Editor’s Note
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will no longer issue traditional grading reports for lab-grown diamond jewelry, moving away from applying the 4Cs classification to these stones. The institute will, however, continue to provide identification and evaluation services for them.
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s foremost authority on gemology and a leading diamond certification body, has announced it will discontinue issuing certificates to consumers for lab-grown diamond (LGD) jewelry. This decision involves doing away with classifying LGDs based on the traditional 4Cs (color, clarity, cut, and carat weight). However, the institute will continue to accept laboratory-grown diamonds for evaluation and identification.
said Pritesh Patel, Chief Operating Officer of GIA.
Confirming the development, Vishwanath G, chairman of South India-based Wondr Diamonds, which sells both natural and LGDs, said:
Apart from GIA, the International Gemological Institute (IGI) issues certification for both natural and lab-grown diamonds. However, IGI is yet to reveal its certification strategy for LGDs.
A Mumbai-based diamond retailer noted that earlier, GIA would issue a certificate for both natural and LGDs on the same parameters.
the retailer said.
Susan Jacques, President & CEO of GIA, explained the rationale behind the decision.
Jacques said.
She added that more than 95% of laboratory-grown diamonds entering the market fall into a very narrow range of colour and clarity.
Jacques said.
GIA will start using descriptive terms to characterise the quality of laboratory-grown diamonds and will no longer use the colour and clarity nomenclature developed for natural diamonds.
The revised GIA description system for laboratory-grown diamonds will confirm that the submitted item is a laboratory-grown diamond and whether it falls into one of two categories: ‘premium’ or ‘standard.’ The categories will be defined by a combination of metrics related to colour, clarity, and finish. If the man-made diamond fails to achieve the minimum standard for quality, it will not receive a designation from GIA. Until the revised descriptive system is finalised, the current GIA services for laboratory-grown diamonds will continue to be available.
Jacques added.
India produces 20 million carats of LGDs annually. GIA, which invented the famous 4Cs and created the International Diamond Grading System in 1953, has offices in Mumbai and Surat – key trading and manufacturing hubs for diamonds in India.
