GIA is an international non-profit gemological institute that appraises the value of loose diamonds. If you already have one or more GIA diamond rings, the stones were evaluated before they were set in the rings. The GIA set the tone for evaluating and analyzing diamonds and the same process is followed today by other diamond appraisal institutes, such as IGI appraisals. Such an appraisal is essential if you want to make sure that the diamonds you purchase are best value diamonds.

When you send loose diamonds to the GIA for grading, you will receive a report on each diamond. Reports of GIA diamond rings grading are extremely comprehensive, which is why you should be able to understand what the report says about the stones you have had appraised without too much trouble.

The date of the appraisal is always at the top of the report and there is a report number which is entered into the institute's international database. If you wish, you can have this number laser inscribed on the diamond. The next part of the report on GIA diamond rings deals with the shape and the cutting style of the diamond.

The shape of the diamond has a lot to do with determining the setting of the diamond in the ring. The cuts include round, Princess, Marquise, oval and pear-shaped. Certain settings are suited to specific cuts to ensure that the diamond looks elegant in the ring and on the hand of the person wearing it. The most common settings for diamond rings are:

• Solitaire in which the diamond is secured in a basket of four or six prongs so that it catches the light with each movement of the hand.

• Sidestone settings have other stones on each side of the diamond to keep it in place and to add enhance the brilliance and color of the stone.

• Three-stone settings have a diamond for the past, present and future.

The report for GIA diamond rings, much like IGI appraisals, also gives the measurement of the diamond. For round diamonds this is represented by the minimum depth and length and for fancy diamonds by the length times width times depth. The overall weight of the diamond is given in carats and the more carats there are the more expensive the diamond will be. This is another way of knowing whether or not you purchased best value diamonds. One carat is 1/5 of one gram and the weight is recorded to the nearest 1/100 of a carat.

There is a GIA master comparison scale when grading the color of diamonds. The best diamonds are white and almost colorless. While yellow diamonds are given the lowest grade, there are canary yellow stones that are quite valuable. These fall into the category of fancy diamonds along with those that are pink, blue, and green.

The clarity or clearness of a diamond according to the rating scale of GIA diamond rings refers to any imperfections that can be seen when the diamond is analyzed under high-power microscopes. Those diamonds with slight imperfections can still be considered best value diamonds if the imperfections in the gems are such that they cannot be seen with the naked eye or under a normal microscope.

Diamonds for GIA diamond rings are graded according to their polish and finish to determine their level of brilliance and how they reflect the light that falls on them. The diamonds are inspected for smoothness and the number of facets in the stone. Symmetry is also important to ensure that all facets are in balance and to determine the best placement of several stones in a ring.

Gemologists use ultra-violet lights to determine the amount of fluorescence in the diamonds and this is also given on the report. Many other appraisal institutes do not provide a report that is as comprehensive as one you receive from GIA. Your report will contain diagrams of the stone as well as keys to the various symbols used in the report.