The value proper of any diamond is made up of a number of its characteristics, including its authenticity, which is enumerated in the evaluation report. Every diamond is required to possess a special certificate that would justify that the precious gemstone has been examined and received at least one of the certification types available today. The certificate is referred to as the diamond's pedigree and is a very important document, indispensable in case of loss of the gem for the insurance company to have grounds to compensate for the lost gem or replace it for one of similar quality and value.

There are a few certification types, each of which presupposes a very comprehensive examination of diamonds from many respects. However, it should be borne in mind that containing exhaustive information about the diamond's quality none of all certification types explicitly states the price of the examined gemstone. Therefore certificates can not be referred to as appraisals, but rather a means of documenting the results of the impartial diamond grading on the basis of scrupulous examination.

There exist specialized laboratories that can effectively examine and grade the diamond without any bias, providing an independently compiled list that accurately enumerates the intrinsic characteristics of a particular diamond.

The Gemological institute of America is the organization that was first set up for the purpose of diamond certification. It was set up in 1953 and its appearance as triggered by the introduction of the International Diamond Grading System, which was then universally accepted. Almost all certification types provide what is normally referred to as the grading report, or evaluation report. It is designed on the basis of careful analysis and comprises a diagram featuring all of the diamond's characteristics. This evaluation report is the result of any particular one of the range of the certification types available. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the diamond grading report is similar to human fingerprints.

As regards different certification types, International gemological institute has the distinction of being the largest organization in the world, which would concentrate its activity on grading and evaluation of gems. The universally renowned appraisal institute carries out independent research and provides gem certifications. In the whole world the International gemological institute is associated with the highest level of proficiency and experience, accumulated over the years of operation in the jewelry industry.

Extensive expertise has conditioned continuous operation of the International gemological institute (abbreviated as IGI) in course of 25 years. International gemological institute was initially established in the city of Antwerp in 1975. The institute now has numerous offices in a number of cities all over the world. The IGI, which is the oldest institution of such specialization, is extremely prolific in terms of reports, serving the basis for jewelry analyses.