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Diamond Grading Practical Course

Coloured Stones & Gem Identification Diploma

The Diamond Grading Practical Course introduces students to the procedures used to grade diamonds according to HRD Antwerp standards. Using the 4Cs, students apply their knowledge by assigning colour, clarity and cut grades, and determining carat weight.

Students also learn how to identify and plot clarity characteristics and receive hands-on practice separating natural diamond from common simulants.

Classrooms contain a full workstation for each student, and more equipment like UV lamp, scale and HRD Antwerp master stones set. Each student workstation has a binocular microscope and a lamp with daylight equivalent overhead light source.

Students receive the HRD Antwerp diamond grading kit, with tweezers,10X loupe, gem cloth, plotting pen set and pencil as part of the course materials.

Participants will earn the coveted 'HRD Antwerp - Certified Diamond Grader' Diploma if this course is combined with the Certified Diamond Grader Online Module.

Certified Diamond Grader Diploma + Gemmologist Diploma leads to HRD Antwerp Graduate Gemmologist Diploma.

Lab Grown Diamonds

Coloured Stones & Gem Identification Diploma

Up until the fifties, a colourless or nearly colourless gem diamond was by definition a natural one. In the eighties, the first laboratory-grown gem quality diamonds appeared on the market. The arrival of these synthetic stones brought about enormous challenges for scientists and researchers. They embarked upon an intensive search for new techniques to identify the true nature of a diamond: natural, treated or laboratory grown.

What is a (synthetic) lab-grown diamond? Why is ‘CVD’ such a hot topic? How many (synthetic) lab-grown diamonds are produced? How can I recognize a (synthetic) lab-grown diamond? Can a (synthetic) lab-grown diamond be fancy colour?