As certain instruments return from a long-delayed maintenance abroad due to component pricing issues caused by the tariff situation in the US, some that still require maintenance have instead been replaced with newer advanced models that possess higher capacities of performance. (Kindly note that we currently do not offer gemological reports for rough or uncut rocks or minerals for 2025.)

A friendly reminder that our laboratory intentionally does not commercially buy or sell gemstones, nor are we connected to or affiliated with any currently active jewelry-selling business. While our in-house staff (G.G.) hold over a decade of prior experience in the jewelry trade, it remains our policy that no current employee of the laboratory engages in commercial gem trading with clients looking to have their items tested with us. We do this to actively prioritize impartiality in our professional assessments, as well as creating the absence of any vested interest in opinions, results or grading. 

We would like to deeply thank Biznews Asia Magazine for their recent 5-page spread feature on our gemological laboratory. In light of the ever-growing jewelry and gemstone trade, our team assists with the scientific identification and grading of diamonds and gemstones for collectors, jewelry brands and online retailers alike.




At the current time (for 2019), note that our laboratory has shifted focus to the examination of fully-cut, transparent gemstones, diamonds and jewelry only. We are not evaluating raw, rough or partially-cut gemstones for this year. In accordance with this direction, we now maintain many advanced instruments catering to the study and evaluation of fully faceted gemstone materials, including diamond, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, aquamarine, tourmaline, kunzite, peridot, alexandrite and many more species and varieties.

Our current scope of interest, is the polished / faceted diamond industry. Our gemological team members have undergone specific training and educational progress at the Gemological Institute of America in order to properly support the Philippine jewelry trade.




With the growing popularity of lab-grown or man-made stones becoming an issue for many jewelry buyers, we provide our own professional services to help them obtain more detailed information about their precious gemstones. We ourselves do not grow diamonds, we only perform the necessary tests to check and separate potentially lab-grown stones from a majority of natural counterparts. We also do not engage in the buying or selling of gemstones, in order to maintain no vested interest towards any gemstone examined at our laboratory.

We carefully examine fully finished-cut diamonds, whether these are mounted or loose- using highly-advanced testing instruments such as photoluminescence-based spectrometers, and gemological equipment such as gem refractometers, spectroscopes and many others.

When jewelry stores, gemstone dealers, or even your friends talk about these documents, what do they mean exactly? Here's a little bit of knowledge for you to familiarize yourself with one of the gem trade's most commonly used terminologies.



The term diamond certificate commonly refers to a specific gemological report that illustrates and defines the species, variety, grading and characteristics of a particular stone. For diamonds, laboratories like Gemcamp employ graduate gemologists from some of the world's top gemological schools, in order to properly identify and evaluate a stone. This is important because aside from influencing the monetary value equivalent of a diamond, gemological report grades also help you identify your stone and separate it from others.

Diamond reports contain particular information sections like the exact carat weight of a stone, down to one or two decimal places. A carat is one fifth of a gram, so this measurement is precise enough to serve as a good means for ID'ing your diamond. In light of frequent reports about jewelry theft, especially in Metro Manila, it always helps to have anything that can add more support to the identification of your property. Gemological reports can also describe and plot the specific 'inclusions' and blemishes' on a diamond, which are sort of like its fingerprints in terms of uniqueness. Many diamonds can be matched to their reports simply by checking the plot drawing against their actual appearance under a 10x loupe or microscope.

A diamond certificate or report, serves as a gemstone's ID card, to help buyers, sellers and jewelry owners to gain assurance and security against possible item fraud.

Laboratories must be properly equipped with the right instrumentation to properly identify and grade stones. Diamonds are compared against calibrated 'master stones' to determine a color grade. Likewise, only an experienced gemologist who has seen several hundred stones can efficiently determine grades for clarity and cut.

Note that there is a distinct difference in gemological reports issued by professional laboratories versus fancy-clad certificates that come free with the purchase of a jewelry item from a store. Laboratories conduct thorough testing without any motivational gain from the type of results that are given, making them immune to bias and completely objective. They do not sell you gemstones or try to convince you to buy something from their owners. Everything is about honest and open disclosure, for the client's knowledge and benefit only.



Software and instrumentation that measures reactions to photoluminescence are also needed to separate natural diamonds from man-made or 'cultured' diamonds, which are atomically same, but grown artificially in a lab. Man-made diamonds, despite their chemistry, do not possess the same value as natural diamonds. As of 2017, man-made diamonds produced by chemical vapor deposition sell for about 40% of a natural diamond's value (assuming the same grades). This data was taken from international jewelry trade fairs by the Gemcamp laboratory's gemological research team.

If you want to be certain about your gemstone's identity and value, find a reputable gemology lab and schedule a visit. Having reports made for your gemstones also gives them a 'report card', with grades similar to the ones we used to receive in school. This document can help you sell or liquidate your stones by providing clients with an essential third-party documentation of your item, dismissing bias and promoting a fair and ethical transaction. Gemcamp laboratories serves the Philippine public as one of the most modern laboratory facilities that helps people identify, grade and document their jewelry possessions today.

Note that diamond certificates and gemological reports are products of private institutions subject to limitations and restrictions. Each laboratory or institution may abide by a different set of policies and requirements.