Igi Vs Gia Vs Gcal

The igi started out as the blue color workhorse of the diamond business.

Igi vs gia vs gcal. It is very consistent and a standard bearer for diamond grading in the industry. Well actually jewellers get their stones graded by igi for a reason. The international gemological institute igi is also improving its process of grading diamonds. Igi graded a diamond f while gia graded it e.

Before we root for somebody let us give you some context of why jewellers actually choose igi certified diamonds rather than gia or gcal certified ones. Understanding certification is a vital step in buying a beautiful diamond for the right price. They were the most popular gem lab for the major jewelry chains in the us and canada kay zales etc they are like a factory. The igi vs the gia the ags.

For example a diamond graded to be g color by egl igi might probably be graded as an i color by gia ags. Igi simply uses different nomenclature for their cut grading and this does not mean that igi is better than gia in that regard. You may be well versed in the four c s of diamond buying cut color carat and clarity but diamond certification is just as important. Igi is improving but is still not on par with gia the gemological institute of america or gia is the best lab in the world.

Since the share of their certificates in the marketplace is negligible there is no reliable data on their ability to grade stones according to universally accepted standards. They work fast and their prices are much better than gia s and ags s. Gcal founded in 2001 in new york city. Igi the international gemological institute was established in 1975 in antwerp.

We highly recommend gia as the top lab and we also consider ags hrd and gcal as reliable labs. Gia color grading summary results of the color grade comparison are shown in table 2. The international gemological institute is based in. Igi was looser in 7 cases e g.

Now within these certifications igi says that their clarity is better than gia or gcal and gia says the vice versa. The international gemological institute or igi is also a very large institution and it has been around since 1975. When it comes to comparing grading standards between igi vs gia i can tell you that the latter is the better choice of lab. The same goes for diamond clarity grading.

By tiffany moore. Igi graded a diamond g color while gia graded it h color.