Diamond Laser Inscription

Modern technology has provided the option of permanently marking diamonds in a very discreet way so that they can be identified quickly and conveniently. Diamond laser inscription is done using a very small and precise laser beam to lightly etch numbers, letters and even graphics on the girdle of the diamond. The laser inscription can be read using a jewelers’ loupe, but is not visible to the naked eye and does not impact the diamond’s quality or light performance.

Every A CUT ABOVE® Super Ideal Diamond is inscribed at the laboratory with its corresponding report number. The details of the diamond inscription are noted on the lab certificate under “comments”. Most diamonds in our Expert Selection and Premium Select categories are likewise inscribed.

With an inscribed diamond the owner has peace of mind in knowing that they can easily verify their diamond at any time. It is also helpful to jewelers and diamond merchants for quality control, especially if they handle many diamonds of very similar gemological sizes and qualities.

It can be a challenge for a novice to read a diamond inscription with a hand held jewelers' loupe. A microscope makes this much easier to do. The size of the characters in an inscription is largely determined by the height of the girdle. Therefore, the bigger the diamond, the easier it is to read the inscription.

There is a cost associated with diamond inscriptions. It is considered an important value add by most consumers in today’s market, and by some an expected aspect of diamond certifications.

It should be noted that sometimes diamonds are inscribed AFTER a lab report is issued. In these cases there will not be a notation on the certificate and extra precautions should be taken to independently verify the diamond against the report.

With the recent emergence of laboratory grown diamonds in the market, laser inscription is more important than ever. As a precaution in keeping with their mission of consumer protection, the major gemological laboratories inscribe every lab grown diamond submitted to them for a report.

GIA graded diamonds include an inscription which includes the report number and LABORATORY-GROWN in all caps. Diamonds with IGI reports will have inscriptions that begin with the abbreviation LG followed by the report number. Earlier IGI graded diamonds also included the full LABGROWN in all caps.

Are there lab grown diamonds without inscription? Yes, small lab grown diamonds (such as diamond melee) are typically not inscribed. And, of course, it is possible to polish off inscriptions. It is therefore necessary to know and trust your vendor. Trustworthy vendors have protocols in place to ensure that natural and lab grown diamonds do not get mixed in their operations. Gem labs do have the ability to identify small stones, even those mounted in jewelry.

While diamond laser inscription is a huge help in making sure that innocent mistakes are not made as diamonds travel through the marketplace, and gives consumers much greater peace of mind in being able to self-verify their diamond at any time, an inscription is not a 100% guarantee. It is possible for a diamond to be inscribed outside of a laboratory, and it is possible for a lab grown diamond laser inscription to be removed. As such there exists the possibility that a diamond with an inscription could be misrepresented. This is why inscriptions should be evaluated alongside the other identifying characteristics of the diamond including color and clarity characteristics, carat weight, precise dimensions, and fluorescence in order for a positive identification to be made.