Get Your Diamond Certified in Australia

DCLA services are open to both the public and the trade. All diamonds submitted for grading must be loose, not set in jewellery. Stones can be submitted in person at the Sydney laboratory or by courier, with Secure National Couriers used within Australia and Brinks for international clients. See how to submit a diamond.

The Bottom Line

There are many places in the world to get a diamond certificate. For anyone buying, selling or insuring diamonds in Australia, DCLA offers what overseas laboratories cannot: CIBJO and IDC accreditation, acceptance on IDEX and RapNet, a written guarantee, and the chance to meet the gemmologists grading your stone. After 25 years, DCLA remains Australia’s foremost authority in diamonds.

Have questions? Read the FAQs

Sarine Ushers In Era of In-Factory Grading

Sarine Technologies has launched a new platform enabling manufacturers to tap its automated grading systems and issue a report in-house to support the needs of jewelers.

The company this week introduced its eGrading innovation via a video campaign on YouTube claiming the concept would “change diamond grading forever.” It allows manufacturers to self-execute third-party grading of the 4Cs — cut, carat weight, color and clarity — along with other personalized parameters required by the jeweler, without having to send the diamond to a grading laboratory.

“We believe the market is moving in this direction and our technology is now mature enough to make that happen,” CEO David Block told Rapaport News in a briefing at Sarine’s innovation center in Hod Hasharon, Israel.

“The digital aspect opens up the possibility to customize the report, which is difficult for a lab to achieve,” Block explained. “Once you grade the diamond at the source, the manufacturer is now responsible for its own destiny.”

The initiative builds on Sarine’s automated grading systems, with the company first announcing its ability to automate the grading of color and clarity, and therefore all the 4Cs, in 2016. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning to assess the grading results of tens of thousands of diamonds to arrive confidently at its color and clarity decision.

Empowering the manufacturer to execute the report enables it to provide a more personalized service to the jeweler. Block believes eGrading will improve efficiency for manufacturers, since they don’t have to send the stone out to the lab, while still using third-party verification. This saves on the time, expense, and opportunity cost of not having the diamond available to sell. And the retailer benefits from being able to tap the right goods from its supplier in a shorter period.

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

He drew on the experience of the home-video market as an indicator of how eGrading could improve a jeweler’s sourcing capability.

Netflix can suggest movies you might enjoy based on your past viewing history and allows you to watch the trailer before deciding what to watch — from the comfort of your home. That’s a stark contrast to the Blockbuster model, where you had to go to the store and choose a movie you might not like, Block noted.

“Diamond grading is still in the Blockbuster days, where I need to send my diamond to the lab and wait for them to finish grading. They decide what goes in first and I get the stone back with certain criteria that are generally not good enough for me as I go out and sell the diamond,” he added, explaining that lab certificates are too generic.

While the retailer might want to emphasize other parameters such as the stone’s fluorescence, or different types of inclusions, among others, Block asserts it is difficult and expensive for the labs to go into the required level of detail.

Market ready

Sarine claims its technology will provide those details as the system evolves, using the same AI machine-learning principles in other parameters as it applies for color and clarity grading.

In that sense, its eGrading program isn’t a finished product, and probably never will be, because Sarine’s systems are constantly evolving and improving, according to Block. “We’re presenting our vision for where the market is heading and we have developed the technology that we believe makes this possible,” he stressed.

The company expects to reach several new milestones in 2020 as it rolls the program out to the market, Block assured, without divulging what those might be.

He believes the industry is more than ready to embrace the cultural change the company is proposing, observing that the “the midstream is very tech-savvy.”

A means to an end

Block also recognized that others may be entering the same space. Representatives from De Beers and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) joined Block in a panel discussion at the Dubai Diamond Conference in September by asserting that automation of diamond processes will come “sooner than you think.” Each independently stressed that they’re ready to propose a solution.

Sarine is confident it can lead the way in the diamond industry’s “tech revolution,” given that technology is its core competency. Other companies that develop technology are also focused on other areas within the diamond pipeline. Technology, he emphasized, is going to play a big part in bringing about dramatic changes in the diamond industry.

In that spirit, the objective of Sarine’s eGrading initiative is to realign the emphasis currently placed on grading reports, Block added.

“Diamond grading is not a goal in and of itself. Rather, the objective is to help price a diamond and to help source what you’re looking for,” Block said. “We’re looking at how we can improve the process to get to that goal of how to source the diamond. How people source diamonds will change. It’s natural that the industry will shift in this direction.”

Source: DCLA

Sarine Ushers In Era of In-Factory Grading

Sarine Technologies has launched a new platform enabling manufacturers to tap its automated grading systems and issue a report in-house to support the needs of jewelers.

The company this week introduced its eGrading innovation via a video campaign on YouTube claiming the concept would “change diamond grading forever.” It allows manufacturers to self-execute third-party grading of the 4Cs — cut, carat weight, color and clarity — along with other personalized parameters required by the jeweler, without having to send the diamond to a grading laboratory.

“We believe the market is moving in this direction and our technology is now mature enough to make that happen,” CEO David Block told Rapaport News in a briefing at Sarine’s innovation center in Hod Hasharon, Israel.

“The digital aspect opens up the possibility to customize the report, which is difficult for a lab to achieve,” Block explained. “Once you grade the diamond at the source, the manufacturer is now responsible for its own destiny.”

The initiative builds on Sarine’s automated grading systems, with the company first announcing its ability to automate the grading of color and clarity, and therefore all the 4Cs, in 2016. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning to assess the grading results of tens of thousands of diamonds to arrive confidently at its color and clarity decision.

Empowering the manufacturer to execute the report enables it to provide a more personalized service to the jeweler. Block believes eGrading will improve efficiency for manufacturers, since they don’t have to send the stone out to the lab, while still using third-party verification. This saves on the time, expense, and opportunity cost of not having the diamond available to sell. And the retailer benefits from being able to tap the right goods from its supplier in a shorter period.

Netflix vs. Blockbuster

He drew on the experience of the home-video market as an indicator of how eGrading could improve a jeweler’s sourcing capability.

Netflix can suggest movies you might enjoy based on your past viewing history and allows you to watch the trailer before deciding what to watch — from the comfort of your home. That’s a stark contrast to the Blockbuster model, where you had to go to the store and choose a movie you might not like, Block noted.

“Diamond grading is still in the Blockbuster days, where I need to send my diamond to the lab and wait for them to finish grading. They decide what goes in first and I get the stone back with certain criteria that are generally not good enough for me as I go out and sell the diamond,” he added, explaining that lab certificates are too generic.

While the retailer might want to emphasize other parameters such as the stone’s fluorescence, or different types of inclusions, among others, Block asserts it is difficult and expensive for the labs to go into the required level of detail.

Market ready

Sarine claims its technology will provide those details as the system evolves, using the same AI machine-learning principles in other parameters as it applies for color and clarity grading.

In that sense, its eGrading program isn’t a finished product, and probably never will be, because Sarine’s systems are constantly evolving and improving, according to Block. “We’re presenting our vision for where the market is heading and we have developed the technology that we believe makes this possible,” he stressed.

The company expects to reach several new milestones in 2020 as it rolls the program out to the market, Block assured, without divulging what those might be.

He believes the industry is more than ready to embrace the cultural change the company is proposing, observing that the “the midstream is very tech-savvy.”

A means to an end

Block also recognized that others may be entering the same space. Representatives from De Beers and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) joined Block in a panel discussion at the Dubai Diamond Conference in September by asserting that automation of diamond processes will come “sooner than you think.” Each independently stressed that they’re ready to propose a solution.

Sarine is confident it can lead the way in the diamond industry’s “tech revolution,” given that technology is its core competency. Other companies that develop technology are also focused on other areas within the diamond pipeline. Technology, he emphasized, is going to play a big part in bringing about dramatic changes in the diamond industry.

In that spirit, the objective of Sarine’s eGrading initiative is to realign the emphasis currently placed on grading reports, Block added.

“Diamond grading is not a goal in and of itself. Rather, the objective is to help price a diamond and to help source what you’re looking for,” Block said. “We’re looking at how we can improve the process to get to that goal of how to source the diamond. How people source diamonds will change. It’s natural that the industry will shift in this direction.”

Source: DCLA

CIBJO and the IDC Agree

The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the International Diamond Council (IDC) have decided to use the same terminology for describing diamonds, making it easier for consumers to understand grading.

CIBJO agreed to make amendments to its Diamond Book — a guide to grading standards and terminology — following requests by the IDC, an organization that works to ensure consistency in grading across the industry. The IDC’s language will now be “harmonized” with that of the Diamond Book, CIBJO said Tuesday.

“The true beneficiaries of this agreement are the diamond consumers, who will now be able to refer to a single set of rules for describing diamonds,” said CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri.

The two organizations finalized the agreement at the CIBJO Congress in Bangkok this week. The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), one of the IDC’s founding bodies, has also endorsed the new Diamond Book.

IDC http://www.internationaldiamondcouncil.org

Source: diamonds.net

CIBJO and the IDC Agree

The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the International Diamond Council (IDC) have decided to use the same terminology for describing diamonds, making it easier for consumers to understand grading.

CIBJO agreed to make amendments to its Diamond Book — a guide to grading standards and terminology — following requests by the IDC, an organization that works to ensure consistency in grading across the industry. The IDC’s language will now be “harmonized” with that of the Diamond Book, CIBJO said Tuesday.

“The true beneficiaries of this agreement are the diamond consumers, who will now be able to refer to a single set of rules for describing diamonds,” said CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri.

The two organizations finalized the agreement at the CIBJO Congress in Bangkok this week. The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), one of the IDC’s founding bodies, has also endorsed the new Diamond Book.

IDC http://www.internationaldiamondcouncil.org

Source: diamonds.net