The difference between certificates
Among the most recognized diamond grading certificates in the world today, one of the most prominent is the HRD certificate from Europe.
But what does HRD stand for?
HRD is the abbreviation of “Hoge Raad voor Diamant”, which translates to “High Council for Diamonds” in English. Based in Antwerp, Belgium, HRD represents the highest standard of diamond certification in Europe.
As the first diamond grading institute to be ISO-certified, HRD sets a benchmark for accuracy, consistency, and integrity in diamond evaluation.
This international recognition has made the HRD certificate a trusted symbol of authenticity and quality in the global diamond industry.
How Did Diamond Certificates Come Into Existence?
Since the 1970s, diamond investment has been a highly profitable industry. However, prior to that time, there was no universally recognized diamond certification system within the trade.
It was in the early 1970s, when diamond investment began to gain popularity, that the demand for a reliable grading system emerged. As investment interest surged, so did diamond prices—especially for stones with higher color and clarity grades.
Thanks to improvements in the trade structure of rough diamonds and a more transparent supply chain, the diamond market became increasingly secure. With prices steadily climbing, investing in diamonds grew even more appealing. This trend attracted not only traditional industry insiders, but also investors and entrepreneurs from outside the trade, who began exploring this emerging market.
To boost diamond consumption, some organizations established a series of gemological laboratories and began issuing certificates aimed at inflating prices. These diamond labs began to spring up like mushrooms after the rain, each adopting its own grading standards and proprietary naming systems.
However, these certificates offered no real assurance of quality or consistency. Most laboratories did not recognize each other's evaluations, resulting in a lack of uniformity and credibility. As a result, buyers often became the victims, unknowingly purchasing diamonds with overstated grades. The overall trust in diamond certification began to decline significantly.
In 1972, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) held an international congress in Antwerp to address the issue of diamond grading standards. However, the outcome of the meeting was far from promising.
Diamond traders remained skeptical of the grading certificates, and even more concerning was the growing public doubt surrounding diamond standards—partly fueled by political interference. This lack of trust hindered the establishment of a unified and reliable certification system at the time.
In 1974, the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD), or the Diamond High Council of Belgium, approved the establishment of a certification office under the Scientific and Technical Research Center. The goal was to develop a verifiable and objective grading standard. This research was conducted in Antwerp, and the experience gained laid the foundation for later negotiations by a joint committee. At the same time, a document titled Project for Normalising the Specifications of Diamond was published.
In 1975, the Diamond Council abolished many questionable standards and naming systems used by unqualified laboratories. A joint committee was established, composed of representatives from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), to address the ongoing issues. The committee reached the following resolutions:
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A unified standard must be established that is recognized by international organizations.
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These standards must employ consistent methods and remain verifiable under all circumstances.
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Laboratories must be established and accredited by professional organizations affiliated with IDMA and WFDB.
The standardized terminology and grading system developed by representatives from the joint committee of HRD and CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) were officially accepted by other organizations after the conference. The original master copy of this diamond grading standard has been preserved in Antwerp.
In order to fully evaluate the beauty of a diamond, all relevant details can be found in an HRD certificate. A certificate is only useful when it is trustworthy and widely recognized — the HRD certificate enjoys a strong reputation for its objectivity, reliability, and quality.
In February 1996, the HRD certification department was awarded the ISO 9002 quality label for its grading of polished diamonds. Today, HRD diamond certificates are officially recognized by most countries and institutions around the world.
If you purchase a diamond certified by HRD, you can verify the authenticity of your certificate by visiting the official HRD website at http://www.hrdantwerplink.be/ and entering the diamond’s carat weight and certificate number.
In addition to HRD, there are several other internationally recognized diamond certificates, such as those issued by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
GIA stands for the Gemological Institute of America. Founded in 1931, it is considered a later entrant compared to the Hoge Raad voor Diamant (HRD) in Belgium. At that time, many jewelers lacked a deep understanding of the gemstones they worked with. Recognizing this gap, a sharp-minded jeweler named Robert M. Shipley saw an opportunity and invested his life savings to establish GIA in Los Angeles. His goal was to provide professional training, gemstone grading services, and specialized equipment for the jewelry industry.
Although the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) was established as early as 1931, its true period of rapid growth came after World War II, during the 1950s and 60s. This era marked a golden age of economic prosperity in the United States. As people became more affluent, they gained the financial means to purchase luxury items—such as diamonds. This economic boom ushered in a golden era for the diamond industry in the U.S., creating an urgent demand for a standardized, quantifiable method of evaluating diamonds. With foresight, GIA recognized this trend and, building upon previous knowledge, introduced the concept of the "4Cs." This framework provided a crucial theoretical foundation for the diamond trade. Although it has undergone refinements over the years, its core principles remain widely adopted in the industry today.
As a pioneering organization in the standardization of gemstone grading, GIA was also among the first to promote diamond grading certificates to the general public. GIA’s certificates are known for their consistency and carry a kind of industrial elegance rooted in standardization. With its middle-class appeal and highly effective marketing, GIA gained widespread public recognition. Following HRD's entry into the Chinese market in the 1990s, GIA soon followed in the early 2000s and quickly became one of the most well-known and trusted international diamond certificates in China.
To this day, GIA is widely recognized as one of the most rigorous and authoritative diamond certification institutions in the world. It has earned the trust of both the market and consumers. If you purchase a diamond with a GIA certificate, you can verify its authenticity by entering the report number found on the certificate at the official website: http://www.gia.edu/report-check-landing.
After introducing HRD and GIA, let’s now turn to the third of the three major diamond certificates: the IGI certificate. IGI stands for the International Gemological Institute. Interestingly, IGI shares its roots with HRD, as both originate from Antwerp, Belgium—known as the “Diamond Capital” of the world.
Although it is a heavyweight authority in diamond certification, IGI is considered the "younger sibling" compared to HRD and GIA. Founded in 1975, IGI emerged in the wake of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) jointly deciding to clean up the market by eliminating low-quality and unreliable certificates. IGI’s mission from the beginning has been to provide a reliable certification platform for both diamond and jewelry industry professionals as well as consumers.
IGI was truly born into a prestigious lineage. When it was first established in Antwerp, it offered private diamond grading services exclusively to a select group of Belgium’s most prominent diamond families. As some of these high-quality diamonds made their way into the collections of various European royal households, the name IGI began to quietly gain recognition among royalty.
Over time, IGI became the trusted solution for royal families across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia—especially when dealing with pre-set diamonds that were difficult to assess using standard methods. What began as a diamond grading institute gradually evolved into a renowned authority specializing in the certification of both loose diamonds and high-end jewelry.
Compared to GIA, IGI serves a distinctly different clientele, which is reflected in the unique style of its certificates. From its inception, IGI catered primarily to elites, affluent collectors, and members of royalty. As a result, IGI certificates go beyond simply providing diamond grading information—they are crafted with the same artisanal care as luxury goods, designed to match the refinement and exclusivity of the diamonds themselves. Much like bespoke haute couture, each certificate is tailored to highlight the character of the piece it accompanies.
This personalized, luxury-oriented approach has made IGI the preferred certification body for many high-end brands. For example, luxury houses like Dior and Montblanc often include IGI’s custom certificates with their diamond jewelry collections. Even celebrities such as Paris Hilton have turned to IGI, which graded the pink diamonds in one of her signature timepieces.
Today, IGI has gradually shifted its market strategy and begun expanding into the broader consumer market. If you’ve purchased a diamond with an IGI certificate, you can verify its authenticity by entering the certificate number on the official IGI website at:
http://www.igiworldwide.com/ch/search_report.aspx.
We’ve now explored the three major diamond grading certificates—HRD, GIA, and IGI—and gained a general understanding of their origins. Although these organizations had different goals and market focuses when they were first established, the resolutions passed at the 1974 international meeting on standardized diamond grading laid the foundation for decades of integration, development, and unification. Today, all three institutions follow consistent and internationally recognized grading standards.
Each certificate serves the same essential purpose: to provide a trustworthy, objective assessment of a diamond’s quality and to protect the rights of consumers. As professionals in the industry often say, “Rather than obsessing over which certificate to choose, it’s far more practical to spend that energy selecting the perfect 4C combination that speaks to you."
