Certifications / transparency
Certifications & transparency
We would rather show you the facts than ask you to trust us.
Every stone we work with is independently certified. Every process we follow is documented. This page explains what that means in practice.
Trust in fine jewellery should be earned through evidence, not reputation alone. After twenty-two years in this business, we have built our entire practice around ensuring that every client can verify exactly what they are buying.
Independent certification is not a formality at 88Facets.com. It is the foundation of every transaction. No stone leaves our hands without a grading report from a laboratory we trust, and no client is asked to accept a claim we cannot substantiate with paperwork.
Diamond grading laboratories
The three certificates we accept
We work exclusively with diamonds certified by GIA, IGI, or HRD. These are the three laboratories whose grading standards we consider rigorous and consistent. We do not accept certificates from lesser-known laboratories, regardless of how a stone is presented to us.
Natural diamonds of all sizes. The global benchmark — conservative, consistent, and accepted by every reputable reseller, insurer, and estate valuator worldwide. A GIA grade is the closest thing to an objective fact in the diamond market.
GIA grades conservatively. Two diamonds with identical GIA grades will be genuinely comparable. This is why GIA-certified stones carry a premium — the grade means exactly what it says.
Natural diamonds · Primary choiceLab-grown diamonds of all sizes. IGI is the dominant certifier in the lab-grown market and their grading for these stones is considered reliable and widely accepted. For natural diamonds, IGI has historically graded more generously than GIA.
When comparing an IGI-graded natural diamond to a GIA-graded stone at the same price, the difference often reflects the grading difference rather than a genuine bargain. We explain this to every client.
Lab-grown diamonds · Primary choiceNatural diamonds sourced from Antwerp, the world's foremost diamond trading centre. HRD applies rigorous European grading standards and their certificates carry significant weight with insurers and resellers across Europe.
HRD grading is comparable to GIA in rigour and is the preferred certificate for many European clients. Stones carrying HRD certificates are often sourced directly from the Antwerp market.
Natural diamonds · European standardReading a grading report
What a certificate tells you — and what it does not
What does the certificate number verify?
Each certificate carries a unique number that corresponds to a specific stone in the laboratory's database. You can verify any GIA, IGI, or HRD certificate independently on the laboratory's website. We encourage every client to do this — it takes two minutes and confirms that the stone in your ring is exactly the stone that was graded.
Why does the same grade look different in two stones?
Grading reports capture measurable properties. They do not capture the way a stone performs visually — its fire, its scintillation, the depth of its light return. Two VS1 diamonds with identical cut grades can look completely different in person. The certificate is the starting point, not the conclusion.
Is a higher grade always better?
Not always. A D-colour, internally flawless diamond commands a price premium that is invisible to the human eye in most settings. An F-colour, VS2 stone set in yellow gold is optically indistinguishable from a D-IF in the same setting. We will always tell you where diminishing returns begin for your specific brief.
What is not on the certificate?
Character. The certificate does not tell you whether a stone is alive — whether it moves with the light in a way that makes you look twice. This is the quality that distinguishes a stone you will love for forty years from one that is merely correct on paper. It can only be assessed in person.
Ethical sourcing
The Kimberley Process & beyond
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is an international agreement between governments, industry, and civil society that regulates the trade in rough diamonds to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds. Every natural diamond we work with is sourced from dealers who operate within the Kimberley Process framework. We acknowledge that the KPCS has limitations — it addresses conflict financing but does not cover all aspects of ethical mining. This is why we go further: preferring diamonds from Canada, Botswana, and Namibia, where regulatory frameworks and labour standards are independently verifiable.
"Transparency is not a feature we offer when it suits us. It is the basis on which we ask a client to spend a significant amount of money on something we have made."
Our transparency commitments
What we promise to every client
What you receive
Documentation included with every piece
If you have a question that this page does not answer, ask it. There is no question about a diamond, a certificate, or a sourcing decision that we consider too detailed or too difficult.
— 88Facets.com · info@88facets.com