Certification Guide
GRA Certified Moissanite: What It Means and How to Read the Report
Every Avora piece ships with a GRA grading report. This guide explains what that document certifies, how to read each line of it, and what happens when a certified moissanite meets a diamond tester — using photographs of the certificates we send out.
What GRA certification is
GRA is a gem laboratory that grades moissanite. A GRA report is a record of one specific stone: its shape, its measurements, its carat weight, and the four grading lines jewellers care about — colour, clarity, polish and symmetry. Each report carries a serial number that is also laser-inscribed on the stone itself, so the gem and the paperwork can always be matched.
Worth being clear about what it is not: a GRA report certifies genuine, graded moissanite. It is not a diamond report, and it is not issued by GIA. Anyone selling you a stone as a diamond on the strength of a GRA card is misrepresenting it.
How to read your report, line by line
- Serial number
- A unique ID printed on the report and laser-inscribed on the stone's girdle. This is what ties your gem to its paperwork.
- Shape & cut
- For example Round Brilliant with 57 or 58 facets. The cut determines how much light returns to your eye.
- Measurements & carat weight
- Diameter or length x width x depth in millimetres, plus the stated carat weight of the stone.
- Colour: D
- D is the highest grade on the colourless scale. A D colour moissanite shows no visible body tint in daylight.
- Clarity: VVS1
- Very very slightly included — any inclusions are extremely difficult to see even under 10x magnification.
- Polish & symmetry
- Graded Excellent on our stones: the facet surfaces are smooth and the facet pattern is evenly aligned.
The reverse of the card prints the colour scale (D through Z) and the clarity scale (from Flawless down through the included grades), which is the quickest way to see where your stone sits relative to everything else on the market. Avora stones are graded D colour and VVS1 clarity, set in 925 sterling silver with 18K white gold plating.
Diamond tester results, explained
Handheld thermal testers work by measuring how quickly a stone carries heat away from the probe. Diamond is exceptionally conductive — and moissanite is close enough that a standard thermal tester lights up and reads diamond. That is the result you see in the photograph, and it is the same result you can reproduce at any jeweller.
A combination moissanite tester adds an electrical conductivity check and will correctly separate the two. Both results are expected and neither is a fault: your stone is certified moissanite that performs optically and thermally like diamond.
Unique serial code
Report number matched to a girdle inscription
D colour, VVS1
Top colour grade, eye-clean clarity
Tester verified
Reads as diamond on thermal testers
Frequently asked questions
What does GRA certified moissanite mean?
GRA (Gra Gem Laboratory) issues a grading report for a moissanite stone. The report records the stone's shape, measurements, carat weight, colour grade, clarity grade, cut, polish, symmetry and a unique serial number, so the gem you receive can be matched to its paperwork. It certifies that the stone is genuine moissanite graded to the stated specification — it does not claim the stone is a diamond.
How do I read a GRA moissanite report?
Start with the serial number, then check shape and cut, then the measurements and carat weight, then the four grading lines: colour (D is the top, colourless grade), clarity (VVS1 means very very slightly included), and polish and symmetry. The back of the card shows the colour and clarity scales so you can see where your stone sits.
Does GRA certified moissanite pass a diamond tester?
Yes. Standard handheld testers measure thermal conductivity, and moissanite conducts heat similarly to diamond, so a thermal tester reads it as diamond. A dedicated moissanite tester, which also measures electrical conductivity, will correctly identify it as moissanite.
Is a GRA certificate the same as a GIA certificate?
No. GIA grades natural and lab-grown diamonds; GRA reports are issued for moissanite. They use similar colour and clarity language, but they are separate laboratories and the reports are not interchangeable.
How do I verify the serial number on my stone?
The serial number printed on the report matches the number laser-inscribed on the stone's girdle. Under a 10x loupe or jeweller's microscope you can read the inscription and compare it with the card that shipped with your piece.
Shop certified pieces
Every piece below ships with its own GRA report and packaging.