An IGI report notes growth process and treatment only upon request — so its absence from a report tells you nothing unless someone asked for it.

“Certified” is an adjective until you check it. This Operia guide is the manual: what each field on a laboratory-grown diamond report means, how to verify one yourself, what a report leaves out, and which credentials no longer exist. For what changed at GIA in October 2025, see IGI vs. GIA for lab-grown diamonds.

What is on the report?

An IGI Laboratory Grown Diamond Report confirms that the stone is laboratory-grown and grades it on the full 4Cs. Field by field:

How do you verify a report yourself?

Before you speak to anyone, you can check a report in a few minutes. Verification with IGI is free and public.

1. 1

   Find the report number on the report, or scan its QR code. Enter it at lookup.igi.org.

2. 2

   Compare the online record with the paper report, field by field: shape, measurements, carat weight and every grade.

3. 3

   Under a 10x loupe, find the inscription on the girdle. It should begin with “LG” and match the report number.

4. 4

   Check the measurements against the stone itself if you or a jeweler can measure it.

What verification proves, and what it doesn’t

What doesn’t the report tell you?

Where a second report adds something

GCAL’s 8X grade is the most demanding cut assessment available. A stone must earn Excellent in all eight of its categories, and fewer than 1 percent of Excellent-cut round brilliants qualify. GCAL also guarantees its grades in writing, which most laboratories don’t. The guarantee is real, and so are its limits:

What Operia requests on every stone

Because the most useful lines on a report appear only when someone asks for them, we ask for them on every stone at submission:

Each stone’s page links to its report, so you can verify it before you speak to us.

Shop Diamonds|Read The Operia Standard

Which credentials no longer exist?

Buyers still ask for two of these, and you may still see them referenced. Here is what each one now means.

AGS grading

AGS Laboratories closed at the end of 2022. In AGS’s own words, once the laboratory closed, “there will be no diamond grading laboratory that grades to the AGS Diamond Grading Standards.” You may still see the AGS name in two other places. The American Gem Society is a trade association, and a retailer’s membership in it is a credential for the firm, not a grade for any stone. And GIA offers an AGS Ideal Report, which is a GIA report using GIA’s own cut methodology.

SCS-007

SCS Global Services retired SCS-007, its sustainability certification for diamonds and gemstones, on September 1, 2026. SCS no longer audits to the standard or maintains it, so it can’t be newly obtained. Companies already certified may keep using their certification until it expires, which is why you may still see it cited for a while.

Member is not certified

A firm can be a member of a trade body. A stone can be graded by a laboratory. They are different claims, and a page that blurs them is telling you less than it seems to.

Appraisal and insurance

Some specialist jewelry insurers cover loose stones, and insure them to their full documented value rather than capping the amount per item. Ask for the basis of cover in writing before you buy a policy: whether it replaces the stone, pays cash, or pays the documented value, and whether laboratory-grown stones are treated the same as natural ones.

Appraisals are conventionally updated every two years. With laboratory-grown prices moving as quickly as they are, a two-year-old appraised replacement value will be materially out of date, so update yours more often than that. Our guide to what a large stone actually costs shows how fast prices have moved.

Frequently asked questions