How do I verify a GIA diamond certificate online?

Question

Accepted Answer

Go to gia.edu, click Report Check, enter the report number and the carat weight printed on the dealer’s paper, and confirm the database returns the same grades. The GIA database is the only authoritative source. If the paper does not match the database, walk away from the transaction. Verification is free and takes under a minute. The GIA Report Check tool at gia.edu is the only authoritative way to confirm a GIA grading report. The tool is free, requires no account, and returns the grades the GIA originally issued. Enter the report number (six to ten digits, top right of the paper report) and the carat weight printed alongside it. The system returns the full grading: colour, clarity, cut, polish, symmetry, fluorescence, and the plotted clarity diagram. Two things to check beyond the database match. First, the report number is laser-inscribed on the girdle of the stone itself; verify under a 10x loupe that the inscription matches the paper. Second, if the dealer cannot or will not let you verify before signing, that is the answer to your buying decision. Reputable dealers in the South African trade expect this step. For the full reader’s guide to grading reports, see A reader’s guide to South African diamond certificates. The wider SA diamond statistics page documents the grading-tier landscape in figures.