HRD Diamond Certification

HRD really never caught on as a legitimate alternative in the US, despite lots of attempts at pushing it by diamond merchants (Leo Schachter was one of the big pushers).  The reason is simple:  HRD billed itself as the European version of the GIA.  They claim to be the authority for diamond grading in the world.  The problem with HRD, though, is that they are incredibly inconsistent and usually average about 2 color upgrades over GIA.  This combination of their perceived clout and professionalism with their unprofessional and unreliable color grading allows for significant profits to be made by the diamond companies.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, this in and of itself doesn’t really matter as long as an HRD graded diamond would be priced the same as a GIA graded diamond of two lower colors.  But the fact is that this is rarely the case.

So if you are seriously considering buying an HRD certified diamond, please do some intelligent price comparisons first and always assume that the diamond is equivalent to a GIA diamond of two color grades lower.

If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below.  I will usually respond within 24 hours.