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We began our search by entering "diamond ratings" into the Yahoo! search box. The results led us to online gift retailer Ashford.com, where we quickly found a useful page on on the "4 C's" of diamond evaluation: color, clarity, cut, and carat. From that document, we got the sense that the most reputable ratings are performed by independent laboratories such as the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the European Gemological Laboratory (EGL). We returned to Yahoo! and searched on the names of these groups. We found both listed under the Gemology
> Organizations category. A visit to the Gemological Institute of America site left us a little disappointed. They seemed to offer a great deal of information on their course offerings, but little in the way of reference material. The EGL site was also underwhelming. Still, if you find yourself coming across EGL or GIA reports in the course of your diamond hunting, it's probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with these organizations. Ultimately unsatified with the results of our search, we decided to browse Yahoo!'s Jewelry > Gemstones > Diamonds category. Happily, before long we found DiamondGrading.com, a nice site that offers information on the 5 C's (they added "cost"), diamond shapes, "How to Buy a Diamond," and "How to Read a Diamond Certificate." Good luck, Kevin! Just remember to get down on one knee when you pop the question.
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