Our Internal Process
We inspect it.
An independent lab verifies it.
This page describes what we do — how a stone is inspected inside Serendib before it ever reaches a laboratory. For what the laboratories themselves do — GIA, GRS, Gübelin, SSEF, how their reports read, and what each field means — see the Certification & Grading Guide.
This page
How Serendib verifies
What our own team does — rough selection at the mine, loupe and microscope examination, treatment pre-screening, and documentation. The internal process every stone passes through before we will represent it.
Inside Serendib
Our five-stage inspection
Step 1
Rough Selection at Source
Verification begins at the mine. We only accept rough from named locations in Sri Lanka where we know the workings, the middlemen, and the yield history — so every stone we take onward has a defensible chain of custody before it is ever cut.
Purchased at the mine head or from a known local supplier
Location, date and lot recorded before the stone leaves Sri Lanka
Rough matched to expected geological signatures for the area
Rejected if provenance cannot be reconstructed
Step 2
Visual & Loupe Examination
Every cut stone is examined under 10x magnification with a jeweller's loupe and, for anything significant, a gemological microscope. We map inclusions, look for surface-reaching fractures, and check that colour and clarity match what the origin claim would predict.
Natural inclusion patterns consistent with the claimed species
No surface-reaching fractures filled with glass or resin
Colour distribution and zoning consistent with natural formation
Cut quality, symmetry, and proportions recorded
Step 3
Treatment Pre-Screening
Before a stone goes to a laboratory, we screen it ourselves. This is what separates a knowledgeable dealer from an anxious one — if we already suspect a stone was heated, diffused, filled, or coated, we will not represent it as untreated and we will not waste our clients' money on a report we already expect.
Dissolved rutile silk or altered inclusions (signs of heating)
Flux residues or glass-filled cavities (signs of fracture filling)
Colour concentrations at facet junctions (signs of diffusion)
Surface coatings or thin-film enhancements under magnification
Step 4
Independent Laboratory Submission
This is the step where we stop being the judge. Every significant stone we sell is submitted to GIA or GRS for independent identification, treatment determination, and — where possible — country of origin. The report that results is not written by us and cannot be edited by us; it is the client's independent confirmation of what we already believe to be true.
Submitted to GIA or GRS, chosen by market and stone type
Client receives the original laboratory report, not a summary
For a full explanation of what each lab does and how their reports read, see our Certification Guide
For unheated Ceylon sapphires we prefer GRS for origin and colour trade names
Step 5
Documentation & Photography
Once a stone returns from the lab, it is photographed and, for phenomenal stones, filmed under standardised lighting. The certificate, the photographs, and any video are attached to the stone's permanent record and travel with it to the buyer.
Standardised daylight-equivalent stills
Indoor and natural-light images for colour accuracy
Video showing play of light, asterism, or colour change where relevant
Laboratory certificate scanned, archived, and delivered with the stone
Have a report you want a second opinion on?
Send us the certificate for any stone — ours or another dealer's. We'll walk you through every field in plain language. No charge, no obligation.
Request a Certificate Review