Trust Infrastructure · IGI Certification
Verify it here — or verify any IGI report you receive from any vendor. The lookup below links directly to IGI's official verification system. No account required.
Step 1
Your report number is printed in the upper-left corner of your IGI laboratory report. It is also laser-inscribed on the diamond's girdle (the narrow band around the widest part of the stone) — visible under 10× magnification with a loupe.
Clicking Verify on IGI.org opens IGI's official verification page in a new tab, pre-filled with your number, so you keep your place here.
Find your report number on the upper-left of your laboratory report or laser-inscribed on the diamond's girdle.
This tool links directly to igi.org/verify-your-report — the same official page IGI provides to all consumers. StudsDirect does not intercept or store the report number you enter.
How to Read Your Cert
An IGI laboratory report packs a lot of information into a small card. Here's what each field means — and why it matters.
Know the Limits
An IGI report is a gemological opinion, not a guarantee. Understanding what it covers — and what falls outside its scope — helps you make a fully informed purchase.
| Item | IGI Verifies This? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The 4Cs (Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat) | ✓ Yes | Core grading output. Assessed by trained gemologists under standardized conditions. |
| Diamond dimensions | ✓ Yes | Measured in millimeters on a calibrated proportion scope. |
| Origin (lab-grown vs natural) | ✓ Yes | Confirmed via spectroscopic analysis (FTIR, UV-Vis). This is the definitive origin determination. |
| Setting metal purity | ✗ No | Metal purity (14K, 18K gold; 925 sterling) is verified by hallmarking — a separate certification system. IGI grades the stone only, not the setting. StudsDirect uses solid 14K gold on all settings. |
| Diamond price | ✗ No | IGI does not appraise monetary value. For insurance purposes, you need a separate appraisal from a certified appraiser — the cert is the input, not the output. |
| Seller's return policy | ✗ No | The cert says nothing about who sold it, at what price, or on what terms. Always read the seller's return and exchange policy separately. |
Our Standard
Every stone that ships from StudsDirect has been independently graded by IGI before it ever arrives with us. We don't see it until the cert exists. That's not a legal requirement — it's a choice. Self-graded diamonds exist and they're legal. We just don't do it.
Before any piece ships, I (Mark) check the cert against the stone under magnification. If the stone looks off — even slightly — it goes back. The IGI cert is the floor, not the ceiling. VVS+ is the minimum; if a stone looks cloudier than its grade suggests, the grade is irrelevant.
The result: you get a stone where both the lab and the founder have personally signed off on what's in the box.
Common Questions
Double-check the number printed on the upper-left of your laboratory report, or the laser inscription on the diamond's girdle. IGI report numbers are typically 10–13 digits and contain only numbers, no letters. If you've confirmed the number and it still fails, contact us at contact@studsdirect.com with a photo of your cert — we'll sort it out.
No — this tool links directly to IGI's official verification system. To verify a GIA report, go to gia.edu/report-check. StudsDirect diamonds ship exclusively with IGI laboratory reports.
IGI applies the same 4Cs grading criteria (cut, color, clarity, carat) to both lab-grown and natural diamonds using the same grading laboratory infrastructure. The only difference on the cert is the origin designation — "Laboratory Grown" instead of "Natural." IGI began issuing dedicated lab-grown reports in 2020 after updating its grading language.
"Laboratory Grown" (sometimes written as "Lab Grown" or "Lab-Created") means the diamond was grown in a controlled environment — either via High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) — rather than mined from the earth. The chemical and physical composition is identical to a mined diamond: pure carbon, same crystal structure, same optical properties. IGI confirms the origin through spectroscopic analysis.
Practically no. IGI's laser inscription system writes directly on the diamond's girdle using a controlled laser beam — the inscription is permanent and visible under 10× magnification. To fake it convincingly you'd need to: swap a diamond with an identical-looking substitute, laser-inscribe a matching number on the new stone, and ensure the cut, carat, and clarity match the cert exactly. That's far more effort than the diamond is worth. The honest threat model for consumers is cert swapping — a fraudulent dealer presenting one cert with a different stone. Buying from a reputable source with clear provenance documentation (like StudsDirect) removes that risk.