This week’s forum in New York City offered some general guidelines for retailers looking to protect themselves.
At the U.S. Jewelry Council forum on Undisclosed Synthetic Diamonds, held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on Nov. 1, National Jeweler’s Michelle Graff and I were given the task of summarizing the day’s events and prescribing takeaways. But that wasn’t easy to do.
If anything became clear during the day’s worth of presentations, it’s that the situation with undisclosed lab-grown diamonds remains very unclear. We know undisclosed stones are out there. We don’t know how many. And there is no easy way to spot them.
“If a consumer comes in and asks: “Is the diamond real?” said one retailer. “I’m a gemologist, and I have no clue.… Right now, we have no confidence in our supply chain.”
(The program was done under Chatham House Rules, which means attendees can talk about what was discussed, but can’t identify speakers. In one case, a speaker gave me permission to quote her directly.)
