The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has updated the language in its lab-grown-diamond certificates to conform to the recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines.
The grading lab will no longer use the term synthetic when referring to diamonds created in a lab, either inside its reports, or in the title, it said Friday. The new reports will also feature the same 4Cs descriptions found on the GIA’s grading reports for natural diamonds.
Additionally, the certificate will include a QR code which will link to the GIA’s report-check service, and provide consumers with more information about the growth process of lab-grown diamonds. It will also list any detected clarity treatments the stone has undergone.
The GIA will include a comment on the report disclosing the fact that the stone is man-made and has been produced using either chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or High-Pressure, High-Temperature (HPHT).
“Over the past few years, there has been an incredible advancement in the technology by which laboratory-grown diamonds are made,” said GIA CEO Susan Jacques. “With the increased availability of man-made diamonds in commercial qualities, sizes and quantities, and with greater consumer awareness of and desire for this product, GIA is making these changes to align with the revised FTC guides and changes in the market.”
Earlier this month, HRD Antwerp announced changes to its lab-grown-diamond reports, including updating the language to match those of natural diamonds, and expanding its color categories for synthetic stones. It will also launch a lab-grown-diamond-jewelry report in September. *
