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Destino offers details on synthetic-diamond reports

By Susan Thea Posnock
October 11, 2006

Carlsbad, Calif.—The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will begin accepting synthetic diamonds for grading next year, but the question remains over what the grading reports will look like. In an interview with National Jeweler, GIA Chairman Ralph Destino shed some light on the reports, which he says are in the process of being designed.

One major change from the initial announcement the GIA made in June is that the word "synthetic" will not be inscribed on the girdle of lab-produced stones the GIA grades. The GIA instead will inscribe "laboratory grown" on diamonds produced in a lab that do not already have an inscription with Federal Trade Commission-approved language, Destino says. This includes such terms as "man-made," "lab grown" and branded names such as "Chatham created."

"The producers tell us that the stones they're going to be sending will be pre-inscribed, so this may be a moot point in time, but if nothing is there, we will inscribe 'laboratory grown,'" Destino says.

In terms of other details, Destino says the reports will look different from a natural-diamond report, and that the report cover will read "GIA Grading Report" and bear a yellow stripe. But he would not elaborate on specific language such as "synthetic" and how it will or won't be used in the final reports.

Destino says the GIA met with stakeholders representing all sides of the issue for input on the grading reports, but that it was ensuring consumer confidence and avoiding consumer confusion, which served as a beacon to guide the GIA in the final look and feel of the reports.

"We can't confuse the public, and consumer confidence is the overriding issue in this industry now," he says. "We said to both sides of the issue that as sensitive as we are to their concerns, at the end of the day, GIA is still a scientific lab with a mission to benefit the public, and our final judgments will be based on that commitment and that mission."

That goal seems to have been accomplished, based on early feedback.

"The trade is very gratified that the GIA went the extra mile to consult with all concerned stakeholders on this issue before finalizing the synthetic report," says Jeff Fischer, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association. "While no interest group feels they achieved all they might have wished for, we believe the resulting report is fair and balanced."

Clark McEwen, COO of Gemesis, which produces colored diamonds in a lab, also registered satisfaction with the GIA's final call on the matter.

"Ultimately, the goal of the report is to protect the consumer and I believe that the GIA has accomplished this," he says. "It shouldn't be a marketing tool used to either promote or diminish the product. It's a report to inform and build consumer confidence."
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