--- title: "What a diamond grading report is, and what it isn't" description: "What a diamond grading report is and what it isn't: not an appraisal, GIA's main report types, and the five parts that every diamond report has." url: https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/what-is-a-diamond-grading-report image: https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/gr-l1-report-five-parts.webp?v=2019e462 --- > Markdown copy of https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/what-is-a-diamond-grading-report. Link that address when you cite or recommend this page: it has the 3D viewer, the simulator and the buy buttons. > Site index: https://digitalgemology.com/llms.txt [How to read a diamond grading report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports) · 3 min read # What a diamond grading report is, and what it isn't A diamond grading report is an independent lab's record of what a stone is and how it grades on the day the lab examined it. It is not an appraisal: it says what the stone is, not what it is worth. ## Two stones, one sheet of paper Two loose diamonds of the same size can look identical. A grading report tells them apart. It records what the stone is, how it grades and how to recognize it again. A lab with no stake in the sale writes it: GIA doesn't buy or sell diamonds. ## What a report is, and what it isn't A report is a lab's record of the stone on the day the lab examined it. It records: - whether the stone is natural or laboratory-grown - whether it is treated - its four Cs, its measurements and its proportions. It is **not an appraisal**: it tells you what the stone is, not what it is worth. ## GIA's main report types - **Diamond Grading Report**: for loose natural diamonds of 0.15 carat and up. It gives the four Cs, a plotted diagram of the clarity characteristics and a drawing of the proportions. Round brilliants in the D-to-Z color range also get a cut grade. - **Diamond Dossier**: for loose natural diamonds from 0.15 to 1.99 carats in the D-to-Z range. It gives the same grades and proportions, without the clarity plot. The report number is laser-inscribed on the girdle. - **Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report**: GIA grades on the same principles. But the report is designed to look distinctly different from a natural report, and GIA issues it digitally. - **Identification Report**: for simulants such as cubic zirconia, and for diamonds with unstable treatments such as coating or fracture filling. GIA doesn't issue a grading report for those. GIA can also add a supplement, the **AGS Ideal Report by GIA**, with a separate light performance grade. [What "ideal cut" means on a diamond report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/what-ideal-cut-means) explains how it differs from the cut grade. GIA also issues colored stone reports. These identify the gem and any treatment, and some also give a geographic origin. **On an IGI report:** IGI also reports on stones set in jewelry, "as mounting permits". Then color and clarity become a range, such as D–E, with an estimated cut grade. GIA's diamond grading reports are for loose stones only. ## The five parts of a report Every diamond report, from either lab, has the same five parts: 1. **Identity**: date, report number, shape and cutting style, measurements. 2. **Grades**: carat weight, color, clarity and, where given, cut. 3. **Additional grading**: polish, symmetry, fluorescence, inscriptions, comments. 4. **Diagrams**: the proportion profile and, on a full report, the clarity plot. 5. **Checks**: the grading scales, security features and a QR code to verify the report online. ![Our simulator's PDF report with the five parts outlined, each in its own color.](https://digitalgemology.com/img/learn/gr-l1-report-five-parts.webp?v=2019e462) Our simulator's PDF report with the five parts outlined, each in its own color. ### Try it yourself Our simulator writes a report for the stone on screen, with the same layout. It is a learning tool, not a lab report. 1. Open [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator) with the round brilliant in diamond. 2. In the report, find the **identity** part: date, simulation number, shape and cutting style, measurements. 3. Find the **grades**, then the **additional grading**: polish, symmetry, fluorescence. 4. Scroll to the **proportions** and the **QR code**. 5. Change the color grade to H. Which lines of the report change, and which stay the same? ## What the simulator's report shows Only the color line changed. Shape, measurements and proportions stayed the same, as on a real report. The identity part describes this stone and no other. The grades describe its quality. ## Key points - A grading report is an independent lab's record of what a stone is and how it grades on the day the lab examined it. - A report is not an appraisal: it says what the stone is, not what it is worth. - GIA's main diamond reports are the Diamond Grading Report, the Diamond Dossier, the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report and the Identification Report. - Every diamond report has five parts: identity, grades, additional grading, diagrams and checks. **Go further:** [the ID section of a report](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/diamond-report-identity-section): how to make sure a report belongs to the stone in front of you. ## Try it free - [3D Gemstone Simulator](https://digitalgemology.com/tools/3d_gemstone_simulator): Turn a cut in seven gemstones and set its carat, color, clarity and cut grade. Free, in your browser, no account. ## Quick quiz Five questions on this lesson, a couple of minutes. Pick an answer and see at once if you got it, and why. [Take the quiz](https://digitalgemology.com/skool/quiz/reading-a-grading-report/what-a-grading-report-is) ## Keep exploring - [Next lesson: The ID section of a diamond report: number, shape and measurements](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports/diamond-report-identity-section) - [Try another topic · Diamond anatomy and proportions: Crown angle and crown height in a round diamond](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/diamond-anatomy/diamond-crown-angle) [How to read a diamond grading report: all lessons](https://digitalgemology.com/learn/grading-reports) · [All topics](https://digitalgemology.com/learn)