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The Global Discussion Continues
In this issue of Lab Grown Magazine, we feature
the third part of the three-part series entitled
The Global Diamond Forum. Author Dan
Scott takes a look at three gem laboratories
that grade lab-grown diamonds, with opinions
by the experts on the techniques used in these
procedures and how they are graded.
In a related matter on grading for the LGD
sector, the World Jewellery Confederation
(CIBJO) just released its Laboratory-Grown
Diamond Guidance to be reviewed by members
of CIBJO-affiliated national associations and
representatives of CIBJO commercial members.
The review is the final stage in the confederation’s
two-year process to create a harmonized
set of operating standards intended to
ensure consumer confidence.
CIBJO recommends that gem labs use the
term “grading report” only for mined diamonds.
This is because, according to CIBJO,
the idea of a standard grading report implies a
certain degree of rarity.
For lab-grown, CIBJO contends that details
should be placed in a document called Laboratory-
Grown Diamond Product Specifications.
This term clearly leaves off the term “grading”
from the reports and implies that LGDs are
products to be differentiated from mined diamonds.
The term “rarity” evokes a whole other discussion,
with passionate voices on both sides.
Scott touches upon this topic in his article and
will continue in next month’s issue.
In related “grading” news, GIA just rolled
out its new reports for lab-grown diamonds,
which use the same color and clarity grading
terminology that the lab has long used for natural
diamonds. Although GIA started grading
LGDs in 2007, it had previously treated the
stones differently than natural diamonds.
Just now hitting the shelves is a new book,
Laboratory-Grown Diamonds: Information
Guide to HPHT-Grown and CVD-Grown
Diamonds. Now in its third edition, by Dusan
Simic and Branko Deljanin, it is a must-read
for everyone in the LGD sector.
Until next time, stay safe.
Zev
The Global Diamond Forum
The overdue collective conversation on
man-made and mined diamonds continues.
Part Three of a Three-Part Series
By Dan Scott
This series was meant to end in this third
part, but reader reaction has been so increasingly
positive, and there is so much
more news to share that we couldn’t fit it onto
these seven pages. That may seem hard to believe,
but you’ll soon realize why.
Writing these articles requires much research,
interviews, fact-checking and aligning
references. We are presenting worldwide
diamond challenges and doing so with no
fear. Every aspect of what you are reading are
undeniable facts typically restricted to offthe-
record conversations.
In these challenging times, transparency
is more critical than ever, so as we expose
complications, we reveal suggested solutions.
These topics affect your business. If
you’re moved by these conversations, join us.
Visit Lab Grown Magazine’s Facebook page
at https://www.facebook.com/LabGrownDiamondMagazine
and be a part of an online
community with no filter, just facts.
Before I delve into the topic of this article,
which is about laboratories that grade labgrown
diamonds, I want to briefly summarize
some of the requested topics that couldn’t
fit into this issue, but that will be covered in
the near future.
♦ Lightbox Diamonds continues to not
certify its lab-grown stones, despite what you
may have read or heard. It also doesn’t sell engagement
rings; it’s all about fashion jewelry.
♦ CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation,
asserts that gem laboratories should not
use the term “grading” in documents relating
to LGDs. Instead, they suggest that gem
labs use a procedure and document called
Laboratory-Grown Diamond Product Specifications.
Interestingly, no U.S. lab was consulted
by CIBJO in its more than two-year long
discussions. Furthermore, CIBJO’s guidance
is not legally enforceable in the U.S., and we
don’t expect any credible labs to follow these
guidelines for LG reports.
♦ “The Earth no longer makes real diamonds.”
“There are so few one-carat diamonds
being recovered each year, the total
number would fill only one exercise ball.”
These bold statements under the header of
“Diamonds are extremely rare” are a recent
addition to the Natural Diamond Council
(NDC) website. We’re in the process of
exploring these claims for a future story, but
since David Kellie, NDC’s president, refrained
from comment, other than stating
that his attention is focused on NDC’s new
campaign, we asked other experts.
Here’s what they had to say: Henry Ho,
Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the
Asian Institute for Gemological Sciences
(AIGS) and the Jewelry Trade Center, said,
“The ‘diamond facts’ you have referred to in
the Natural Diamond Council’s link are unsubstantiated.”
Luxury leader, Pam Danziger responded,
“If these facts are true, there is no better justification
for lab-grown diamonds. The Earth
is a finite resource that we are responsible for
protecting and preserving. Man-made diamonds
grown under laboratory conditions
are the only ‘natural’ way to meet future demand
for this most valuable stone.”
Brittany Lewis, CMO of WD Lab Grown
Diamonds stated, “While this is an interesting
theory, the Natural Diamond Council
has failed to provide sources or evidence substantiating
this information.”
The source(s) of NDC’s significant statements
surely must be backed by hard numbers
published by credible sources somewhere,
thus my diamond data dig continued…
When asked about NDC’s claim on natural,
white diamonds being “extremely rare,”
Bob Gannicott, Chairman and CEO of
Harry Winston said, “We’ve already had the
T-bone steak and we’ve already had the prime
rib roast of this particular animal. We now
have to move onto the hamburger and the
chuck steak.” To give context to Gannicott’s
quote, he was referring to the depletion of
multiple diamond mines (such as Winston’s
40% stake in the Diavik mine in Canada)
and support for NDC’s stance on “rare,” yet
he did not cite any numbers.
Rare, Scarce… or Neither?
As I dug deeper, this natural diamond dilemma
may be more of a debacle. Data from
De Beers, still the world’s largest diamond
mining and manufacturing operation, gave
conflicting information and still did not address
the science behind NDC’s statements.
Note De Beer’s now-public 2019 release of
The Venetia Underground Project and its yearly
mining carat counts and projections. The
numbers are dropping, but hardly defend the
definition of “rare,” rather moving towards
the word “scarce.” But even scarcity comes
into question.
Earlier this year on CNN,
Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De
Beers Group spoke of De
Beer’s $468 million cashinfused
ocean vessels that
are set to suck up gemquality
diamonds from
the seabed. “Some of the
highest quality diamonds
in the world are found in
the sea off the Namibian
coast,” Cleaver said. “With
this investment, we will
be able to optimize new
technology to find and recover
diamonds more efficiently
and meet consumer
demand across the globe.” Meet global diamond
demand? So much for natural diamond
rarity or scarcity, or so it would seem.
And you won’t believe what was unearthed
next. It’s utterly out-of-this-world and will
be discussed in the December issue of Lab
Grown Magazine.
The Labs Behind the Certified Truths
“Lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are growing
in demand. With the holiday season in
full swing, an industry concern surrounds the
amount of LGDs at market, more precisely,
how those diamonds are being represented
and sold,” noted Patrick Milam, VP of Sales
for Ritani. “Consumers are rightfully demanding
formal diamond identification and
documentation. I’m seeing some merchants
investing in a new form of protection—
in-store equipment to separate natural and
lab-grown stones. No one wants a repeat
of the Good Morning America newscast citing
an LGD sold as a natural stone (or viceversa).
With LGDs, it’s like the Wild West
right now and it needs oversight.”
Leading gem labs agree. Of those, three
diamond laboratories have skin in the LGD
game. They realize that retailers are “in the
finals,” and can’t afford to drop the ball. For
a winning shot in every play, here are three
labs you want on your all-star team.
The Cutting Report
AGS Laboratories is revisiting the grading
of LGDs, which initially drew my attention.
AGS’ history sheds light on why their expertise
on diamonds and light is so important.
“Laboratory-grown diamonds share essentially
the same properties of natural diamonds
chemically, physically, and optically. Given
the close similarities, it typically requires a
trained specialist utilizing the right scientific
equipment to tell the difference,” explained
Jason Quick, Executive Director of AGS
Laboratories. This is why AGS Laboratories
resumed grading
LGDs in
August, a process
temporarily
suspended in
2012. “As the
market expands,
consumers need
a diamond grading
report that
clearly explains
the characteristics
of lab-grown
diamonds. Our lab was founded on consumer
protection, and our laboratory-grown
diamond grading report is one more way that
we are demonstrating our commitment to
that mission. Our enhanced (LGD) report is
the result of over a year of research and development
to create a product that helps jewelry
buyers better understand the qualities
of their laboratory-grown diamonds,” Quick
added.
The lab is currently in an LGD pilot phase
and expects to expand those services in short
order. To appreciate this level of industry introspection
and its step into the future, let’s
briefly step back to 1996, the year that AGS
Laboratories was launched. In doing so,
something that we now consider commonplace
was anything but.
Promoted as the only facility in America
dedicated to elevated diamond cut grading
and related documentation for all diamonds,
AGS Laboratories has proven to be a leader.
The lab invented a way to detect if a diamond
is properly cut. In 2006, they took it a
step further.
Using a light performance gem grading
patented process, an AGS Laboratories diamond
report is a detailed process, one that
assesses a diamond’s shape and light handling
capabilities. A scientific triad of symmetry,
proportion, and polish are explored if the
cut is correct. One could easily define “correct”
as “average,” which doesn’t cut it for this
non-profit pioneer.
Similar to a schoolteacher grading a student’s
report with a “C,” denoting the content
may be correct but not outstanding, AGS
Labs moved diamond cut grading reports
to an “A+” level. AGS Laboratories elevated
the diamond industry to a current worldwide
standard in diamond cut grading.
Adopted from the first published diamond
design methodology from 1919, it took about
50 years for the U.S. to move diamond light
behavior theories
to theorem.
In the 1950s,
the American
Ideal Cut was
known as the
best of breed.
Welcome AGS
Laboratories
and their custom
modifications—
a means that
would redefine
the now exacting standards of a diamond’s
proper table size, crown height, pavilion
depth, and girdle thickness, renaming the
practice as The AGS Ideal.®
Within round brilliants cuts, this benchmark
remains the highest cut grade a diamond
may embody. For AGS Laboratories,
their difference in their LGD reports is
digital, similar to what GIA has recently deployed
for their LGD grading.
Balanced by ethics and education, social
responsibility also weighs in, precisely why
community is core to the AGS brand. Last
April, AGS hosted Engage. Connect. Learn: A
Virtual Conclave Experience, an example of extending
a no-cost hand to industry professionals
and indirectly to the public. Educating
professionals on the psychographic side
of their customer base helps B2B diamond
buyers relate to B2C diamond buyers.
Success Guaranteed
Based in Manhattan’s still bustling diamond
district, a gem lab is tucked away from
view. In the midst of an Autumn COVID
crisis, I expected a short visit and empty
halls. What I discovered was a diamond lab
where business is booming. Here, approximately
60% natural and 40% LG stones are
continuously rushing in for grading, and labcoated
people are rushing them out.
Welcome to GCAL (Gem Certification
and Assurance Lab, Inc) where testing and
tabulations have led to winning court trials.
Here, all things diamond and gems thrive in
trust and are relished in reliability.
One might dismiss a lab with only one location
to perhaps be “lesser than.” I did. I was
wrong. Le’ts take a tour through the labyrinth
of a laboratory that GCAL calls home.
Using the word “laboratory” seems to
diminish the expansiveness of
GCAL’s executives, facility, scope,
and structure. GCAL has its finger
on the pulse of technology, and
with patented instruments such as
Gemprint® (identifying diamonds
like fingerprint scans), GCAL
holds a winning hand. But you
would expect top-notch technology
to be in lockstep with this level
of lab. What is so impressive is
what they do with this technology.
Here, masterful minds meld into
the machinery. Top-notch equipment
can be expensive door stops
if the machine operator isn’t up to
speed.
And things move fast at this lab.
Very fast. Roller skates may become
as mandatory as face masks at
this place. In the diamond grading
business, however, there is fast and
then there is agile. With GCAL
you get both. But since “speed
kills,” moving fast might mean
mistakes. While the lab bases its
success on analytics, the one thing
that needs no quantitative study
is the number of mistakes, or, in
GCAL’s case, the lack of mistakes.
The lab offers something as rare as
a tennis-ball-sized natural red diamond
for its reports: A guarantee.
Since its creation in 2001,
GCAL claims that it produces
100% accurate and defendable
diamond grading reports.
And it does so to such a degree that the
certified documents are legally acceptable
and enforceable… or they’ll pay. That is some
claim.
I wanted to learn more about that promise.
With their corporation and subsidiaries doing
business for 20 years and churning out
countless certs, there must have been numerous
lawsuits. If you lose a few lawsuits, you
can say goodbye to your trust, reputation,
and respect. “If our grading is not as we say it
is, GCAL will reimburse that consumer, in
cash, for the difference in value between the
original grades and the agreed upon grades
now,” stated Angelo Palmieri, VP and COO
at GCAL and President of Gemprint®.
When challenged, GCAL will make every
effort to either confirm and provide evidence
their original grades were correct, or
confirm the original grades were not correct.
So, I ask Palmieri, “After all these years, you
must have been challenged.” There’s a pause.
Palmieri knows he’s on-the-record. With a
humble confidence, he informed me, “Yes,
we’ve been challenged. But, in nearly 20
years, we’ve only been challenged five times.”
Impressive. Palmieri continues, “Of those
five times in GCAL’s history, we agreed that
an error had been made in three cases and
we paid the consumer for the difference. The
other two involved outside parties independently
misleading consumers who were trying
to sell their diamond back to the trade.”
My mind adds very to impressive. GCAL
stands behind its tests with its own money,
time, and reputation, framed in honesty.
Many labs strive for the prestigious ISO
17025 accreditation. Many fail. What is the
ISO? The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is an independent,
global network of the world’s leading standardizers
in 165 countries. ISO investigators
are tougher than a tag-team of federal auditors
who had too many cups of coffee. Let’s
call this auditing process… laborious. Only
two diamond grading labs in North America
achieved and maintain the honor of an ISO
17025:2017 Laboratory Accreditation. Tiffany
& Co is one. GCAL is the other.
When just about to leave the lab, another
GCAL achievement caught my eye. In
2014, it became the only gem lab in the world
to earn the prestigious ISO 17025 Forensic
Accreditation. After I left the lab, I looked
up the qualifications to gain a forensic lab
accreditation; they are very long and complicated.
Reading through what’s needed to
pass that test left me impressed.
Superior Gem Leadership
While the lab “SGL” is not an acronym for
“superior gem leadership,” those words mirror
the integrity and commitment offered by
this global gemological laboratory.
First, let’s clear up some possible confusion.
There is a Swedish lab group that carries the
same letters and a similar web domain, but
as you’ll read, we’re focusing on www.SGLLabs.
com, and with good reason.
Labs tend to promote words like “integrity,”
which I find to be overused. But when a
global group demonstrates action under that
term, we should pay attention.
Speaking with North American jewelry
store executives with one store, and those
canvased across the country, many told me
about their search for a trusted diamond detection
system. They realize stocking LGDs
is as necessary as wearing a mask these days.
Just as a mask provides protection, so too must
the method of detection between mined and
man-made stones be reliable.
A district director from Fred Myers Jewelers
stated, “Let’s call it an ‘in-house’ insurance
policy of sorts. Beyond inventory accuracy
and reputation management, something
that sits top-of-counter that consumers see
could be a sales tool. But it’s got to be easy to
use. I’m the person with the VCR that blinks
12:00,” she mused. I didn’t ask her why she
still has a VCR. Her point was on point, and
she’s not alone.
While professional diamond detection
equipment is available, the investment, training
time, and software updates are less of a
concern compared to simply making it work.
If you’re mentally nodding “yes” right now,
you’ll want to get to know SGL.
Co-headquartered in London and New
York City, SGL has 17 laboratories in other
metro meccas such as Dubai and Mumbai
and reaches consumers in 118 countries including
Saudi Arabia and India. While they
provide lab services featuring diamond detection,
grading, and certification, this lab
leader thinks like their end-users.
Just as SGL predicted growth in diamond
lab services in lesser-known urban environments,
the company also foresaw a need for
diamond detection at the jewelry design and
retail level. “SGL ensured a footprint within
fast-growing urban areas and it has proved
in our favor. We see a similar opportunity in
many countries around the world that do not
have direct access to laboratory certifications
but are potential trade centers. Strategic,
niche market penetration‒beyond our headquarters
and major market presence‒helps us
to help others in untapped markets,” stated
Chirag Soni, Director SGL.
Sensible, genuine, lasting. These are three
more words that fit into the SGL brand. They
speak to retail needs with a seasoned voice
that activates actualization. That’s a fancy
way of saying that SGL offers a product that
retailers need right now. Enter Dia-Screen.
“There has been a growing need for screening
LGDs versus natural, and that need is
accelerating in prominence. Several retailers
have set their protocols and compliances
to ensure they offer transparency within the
supply chain, which, in turn, helps them
deliver on their consumer promise,” Soni
added. “Dia-Screen helps them fulfill that
promise and relay the message in front of
the customer. This invites conversation and
builds consumer trust.”
Conversation should lead to conversion.
When the conversation turns to observation
or better yet, interaction, that kind of
engagement embraces trust. The result transforms
value-add into a value-must.
What I like about Dia-Screen is that it’s
compact, visual, and unusual. Offered as a
counter-top or a self-standing unit, it pulls in
curiosity seekers and sparks conversations.
Think Dialogue, Not Monologue
When a customer interacts with diamond
jewelry and sees technology unfold in their
hands, they tend to keep what they’re holding.
Dia-Screen is more than a fast, simple
means of diamond detection; it’s a relationship-
building machine. While you’re pondering
that point consider looking at this
link: https://tinyurl.com/SGL-JVC It leads to
the Diamond Supply Chain Protection Kit and
is free, thanks to SGL, JVC, and the JCK
Industry Fund. It’s filled with everything you
need to protect yourself and your customers
in these days of the “Wild West,” to again
quote Patrick Milam. Everything, that is, except
seeing Dia-Screen in action. That demo
is only an email away and destined to bring
your customers closer to you.
In the next issue, we’ll reveal the science behind
NDC’s claims and why it matters. Also,
Tiffany Stevens from Jewelers Vigilance
Committee offers clear guidance on how to
advertise and promote LGDs. Two leaders
in LG will also share their insight into what
2021 holds for the LG industry.
Dan Scott is a brand architect and founder of
Luxe Licensing, a New York Metro-based brand
and marketing agency catering to the luxury and
demi-fine properties. Past and present clients include
Chanel, Gucci, Reed Expos/JCKVitual,
Harry Winston, and up-and-coming brands.
Dan welcomes conversation and may be reached
at +1.201.294.3697, dans@luxelicensing.com or
through www.LuxeLicensing.com. ■
