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Counterfeit diamond reports surface in SA

September 28, 2009

Carlsbad, Calif.--The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced that a client in Johannesburg, South Africa, recently purchased three diamonds found to have counterfeit grading reports.

According to a release from the GIA, the diamonds involved in the case weighed 3 carats, 4.08 carats and 5.01 carats.

In addition to having fraudulent grading reports, at least one of the diamonds was high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) treated. Follow-up testing is being done on the other two stones.

According to the GIA, the problem isn't believed to be widespread and is limited to a small number of stones.

The Carlsbad, Calif.-based grading lab took swift action. According to a media release, the GIA, working with the client and industry leadership in South Africa, funded private investigations that led to the arrest of one individual.

Ernest Blom, chairman of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa, commented on the GIA's reaction to the incident.

"As soon as these counterfeit reports surfaced, GIA responded immediately by taking effective actions to solve the problem," Blom said in the release. "We join GIA in strongly condemning unscrupulous parties who fraudulently sell treated diamonds without disclosure and sell forged grading reports."

The GIA takes the misuse or misrepresentation of its grading reports very seriously and will continue to pursue violators wherever these crimes occur.

"GIA cooperates fully with law enforcement agencies worldwide to help prevent, detect and prosecute these activities," Tom Moses, senior vice president of GIA Laboratory and Research, said in the release. "It is critical for the trade and our public benefit mission that GIA protect the gemological standards our grading reports have set for more than 50 years. We are committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity in our reports to ensure consumer confidence."

He added that the GIA wants to assure the public and jewelry trade that the lab goes to great lengths to incorporate robust security measures in its reports.

In addition, the lab also provides a number of services to safeguard against the misrepresentation of a diamond and its report.

For GIA diamond grading reports and GIA Diamond Dossiers issued since Jan. 1, 2000, GIA Report Check is a free, online service that allows customers to confirm that the information in the reports matches the data contained in the GIA's database.

Customers can also submit their diamonds and reports to a GIA lab for verification or they can request an update, in which the diamond undergoes the full grading process, including tests for treatments, and a new report is issued.

For more information about GIA Report Check or the organization's other services, visit the GIA's Web site, GIA.edu.
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