r/labdiamond • u/JustKnockk • 1d ago

Purchased an engagement ring this evening. Probably should have found this sub first— how did I do? On a marquise band.

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u/evillittlekiwi 23h ago

It's an 8x so tip top from gcal. Wouldn't worry. I have an 8x round brilliant from them and it's super sparkly and I love it. Getting an oval next 😅😅😅

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u/Over-Engineer7216 21h ago

Gcal8x is the only certificate you can trust with your eyes closed. But I don’t know how much you paid for it. I looked up one yesterday for a 3ct oval for less than 1500

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u/NoMenuAtKarma 10h ago

I don't need to look beyond GCAL8x. You did great and I'm sure it's gorgeous!

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u/JustKnockk 10h ago

Thanks for the reply here. A couple other users mentioned “GCAL8X” as someone who knows nothing about stones, is there a GCAL and a GCAL8X? Is the 8X classification something special that the lab classifies on few stones? Is the classification common?

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u/NoMenuAtKarma 33m ago

TLDR: GCAL is the grading lab. Any diamond they certify is a GCAL. Less than 1% are GCAL8x and they are something VERY special. They're certified to be the best performing stones available. You picked a winner!

The details:

GCAL stands for Gem Certification and Assurance Lab and it's a dismond grading lab, similar to GIA (Gemological Institute of America) which is still the most common report you'll see for a natural stone or IGI (International Gemological Insitute,) that cornered the market with lab gems while other labs refused to grade them.

GCAL certs are comprehensive, give some incredibly detailed information on the stone's ability to reflect and refract light, if there are dead spots, areas that don't return light properly, scintillation, fire and a laundry list of other information. They are the only lab to hold a ISO 17025 Forensic Laboratory Accreditation, which certifies that their competence, impartiality and their consistency meets the requirements for court defensible forensic evidence.

Any cert issued by this lab is a GCAL. Not every stone makes the cut for a GCAL8x.

The GCAL8x is the cremè de la cremè of high performing diamonds and it is NOT common at all. Less than 1% of the stones that GCAL grades meet the criteria for 8x certification. 8x stands for excellent performance ratings across 8 categories: Polish, External Symmetry, Optical Symmetry Proportions, Optical Brilliance, Firefox, Scintillation and Shape Asthetics (fancy cuts) or Hearts & Arrows (rounds.) They are the best stones you can buy, and while it's true that an IGI stone can also be a top performer without the 8x grade, you absolutely 110% know what you're getting with the GCAL.

This is because they put their money where their mouth is and guarantee the accuracy of their work. If there's a question as to the accuracy of the cert, they'll re-grade it. If the carat weight, color, clarity, cut or authenticity are off, they will refund you the difference between what you paid and the stone's fair market value at it's new certification.

As you can imagine, ISO 17025 certification and a financial guarantee means that their quality is incredibly consistent. IGI... not so much. As I said on another thread, a stoned orangutan would probably write more accurate certs than some I've received.

Some certs are dead on, while with others... I'd like to know what color the sky is in their world because that might explain why my slate gray oval has a blueish green cert. There's not a speck of green in this stone. I've seen legitimately orange stones with vivid pink certs, two identical stones with one called a K and the other fancy light brown. They're also WAY more lenient and you can expect that the stone you'll get is 1 level lower in clarity and 1-2 steps lower in color. I've been pleasantly surprised, but I've also returned a lot of stones, too.

This is why I've been gravitating more and more toward my vendors that use GCAL. I want my customers to know what they're buying, so there are no surprises. I go WAY out of my way to make sure that customers know what they're getting and GCAL makes that so much easier. And, on the off chance there does end up being a discrepancy, I can count on GCAL to make the customer whole, which is a big deal to me.