HRD Antwerp provides authoritative information on the quality of the diamond you purchase, including detailed descriptions of your diamonds 4C's and other aspects of diamond quality.
Those familiar with GIA certification will see that HRD grades the colour of diamonds in the same manner as GIA. When looking at clarity. HRD uses LC+ as their top grade for stones with impurities invisible with a 10x loupe (instead of FL as the GIA does).
When considering the grade of a cut, HRD will look at three aspects: proportion, polish, and symmetry. Taking into account these three aspects, a diamond will be award one of the four grades: excellent, very good, good, and fair.
HRD stands for “Hoge Raad Voor Diamant” in Flemish, meaning the “Diamond High Council”. Based in Antwerp it is a major gemological laboratory and the leading authority of diamonds in Europe. HRD offers certification on white diamonds, fancy color diamonds, treated diamonds, and even laboratory grown diamonds. If you are trading diamonds in Europe it is always wise to have your diamonds certified by the well-respected HRD.
Not only is the HRD certificate a legal document within the European Union, but you can have the utmost trust in the results as the HRD is the only diamond certification authority to have the ISO 9002 accreditation for management and quality systems.
HRD ANTWERP
Operating one of the world’s most respected gem labs, HRD Antwerp NV is a Belgian company providing expert grading, educational and technological services to the diamond and jewelry industries worldwide.
Created in 1973 as the certificates department of Belguim’s official Hoge Raad voor Diamant, in 2007 it was reestablished as an independent subsidiary of the organization’s successor, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). It has six different branches: Diamond Lab, Precious Stones Lab, Research, Education, Graduates Club and Equipment.
HRD is the largest and most well-known of the gemological laboratories operating according to the grading rules of the International Diamond Council (IDC), which is an organization operated jointly by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).
An HRD Antwerp Natural Diamond Report is the organization’s standard and most comprehensive grading certificate, confirming a polished natural diamond’s authenticity and providing a detailed description of its carat weight, clarity, color and cut.
The objectivity of the HRD Antwerp grading results is guaranteed by means of a double coding system, meaning that the client and HRD graders have no way of identifying each other, and a digital copy of every grading and jewelry report issued after January 1, 2005, is kept on file for 10 years. Each certificate includes a variety of security features, visible only by loupe and UV light, to protect against forgery and tampering. They include micro text, fluo marks, line structure, hologram and unique structured paper.
HRD Antwerp Education has been in operation for almost three decades and today is regarded as one of the leading providers of professional education and training in the international diamond and gemstone sectors. It currently conducts diamond grading and gemology programs for students and professionals at its campus in Antwerp and at a variety of sites across the globe.
HRD Antwerp equipment is leading provider of technology related to diamond grading and identification, much of which was first developed for use in the organization’s grading laboratory. Among its products are the widely used D-Scope, a gemological microscope; the D-Screen, a portable diamond screening that can distinguishes stones that are potentially synthetic or have been color-enhanced by artificial means.
