Although consumer awareness of diamond-grading labs is strong, they are willing to accept grading reports from labs they are unfamiliar with, a new survey by the World Gemological Institute (WGI) shows.

According to the survey, done in conjunction with the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC), more than 50 percent of consumers stated that grading reports are somewhat to extremely important.

Labs familiar to survey respondents included the American Gemological Society, the Gemological Institute of America and the International Gemological Institute.

And while there is a widely held belief among jewelry retailers that consumers will only accept diamond-grading reports from labs they are familiar with, the survey showed that actually only 13 percent of respondents feel this way.

According to the survey, 87 percent of respondents stated they would accept—or were unsure if they would accept but would not reject—a report as legitimate even if they were not familiar with the lab.

JCOC President Liz Chatelain said the WGI believes that those who were unsure could be convinced of the legitimacy of the report with simple informational materials and quick, over-the-counter education about the lab.

"These findings seem to open a window of opportunity for a lab such as ours, which has a long history of quality diamond grading yet is only just becoming known outside of Israel," she said.

Eli Avidar, managing director of the Israeli Diamond Institute Group of Companies, said the purpose of the study was to figure out what the American consumer wants from a diamond-grading report.