Belgian Lab Detects Diamond with Fake Inscription

  

       The diamond bearing the fake GIA inscription.

HRD Antwerp recently discovered a fake inscription on a polished diamond the lab had received for grading.

The 1.50-carat stone had a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) laser inscription corresponding to a natural grading report, HRD said Monday. The accompanying report listed the diamond as natural, with no color treatments. The stone was further identified as type IIa, meaning it contained virtually no elements other than carbon. However, during testing, the Antwerp lab found that the diamond had undergone High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) color treatment.

Although the diamond’s carat weight, color and cut precisely matched the GIA report, HRD noticed inconsistencies with clarity characteristics that were quite similar to those listed in the certification and could easily be mistaken during a standard loupe inspection, it explained.

“Detailed microscopic investigation by an experienced grader revealed that this was not the same diamond described in the report,” HRD said. “The clarity characteristics did not completely overlap. Since these characteristics are a unique fingerprint of the diamond, the inscription was conclusively identified as false. The diamond at hand had been intentionally inscribed with a fake laser inscription to deceive the customer.”

Correction: The story has been updated to clarify what was disclosed in the report and the findings of HRD.

Source: DCLA

Belgian Lab Detects Diamond with Fake Inscription

  

       The diamond bearing the fake GIA inscription.

HRD Antwerp recently discovered a fake inscription on a polished diamond the lab had received for grading.

The 1.50-carat stone had a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) laser inscription corresponding to a natural grading report, HRD said Monday. The accompanying report listed the diamond as natural, with no color treatments. The stone was further identified as type IIa, meaning it contained virtually no elements other than carbon. However, during testing, the Antwerp lab found that the diamond had undergone High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) color treatment.

Although the diamond’s carat weight, color and cut precisely matched the GIA report, HRD noticed inconsistencies with clarity characteristics that were quite similar to those listed in the certification and could easily be mistaken during a standard loupe inspection, it explained.

“Detailed microscopic investigation by an experienced grader revealed that this was not the same diamond described in the report,” HRD said. “The clarity characteristics did not completely overlap. Since these characteristics are a unique fingerprint of the diamond, the inscription was conclusively identified as false. The diamond at hand had been intentionally inscribed with a fake laser inscription to deceive the customer.”

Correction: The story has been updated to clarify what was disclosed in the report and the findings of HRD.

Source: DCLA

GIA Sees Spike in Synthetics Fraud

 

               GIA Sees Spike in Synthetics Fraud

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has seen a rise in submissions of lab-grown diamonds with counterfeit inscriptions that make the stones appear natural.

Clients using the GIA’s update or verification services are increasingly sending in goods that prove to be synthetic, the organization said Monday. These stones have falsified girdle engravings that reference a genuine natural-diamond report number, while most have almost identical measurements and weights to the natural diamonds they mimic.

In a recent case, someone submitted a 3.075-carat, H-color, VVS2-clarity, triple-Ex, lab-grown diamond to GIA Antwerp for an update. The stone carried a report for a 3.078-carat, G-color, internally flawless, triple-Ex natural diamond. The synthetic stone’s real-life dimensions were within hundredths of millimeters of the measurements in the natural-diamond report, the GIA noted.

“This unfortunate situation demonstrates why it is important, especially in any transaction where the buyer does not have a trusted relationship with the seller, to have the diamond-grading report updated before completing a purchase,” said Tom Moses, the GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The GIA blotted out the counterfeit inscription and inscribed a report number for a new certificate that it issued, adding the term “laboratory-grown” on the girdle, as is its practice.

In February, the institute reported that it had received a number of lab-grown or treated stones carrying natural reports and fake inscriptions.

Source: DCLA

GIA Sees Spike in Synthetics Fraud

 

               GIA Sees Spike in Synthetics Fraud

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has seen a rise in submissions of lab-grown diamonds with counterfeit inscriptions that make the stones appear natural.

Clients using the GIA’s update or verification services are increasingly sending in goods that prove to be synthetic, the organization said Monday. These stones have falsified girdle engravings that reference a genuine natural-diamond report number, while most have almost identical measurements and weights to the natural diamonds they mimic.

In a recent case, someone submitted a 3.075-carat, H-color, VVS2-clarity, triple-Ex, lab-grown diamond to GIA Antwerp for an update. The stone carried a report for a 3.078-carat, G-color, internally flawless, triple-Ex natural diamond. The synthetic stone’s real-life dimensions were within hundredths of millimeters of the measurements in the natural-diamond report, the GIA noted.

“This unfortunate situation demonstrates why it is important, especially in any transaction where the buyer does not have a trusted relationship with the seller, to have the diamond-grading report updated before completing a purchase,” said Tom Moses, the GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The GIA blotted out the counterfeit inscription and inscribed a report number for a new certificate that it issued, adding the term “laboratory-grown” on the girdle, as is its practice.

In February, the institute reported that it had received a number of lab-grown or treated stones carrying natural reports and fake inscriptions.

Source: DCLA

GIA Recalls Diamonds over Treatment Query

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has asked customers to return a number of colored diamonds for reassessment, suspecting that a treatment might have gone under the radar.

The organization will reevaluate certain diamonds with “green or greenish” in the color grade, a spokesperson told Rapaport News last week. The recall applies to reports it issued between January and June 2020. The GIA declined to reveal how many stones were affected or to provide their report numbers.

“Recent research and investigation into potential treatment methods caused us to request the return of the subject diamonds for further analysis,” the spokesperson said.

The institute informed customers about the issue around six weeks ago, and is in the process of collecting and reassessing the diamonds. Some stones could get an “undetermined” ruling, while others may require further testing, the spokesperson explained. Many diamonds had already come back with their natural-color statuses confirmed, market sources said. The GIA bases its conclusions on the “state of knowledge and criteria in place at the date of examination,” it added.

Sources estimated that the number of reports under review was close to 100 and could be much higher. The GIA did not specify the nature of the possible treatment. The case is unrelated to the recent discovery of a treated fancy-color diamond on which the institute reported in the latest edition of its academic journal, Gems & Gemology.

“GIA has been investigating the cause of color in diamonds and other gem materials for nearly 70 years,” the spokesperson continued. “Among GIA’s earliest area of research was determining origin of color of green diamonds, which remains even today one of the most difficult areas of gemology. The research process is dynamic, and we recently discovered new information that may provide new insights about the origin of color of the group of diamonds that we have requested to be returned for review.”

The GIA is already dealing with a wider grading backlog following a rebound in market activity in recent months. The organization is operating with as much capacity as local Covid-19 rules allow, using weekends, second shifts and overtime, the spokesperson said.

Source: Diamonds.net

GIA Recalls Diamonds over Treatment Query

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has asked customers to return a number of colored diamonds for reassessment, suspecting that a treatment might have gone under the radar.

The organization will reevaluate certain diamonds with “green or greenish” in the color grade, a spokesperson told Rapaport News last week. The recall applies to reports it issued between January and June 2020. The GIA declined to reveal how many stones were affected or to provide their report numbers.

“Recent research and investigation into potential treatment methods caused us to request the return of the subject diamonds for further analysis,” the spokesperson said.

The institute informed customers about the issue around six weeks ago, and is in the process of collecting and reassessing the diamonds. Some stones could get an “undetermined” ruling, while others may require further testing, the spokesperson explained. Many diamonds had already come back with their natural-color statuses confirmed, market sources said. The GIA bases its conclusions on the “state of knowledge and criteria in place at the date of examination,” it added.

Sources estimated that the number of reports under review was close to 100 and could be much higher. The GIA did not specify the nature of the possible treatment. The case is unrelated to the recent discovery of a treated fancy-color diamond on which the institute reported in the latest edition of its academic journal, Gems & Gemology.

“GIA has been investigating the cause of color in diamonds and other gem materials for nearly 70 years,” the spokesperson continued. “Among GIA’s earliest area of research was determining origin of color of green diamonds, which remains even today one of the most difficult areas of gemology. The research process is dynamic, and we recently discovered new information that may provide new insights about the origin of color of the group of diamonds that we have requested to be returned for review.”

The GIA is already dealing with a wider grading backlog following a rebound in market activity in recent months. The organization is operating with as much capacity as local Covid-19 rules allow, using weekends, second shifts and overtime, the spokesperson said.

Source: Diamonds.net

Diamonds with Fake Inscriptions Turn Up at GIA

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has recently received “a number of” lab-grown or treated stones carrying natural-diamond reports and fake inscriptions, the organization warned.

Clients submitted the stones for updated reports or verification services, but the grading documents that came with the goods did not match the stones, the GIA explained Tuesday. The weights and grading scores of the lab-grown and treated diamonds were close but not identical to the original stones that appeared on the reports, and they all featured the corresponding natural-diamond report numbers in the form of counterfeit girdle inscriptions.

In one example, a stone submitted was a 1.51212-carat, D-color, VVS2-clarity, type IIa, lab-grown diamond with a cut grade of “very good.” However, the accompanying report — for which the client was seeking an update — was for a 1.50362-carat, VVS2, E, type I natural diamond with “excellent” cut.

In line with its policy, the GIA overwrote all the fraudulent inscriptions with X’s to obscure them, it added. The organization also issued new reports with the accurate details, and engraved the correct report number onto the girdle, and, where relevant, the phrase “laboratory-grown.” In these cases, it also considers informing the client that submitted the stone, law enforcement, and the public, the GIA noted.

Last month, the institute revealed that it had spotted three synthetic moissanites that clients had submitted with forged girdle inscriptions that disguised them as natural diamonds. The cases at its Johannesburg laboratory were the first times the GIA had discovered fake inscriptions on diamond simulants.

Source: DCLA

Diamonds with Fake Inscriptions Turn Up at GIA

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has recently received “a number of” lab-grown or treated stones carrying natural-diamond reports and fake inscriptions, the organization warned.

Clients submitted the stones for updated reports or verification services, but the grading documents that came with the goods did not match the stones, the GIA explained Tuesday. The weights and grading scores of the lab-grown and treated diamonds were close but not identical to the original stones that appeared on the reports, and they all featured the corresponding natural-diamond report numbers in the form of counterfeit girdle inscriptions.

In one example, a stone submitted was a 1.51212-carat, D-color, VVS2-clarity, type IIa, lab-grown diamond with a cut grade of “very good.” However, the accompanying report — for which the client was seeking an update — was for a 1.50362-carat, VVS2, E, type I natural diamond with “excellent” cut.

In line with its policy, the GIA overwrote all the fraudulent inscriptions with X’s to obscure them, it added. The organization also issued new reports with the accurate details, and engraved the correct report number onto the girdle, and, where relevant, the phrase “laboratory-grown.” In these cases, it also considers informing the client that submitted the stone, law enforcement, and the public, the GIA noted.

Last month, the institute revealed that it had spotted three synthetic moissanites that clients had submitted with forged girdle inscriptions that disguised them as natural diamonds. The cases at its Johannesburg laboratory were the first times the GIA had discovered fake inscriptions on diamond simulants.

Source: DCLA

GIA Spots Rare Inscription Fraud in Simulant

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has uncovered three synthetic moissanites with forged inscriptions that fraudsters had used to misrepresent them as natural diamonds.

The cases at the Johannesburg laboratory marked the first times the GIA had discovered fake girdle inscriptions on diamond simulants, it said in a recent article in its academic journal, Gems & Gemology.

The lab initially received a round brilliant, 1.02-carat stone for a diamond-grading report. The report number on the girdle was for an E-color natural diamond with the same weight that was graded in 2019, but the dimensions were different because moissanite has lower specific gravity, meaning that it weighs less relative to its volume.

Standard testing showed the stone was not a diamond, while subsequent spectroscopic and gemological analysis proved it was synthetic moissanite, GIA researchers wrote in the fall 2020 edition of Gems & Gemology, which it released last week.

“The possibility exists that a consumer could purchase this simulant thinking it was a natural diamond, especially with a deliberately misleading inscription,” wrote Sicebiso Hlatshwayo, a supervisor of diamond grading at the GIA in Johannesburg, and Sally Eaton-Magaña, senior manager of diamond identification at the GIA in Carlsbad, California.

Since writing the article about the first stone, the same lab in South Africa received and identified two more synthetic moissanites with fraudulent inscriptions, the GIA added in a note.

In addition to the size discrepancy, the first stone’s clarity was equivalent to VVS2 (the GIA doesn’t usually give moissanite a grade of this type), whereas the diamond it was impersonating was VVS1. The inscription’s font was also distinctly different from the GIA’s standard one. The GIA obscured the fraudulent inscription, in line with its usual practice.

People sometimes mistake synthetic moissanite for diamond because some of their properties are similar, such as their hardness and thermal conductivity, the gemologists explained. The latter feature is often a method of distinguishing diamonds from simulant, but it can fail if the stone is moissanite.

However, the stone showed “double refraction” — a feature of moissanite, absent in diamonds, that gives it more brilliance.

Another key difference between the materials is dispersion, the GIA pointed out. Moissanite has higher dispersion, meaning light that enters the stone is refracted more. The eye, therefore, sees a more distinct range of colors, giving it more “fire” than diamonds.

Source: DCLA

GIA Spots Rare Inscription Fraud in Simulant

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has uncovered three synthetic moissanites with forged inscriptions that fraudsters had used to misrepresent them as natural diamonds.

The cases at the Johannesburg laboratory marked the first times the GIA had discovered fake girdle inscriptions on diamond simulants, it said in a recent article in its academic journal, Gems & Gemology.

The lab initially received a round brilliant, 1.02-carat stone for a diamond-grading report. The report number on the girdle was for an E-color natural diamond with the same weight that was graded in 2019, but the dimensions were different because moissanite has lower specific gravity, meaning that it weighs less relative to its volume.

Standard testing showed the stone was not a diamond, while subsequent spectroscopic and gemological analysis proved it was synthetic moissanite, GIA researchers wrote in the fall 2020 edition of Gems & Gemology, which it released last week.

“The possibility exists that a consumer could purchase this simulant thinking it was a natural diamond, especially with a deliberately misleading inscription,” wrote Sicebiso Hlatshwayo, a supervisor of diamond grading at the GIA in Johannesburg, and Sally Eaton-Magaña, senior manager of diamond identification at the GIA in Carlsbad, California.

Since writing the article about the first stone, the same lab in South Africa received and identified two more synthetic moissanites with fraudulent inscriptions, the GIA added in a note.

In addition to the size discrepancy, the first stone’s clarity was equivalent to VVS2 (the GIA doesn’t usually give moissanite a grade of this type), whereas the diamond it was impersonating was VVS1. The inscription’s font was also distinctly different from the GIA’s standard one. The GIA obscured the fraudulent inscription, in line with its usual practice.

People sometimes mistake synthetic moissanite for diamond because some of their properties are similar, such as their hardness and thermal conductivity, the gemologists explained. The latter feature is often a method of distinguishing diamonds from simulant, but it can fail if the stone is moissanite.

However, the stone showed “double refraction” — a feature of moissanite, absent in diamonds, that gives it more brilliance.

Another key difference between the materials is dispersion, the GIA pointed out. Moissanite has higher dispersion, meaning light that enters the stone is refracted more. The eye, therefore, sees a more distinct range of colors, giving it more “fire” than diamonds.

Source: DCLA

GIA Unveils New Lab-Grown Reports

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has launched its new grading reports for lab-grown diamonds, offering an updated look and format.

The new documents, branded “LGDR by GIA,” come in digital-only form and use specific color and clarity scores rather than the descriptive terms and ranges that appeared in its previous reports, the organization said Tuesday.

“The evolution of GIA’s reports for laboratory-grown diamonds is fully aligned with our mission to protect all consumers,” said Susan Jacques, GIA president and CEO. “Everyone who purchases gemstone jewelry — whether natural or laboratory-grown — expects and deserves the information, confidence and protection that come with a GIA report.”

The offering includes two different Laboratory-Grown Diamond Reports for colorless synthetic diamonds — a standard report and a dossier — and two for colored diamonds: one with plot diagrams and one without.

Notably, the GIA avoids calling the documents “grading reports” — a term it reserves for natural diamonds. Earlier this week, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) recommended that laboratories use that term only for natural stones and instead call synthetics reports “Laboratory-Grown Diamond Product Specifications,” arguing that the concept of grading implies rarity.

“The color and clarity specifications for laboratory-grown diamonds are described on the same scale as GIA grading reports for natural diamonds, but that does not correlate to nature’s continuum of rarity,” the GIA noted.

The reports state that a stone was created by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) and that it may include post-growth treatments to change the color. Each report also comes with a QR code linking to a custom page on GIA’s website with information about lab-grown diamonds.

Each stone will also receive a laser inscription with the report number and the words “laboratory-grown,” unless another acceptable term already appears on the girdle.

Source: DCLA

GIA Unveils New Lab-Grown Reports

 

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has launched its new grading reports for lab-grown diamonds, offering an updated look and format.

The new documents, branded “LGDR by GIA,” come in digital-only form and use specific color and clarity scores rather than the descriptive terms and ranges that appeared in its previous reports, the organization said Tuesday.

“The evolution of GIA’s reports for laboratory-grown diamonds is fully aligned with our mission to protect all consumers,” said Susan Jacques, GIA president and CEO. “Everyone who purchases gemstone jewelry — whether natural or laboratory-grown — expects and deserves the information, confidence and protection that come with a GIA report.”

The offering includes two different Laboratory-Grown Diamond Reports for colorless synthetic diamonds — a standard report and a dossier — and two for colored diamonds: one with plot diagrams and one without.

Notably, the GIA avoids calling the documents “grading reports” — a term it reserves for natural diamonds. Earlier this week, the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) recommended that laboratories use that term only for natural stones and instead call synthetics reports “Laboratory-Grown Diamond Product Specifications,” arguing that the concept of grading implies rarity.

“The color and clarity specifications for laboratory-grown diamonds are described on the same scale as GIA grading reports for natural diamonds, but that does not correlate to nature’s continuum of rarity,” the GIA noted.

The reports state that a stone was created by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT) and that it may include post-growth treatments to change the color. Each report also comes with a QR code linking to a custom page on GIA’s website with information about lab-grown diamonds.

Each stone will also receive a laser inscription with the report number and the words “laboratory-grown,” unless another acceptable term already appears on the girdle.

Source: DCLA

GIA Considers Shutting Antwerp Lab

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) plans to close or heavily scale back its Antwerp operations following a review of its business in the Belgian city.

“Based on global and local market conditions and activity, and the impact of the global pandemic, the GIA conducted an evaluation of the long-term viability of GIA Belgium,” a spokesperson for the organization told Rapaport News on Friday. “As a result of that evaluation, we have the intention to close or significantly reduce the GIA laboratory and offices in Antwerp, which will likely result in a reduction in staff.”

The GIA invested in its Antwerp business as recently as 2018, expanding the office’s research and traceability services and adding diamond grading to its capabilities — though it also shuttered its Dubai branch the same year.

The decision about the “closure or near-closure” in Antwerp is not final, the GIA noted, and the group is consulting with staff members in Belgium.

Around 50 people could lose their jobs if the move goes through, according to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

Belgium’s diamond industry has struggled in recent years amid a shift in manufacturing work to India and a reduction in bank lending to the sector. The coronavirus has intensified the situation: The country’s polished exports for 2020’s second quarter slid 71% year on year to $813.2 million as global demand plummeted and shipping routes shut down. The GIA lab closed for almost two months during the pandemic.

The laboratory will maintain its current operations in the meantime, meaning clients will still be able to submit and pick up stones, the GIA stated.

Source: DCLA

GIA Considers Shutting Antwerp Lab

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) plans to close or heavily scale back its Antwerp operations following a review of its business in the Belgian city.

“Based on global and local market conditions and activity, and the impact of the global pandemic, the GIA conducted an evaluation of the long-term viability of GIA Belgium,” a spokesperson for the organization told Rapaport News on Friday. “As a result of that evaluation, we have the intention to close or significantly reduce the GIA laboratory and offices in Antwerp, which will likely result in a reduction in staff.”

The GIA invested in its Antwerp business as recently as 2018, expanding the office’s research and traceability services and adding diamond grading to its capabilities — though it also shuttered its Dubai branch the same year.

The decision about the “closure or near-closure” in Antwerp is not final, the GIA noted, and the group is consulting with staff members in Belgium.

Around 50 people could lose their jobs if the move goes through, according to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

Belgium’s diamond industry has struggled in recent years amid a shift in manufacturing work to India and a reduction in bank lending to the sector. The coronavirus has intensified the situation: The country’s polished exports for 2020’s second quarter slid 71% year on year to $813.2 million as global demand plummeted and shipping routes shut down. The GIA lab closed for almost two months during the pandemic.

The laboratory will maintain its current operations in the meantime, meaning clients will still be able to submit and pick up stones, the GIA stated.

Source: DCLA

GIA Now Able to Screen Fancy-Shaped Melee

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has expanded its melee-screening capabilities, with the organization now able to test whether parcels of fancy-shaped diamonds contain lab-grown or treated stones.

The melee-analysis service separates natural diamonds from synthetics, simulants and stones that are potentially treated using High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT). Since launching it in 2016, the GIA has only been able to sort round-brilliant melee, the GIA said last week.

The service processes 1,800 to 2,000 stones per hour, and can also sort screened round diamonds by color and size range. Once diamonds are sorted, the melee is sealed in a secure package and returned, the GIA noted. 

Source: DCLA

GIA Now Able to Screen Fancy-Shaped Melee

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has expanded its melee-screening capabilities, with the organization now able to test whether parcels of fancy-shaped diamonds contain lab-grown or treated stones.

The melee-analysis service separates natural diamonds from synthetics, simulants and stones that are potentially treated using High Pressure-High Temperature (HPHT). Since launching it in 2016, the GIA has only been able to sort round-brilliant melee, the GIA said last week.

The service processes 1,800 to 2,000 stones per hour, and can also sort screened round diamonds by color and size range. Once diamonds are sorted, the melee is sealed in a secure package and returned, the GIA noted. 

Source: DCLA

GIA to Give Full Color, Clarity Grades for Lab-Grown

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is launching a new digital report for lab-grown diamonds that will feature specific color and clarity grades. The organization, which currently only offers loose descriptions and grade ranges for synthetics, will introduce the new reports early in the fourth quarter, it said Tuesday.

The service will incorporate the GIA’s two existing lab-grown reports. Its full reports — available for stones weighing 0.15 carats and larger — will include a 4Cs assessment and plotted diagrams showing clarity and proportions. Its lower-priced “dossiers,” which are available only for stones ranging from 0.15 to 1.99 carats, will just include the 4Cs assessment and the proportions diagram. The lab will also offer specific color and clarity grades for lab-grown colored diamonds.

The GIA began grading synthetic diamonds in 2007, and has since aligned the service more with what it offers for natural stones. Until last year, it only provided descriptions of color and clarity, such as “colorless” and “slightly included.” However, from July 1, 2019, it started indicating the range of traditional color and clarity scores to which those descriptions referred — such as “D to F” and “SI1 to SI2.”

The institute has now moved a stage further, arguing that enhanced transparency will benefit consumers and the trade.

“Natural- and laboratory-grown diamonds coexist today, accepted by both consumers and the trade,” said CEO Susan Jacques. “Ensuring consumers’ trust with GIA’s reliable, independent and authoritative grading reports for all diamonds benefits the public and the entire gem and jewelry industry. We believe the growth of laboratory-grown diamonds will expand the overall diamond market and bring in new customers.”

The reports will only be available in a digital format and will feature an updated design that distinguishes them from their natural-diamond counterparts. The California-headquartered organization will continue to laser-inscribe the stones with the words “laboratory-grown” alongside the GIA report number to further ensure differentiation from naturals. The documents will still carry a statement that the graded stone may have undergone post-growth treatment to alter its color, the GIA pointed out.

The GIA is keeping the same fee structure as for natural-diamond reports since the grading work is the same, it noted.

Source: DCLA

GIA to Give Full Color, Clarity Grades for Lab-Grown

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is launching a new digital report for lab-grown diamonds that will feature specific color and clarity grades. The organization, which currently only offers loose descriptions and grade ranges for synthetics, will introduce the new reports early in the fourth quarter, it said Tuesday.

The service will incorporate the GIA’s two existing lab-grown reports. Its full reports — available for stones weighing 0.15 carats and larger — will include a 4Cs assessment and plotted diagrams showing clarity and proportions. Its lower-priced “dossiers,” which are available only for stones ranging from 0.15 to 1.99 carats, will just include the 4Cs assessment and the proportions diagram. The lab will also offer specific color and clarity grades for lab-grown colored diamonds.

The GIA began grading synthetic diamonds in 2007, and has since aligned the service more with what it offers for natural stones. Until last year, it only provided descriptions of color and clarity, such as “colorless” and “slightly included.” However, from July 1, 2019, it started indicating the range of traditional color and clarity scores to which those descriptions referred — such as “D to F” and “SI1 to SI2.”

The institute has now moved a stage further, arguing that enhanced transparency will benefit consumers and the trade.

“Natural- and laboratory-grown diamonds coexist today, accepted by both consumers and the trade,” said CEO Susan Jacques. “Ensuring consumers’ trust with GIA’s reliable, independent and authoritative grading reports for all diamonds benefits the public and the entire gem and jewelry industry. We believe the growth of laboratory-grown diamonds will expand the overall diamond market and bring in new customers.”

The reports will only be available in a digital format and will feature an updated design that distinguishes them from their natural-diamond counterparts. The California-headquartered organization will continue to laser-inscribe the stones with the words “laboratory-grown” alongside the GIA report number to further ensure differentiation from naturals. The documents will still carry a statement that the graded stone may have undergone post-growth treatment to alter its color, the GIA pointed out.

The GIA is keeping the same fee structure as for natural-diamond reports since the grading work is the same, it noted.

Source: DCLA

GIA Embraces Automated Clarity Grading

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has teamed up with IBM Research to develop an automated system for grading the clarity of a diamond.

The artificial intelligence (AI) technology uses data from tens of millions of diamonds GIA laboratories have examined in the past, applying the institute’s existing grading standards. It’s already in limited use at the GIA’s New York and Carlsbad laboratories, the institute said Monday.

Grading laboratories have increasingly invested in AI in recent years, as it promises more accurate and consistent results. Sarine Technologies unveiled its automated color and clarity grading equipment in 2016, while the GIA has been working with IBM on the joint project for around two years.

“IBM’s AI technology, combined with GIA’s expertise, extensive data and gemological-research capabilities, enables us to deliver advancements in consistency, accuracy and speed unlike any other organization,” said Tom Moses, the GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The program will initially include the most popular diamond sizes. The GIA aims to expand it to other sizes, shapes and qualities in the future. The GIA and IBM are planning other collaborations combining gemological evaluation with AI.

Source: DCLA

GIA Embraces Automated Clarity Grading

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has teamed up with IBM Research to develop an automated system for grading the clarity of a diamond.

The artificial intelligence (AI) technology uses data from tens of millions of diamonds GIA laboratories have examined in the past, applying the institute’s existing grading standards. It’s already in limited use at the GIA’s New York and Carlsbad laboratories, the institute said Monday.

Grading laboratories have increasingly invested in AI in recent years, as it promises more accurate and consistent results. Sarine Technologies unveiled its automated color and clarity grading equipment in 2016, while the GIA has been working with IBM on the joint project for around two years.

“IBM’s AI technology, combined with GIA’s expertise, extensive data and gemological-research capabilities, enables us to deliver advancements in consistency, accuracy and speed unlike any other organization,” said Tom Moses, the GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.

The program will initially include the most popular diamond sizes. The GIA aims to expand it to other sizes, shapes and qualities in the future. The GIA and IBM are planning other collaborations combining gemological evaluation with AI.

Source: DCLA