Now Offers Just Two Tiers — “Premium” or “Standard.”
We’ve been telling you this was on the way — and now it’s official. Starting October 1, GIA will roll out its new “Laboratory-Grown Diamond Quality Assessment Report.” And instead of breaking down clarity, color, and finish grades (polish & symmetry, etc.), the report simplifies everything into just two categories: Premium or Standard.
In a press release dated August 26, 2025, GIA has confirmed that they will no longer use the familiar 4Cs grading system applied to natural diamonds. Instead, as we reported earlier this year, “lab-grown” diamonds will now be described in just two categories: Premium or Standard.
Any diamond that does not meet the minimum threshold for Standard Quality will not receive an assessment at all.
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
Why? The reasoning has remained consistent throughout GIA’s leadership. As Tom Moses, GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, noted earlier this year, most lab-grown diamonds fall into a very narrow range of color and clarity, making it unnecessary to apply the full set of grading categories created for natural diamonds.
This week, incoming GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel underscored that same point: “Using descriptive terms for the quality of laboratory-grown diamonds is appropriate as most fall into a very narrow range of color and clarity. Because of that, GIA will no longer use the nomenclature created for natural diamonds to describe what is a manufactured product.”
“Laboratory-grown diamonds” that meet all the following criteria will be classified as ‘Premium.’
- Clarity – Very, Very Slightly included and higher
- Color – D
- Polish, Symmetry – Excellent
- Cut Grade – Excellent (round brilliant cut diamonds only)
“Laboratory-grown diamonds” that meet any combination of the ‘Premium’ criteria and the following minimum criteria will be classified as ‘Standard.’
- Clarity – Very Slightly included
- Color – E-to-J
- Polish – Very Good
- Symmetry – Very Good (or Good for fancy shapes)
- Cut grade – Very Good (round brilliant cut diamonds only)
The Cost of the New Reports The fee for the GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond Quality Assessment is US$15 per carat, with a minimum fee of $15. Submissions that do not meet the minimum criteria for assessment will be charged a US$5 evaluation fee. The minimum size for submission is 0.15 carats. Each submitted stone’s girdle will be laser inscribed with the term “Laboratory-Grown” and the GIA quality assessment number. A printed document with the assessment results will be returned with each laboratory-grown diamond.
Tap here to read the original press release from GIA in Carlsbad, California.
Tap here to read our report from June 25th!
