RAPAPORT... Still a controversial subject within the diamond and jewelry industries, synthetic diamonds recently earned a measure of credibility as two major gemological grading laboratories, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the International Gemological Institute (IGI), began grading the stones. This brings the total of major labs issuing certs for synthetic diamonds to three — the European Gemological Laboratory USA (EGL USA) began grading synthetics in 2001 and recently upgraded its cert — signaling that the synthetic diamond industry is starting to win acceptance.
It is important to note, however, that ensuring proper disclosure — and thereby consumer confidence — appears to be the driving force behind the labs’ decision. All three have a mandatory policy that requires the inscription of some version of the term “Laboratory-Grown” on the girdle of every synthetic stone they grade.
Here, RDR compares the certs from the three grading laboratories (in alphabetical order): European Gemological Laboratory USA (EGL USA), Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and International Gemological Institute (IGI).
European Gemological Laboratory USA (EGL USA) EGL USA
6 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036
Tel: 212.730.7380
Fax: 212.842.5180
Email: egl@eglusa.com
Cert (Report) Offered: Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report.
Unique Features: The report identifies both the origin — either High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) — and the color — either as grown or enhanced with a secondary treatment. For consistency, the report uses grading terminology that is based on what is used for natural diamonds. The back cover contains educational information for consumers regarding the growth process, identification and grading system. The report also comes with an additional supplement that details identification methods. It is the only one of the three labs’ reports on synthetic diamonds to contain a photograph of the stone, in addition to the standard diagrams. It also is the only one with a gray background.
EGL USA™ uses the word “laboratory-grown” to describe the stones, deeming the terms “synthetic” and “cultured” to have such widely varying connotations to typical consumers that their use would not be sufficiently informative for proper disclosure and communication.
The lab does, however, also support the use of the terms “laboratory-created” and “man-made,” as per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines.
Motivation to Issue Cert: “As a gemological laboratory, EGL USA realized its obligation to ensure that synthetic diamonds reached the marketplace in an ethical manner with full disclosure. Therefore, in 2001, after extensive research on synthetic diamonds and visits to the producers, EGL USA was the first laboratory to certify and mandate laser inscription of laboratory-grown diamonds. These efforts are to protect the industry and consumer from undisclosed lab-grown diamonds easily infiltrating regular channels by mixing with natural diamonds.
“The [recent] changes come in response to debates regarding nomenclature and differentiation from natural diamond reports that have been brought to the forefront at major industry events over the past two years. EGL USA also wanted to further educate trade and consumers on the latest developments in growing and identification methods of lab-grown diamonds. Changing the report [was discussed] since the CIBJO Congress in Hong Kong March 2005, when this issue came out.”
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)GIA Gem Laboratory
580 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200
New York, New York 10036
Tel: 800.366.8519
212.944.5900
Fax: 212.575.3095
Email: labservice@gia.edu
World Headquarters
The Robert Mouawad Campus
5345 Armada Drive
Carlsbad, California 92008
Tel: 800.421.7250
760.603.4000
Fax: 760.603.4003
Email: eduinfo@gia.edu
Cert (Report) Offered: GIA Synthetic Diamond Report.
Unique Features: The GIA report employs broader grading than that used for natural diamonds, using a wider variety of categories. This approach was chosen because to date the GIA has not seen the entire continuum of colors or clarities that would cover each grade of natural diamonds. This is particularly true with color. The GIA dropped the term “fancy” from the cert because the range of colors in the stones that have been submitted are concentrated in the intense-vivid region.
Yellow was chosen as the background for the report to symbolize the most common color in which synthetics are produced. It also creates a striking visual difference that helps trade clients immediately identify a synthetic report amid many GIA certs.
The GIA does not identify the synthetic origin or color origin of the stone on the report because lab officials believe that it is not meaningful to the end consumers, who they feel do not want that level of detail.
Finally, the GIA uses three different terms to describe the stones on the cert: synthetic, laboratory-grown and man-made. The institute has used “synthetic’ in its courses for decades and regards it as a well-established scientific term. However, lab officials believe that the word may cause confusion on the consumer level. Therefore “lab-grown” and “man-made” are also included, because officials believe that their connotations are less ambiguous.
Motivation to Issue Cert: “The GIA’s mission as a public-benefit institution is to identify, describe and grade any stones being offered to the public, whether they have been mined, treated or are man-made. The GIA didn’t address the question of synthetics in the past because there were so few gem-quality stones — it was too tiny an amount. Once technology made it possible to create diamond in labs in certain quantities, GIA officials then felt that it was the right thing to do to identify, describe and report on synthetics so that consumers can rely on full and proper disclosure.”
International Gemological Institute (IGI)IGI - New York
589 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 212.753.7100
Fax: 212.753.7759
Email: info@igi-usa.com
Cert (Report) Offered: Laboratory-Grown Diamond Grading Report.
Unique Features: The IGI issues two different types of reports: the Laboratory Grown Diamond Report (shown here) for HPHT-grown diamonds, as well as the Man-Made Diamond Report, a second format for CVD-grown stones. Both feature a yellow background. At this point, however, IGI notes that commercially available CVD products have not been submitted to the lab.
The diamond grades have been modified from the traditional nomenclatures — the structure of the classification utilizes and adheres to the internationally accepted system for diamond grading without the precise standard nomenclature grades that the original system uses. Specifically, the sub-clarity grades (such as SI1 and SI2) are absent.
The reports also contain the gemological definition of a synthetic diamond and, if applicable, identify the secondary treatment as the origin of the stone’s color. Finally, IGI uses the term “laboratory-grown” instead of “synthetic” because lab officials believe that the latter is a general category and the former shows and defines the process of growth.
Motivation to Issue Cert: “The decision to launch the report was based on the influx into the market of commercially available synthetic diamonds and the need for consumer education, as well as the increased demand of our clients for this service. The intent of the report is to better educate consumers by offering them accurate and reliable product information, thereby continuing to fulfill IGI’s mission of being the buying public’s jewelry industry expert, advocate and resource.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2007. To subscribe click here.