Understanding Your IGI Appraisals Report

If you want to make sure that the diamond or diamonds that you buy are worth the money you paid for them, it is important to have an IGI appraisals report for each one. This is especially important if you want to take out insurance on the diamonds or if you plan to sell them in the future. The Summation of Appraisals will give you details of the gemological report on each diamond you submit to the International Gemological Institute.

With IGI appraisals, as with other facilities that appraise diamonds, such as EGL diamonds, a team of gemologists studies and analyzes the diamonds to provide details of the color, carat, clarity and cut, which are known as the four C's of diamonds. The summary report will also include a color photo of each diamond and if you wish the IGI logo can be engraved on the shank of a diamond ring to prove that the appraisal report is legitimate. This engraving is important for identification purposes, should you have a diamond ring stolen in a robbery.

Along with having an IGI appraisal, you can also have letters and numbers laser imprinted on the diamond itself. This often takes the form of the number of the report and will not mar the diamond in any way. The only way it can be seen is under a 10x microscope. If you purchase a diamond as a gift and want to have it appraised, you can also have a personalized message laser imprinted on the stone as identification which although original and thoughtful, will probably keep the diamond from being grouped with money back guarantee diamonds.

The latest breakthrough in the diamond world in providing service to customers requesting IGI appraisals is the institute's ability to perform table branding. This allows jewelry resellers to imprint their own logo or brand name on the diamond. Customers can only see this imprint using specialized viewing equipment at the seller's location. Using this equipment, buyers are able to see a large 3-D image. An enlarged picture of this branding is added to the report if you avail of this service in the appraisal.

Although you can have your diamond appraised at other facilities, such as EGL diamonds or GIA diamond rings, IGI appraisals is the only one that offers diamond repair at the present time. Even though the diamond is the hardest of the precious metals, it can be subject to chipping and wear and tear over time. The polishers of IGI are masters at their craft and can even remodel diamond cuts that are no longer in fashion. They can also rearrange the facets of a diamond that has been cut poorly.

The report your receive after having IGI appraisals carried out is basically a statement that proves the diamond is real and is not a substitute, such as a cubic zirconia diamond. In addition to the summary of the four C's, you will also see a diagram of the diamond in which all the information of the report is shown in detail. This will give you information about the diamond that you probably didn't realize at all. For jewelers selling loose stones, IGI appraisals will, upon request, seal the stone along with the report into a plastic container.

Then when the customer comes in to make a purchase the report is readily available for them so that they can scrutinize the diamond properties to make sure that it is the stone they want. If you are not familiar with diamonds you may wonder why so much attention is paid to the color of the diamonds. Even though they may look white, very few diamonds are actually pure white and the traces of color in the stone can diminish its value. At the same time, there are colored diamonds, which are very rare and therefore very expensive. This is why gemologists pay particular attention to color when they are appraising the value of a diamond.


Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She also is a licensed gemologist specializing in GIA diamond rings and proper IGI appraisals for money back guarantee diamonds. For design-your-own jewelry, check out http://www.diamondwave.com/.