New certificates have been designed at HRD Antwerp, which the lab will be issuing starting January 5, 2008. it presented the documents on 11th December 2008. What’s new in the certificates are improved security features, a refined cut grade and the HRD Antwerp Certificate Link feature, which enables the retrieval and downloading of certificates online. But this new certificate “In no way discounts the quality or integrity of the certificates that it is replacing. Our goal is to add services on a continual basis, ” said George Brys, HRD Antwerp’s General Manager.

“The new certificate is the result of years of research, and it was only introduced at the point in time at which we were convinced that we were offering our clients a significantly improved service,” Brys added.

Explaining the enhanced features of the documents Brys said that exclusive security features included in the new certificate are unique in its kind, with line structures, a watermark, an embossed logo, fluo marks and micro text. Certain of these features are visible only using a loupe or when viewing the document under UV-light, adding to customer confidence which is the first priority of the lab.

Through the Cut Grade, which for the first time will feature a finding of “Excellent,” a more comprehensive analysis of cut is obtained, in comparison to the one that has featured on HRD Antwerp grading reports to date. Instead of reporting about cut using two parameters – proportions and finish – HRD Antwerp will now assess the cut according to three parameters: proportions, polish and symmetry.

HRD Antwerp Certificate Link enables all HRD Antwerp Diamond Certificates, Diamond Identification Reports and Diamond Colour Certificates issued after January 1, 2005, to be retrieved online, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The service can be accessed online through the HRD Antwerp Certificate Link of HRD Antwerp website. Each document can be retrieved in English, Turkish, Mandarin, Cantonese or Arabic.