GIA South Africa set to open

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GIA South Africa set to open

February 20, 2008

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Johannesburg, South Africa—To further its global expansion plans, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will officially open GIA South Africa, its new laboratory in Johannesburg, on Feb. 21.

The new GIA Laboratory in Johannesburg will accept any size diamond, colored stone or pearl from GIA clients in the region, and will initially provide GIA Diamond Dossier reports, which cover stones ranging from 0.15 carats up to 1.99 carats.

For services other than the Diamond Dossier report, items can be delivered to the lab, where the GIA will send them for service to one of its other labs and return them to Johannesburg for customer pickup. The GIA has also been granted a VAT exemption so these services will not be subject to the traditional fee for shipping stones outside of South Africa for servicing.

The GIA is also introducing a new diamond-fee schedule to reflect current GIA fees as converted to the South African Rand currency.

Thomas M. Moses, senior vice president of GIA Laboratory and Research, said in a statement that launching the GIA Laboratory in Johannesburg has been a top priority for the institute.

"The institute is very excited to begin participating as fully as we can in the industry in this region, and will eventually offer classes, seminars, scholarships and other aspects of the institute here as well," he said.

Leslie (Les) Milner, director of the GIA Laboratory in Johannesburg, and an experienced team of laboratory diamond graders trained in the United States at the end of last year so they could be immersed in the GIA's grading methods and standards. A team of experienced GIA graders from the U.S. offices will join them.

"We have been learning GIA's grading methodology while working with the great array of state-of-the-art research and scientific equipment GIA has at its disposal," Milner said. "As technology advances, you need an up-to-date research facility with the expertly trained staff and resources to advance the future of the industry here in South Africa. I look forward to leading the team here at GIA."

The contact information for the new GIA Laboratory in Johannesburg is Ste. 512, 5F, S.A. Diamond Centre, 225 Main St., Johannesburg 2001, phone (011) 27 11 334-2744, fax (011) 27 11 334-0932. The mailing address is P.O. Box 1756, Houghton, 2041, South Africa. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The GIA began its work in Johannesburg when it announced in August 2007 that it would begin absorbing the laboratory operations of the Jewelry Council of South Africa (JCSA), while the JCSA continued to operate its other interests.

That action followed an earlier announcement in May 2007 by the GIA board of governors who approved the institute's global expansions plans, which focus on establishing education, laboratory and research centers in key international areas.

For more information about the GIA, visit its Web site, GIA.edu.

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