The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) intends to revisit its 2010 decision to allow the terms “laboratory-grown” and “laboratory-created” as alternatives for “synthetic,” deeming them harmful to natural-diamond sales.
The organization has put the consideration to revise both its Diamond Blue Book, which lists acceptable terminology for industry words, and the relevant ISO standards on the table for its upcoming 2025 Congress, which will take place from October 27 to 29 in Paris.
“Our industry is currently undergoing a period of significant transition,” Udi Sheintal, president of CIBJO’s Diamond Commission, said Thursday.
The trade is at a “crossroads” amid a fall in demand for the natural product, price drops and lower production, he continued. “In response, many stakeholders are seeking to reestablish clearer boundaries between natural diamonds and synthetic diamonds — a move that I believe is essential to restoring consumer confidence and ensuring the long-term integrity of the natural diamond market,” he commented.
CIBJO first approved a resolution to allow alternative terms for synthetics at its 2010 Congress in Munich, Germany.
The organization also wants to discuss restricting the use of a 4Cs grading system for anything other than natural diamonds, a decision the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) already made last month. However, other labs, including the International Gemological Institute (IGI), have doubled-down on their intention to continue grading lab-grown in the same way as natural.
In addition, the confederation wants to increase consumer transparency by requiring that all descriptions and marketing of synthetic diamonds “reflect the reality of their origin: they are not grown or created in a laboratory, but rather are manufactured in industrial facilities through artificial processes,” Sheintal stressed. “I believe it is both timely and necessary to reflect on our past decisions, acknowledging where we may have erred, and take decisive steps toward a more transparent and responsible future,” he added.
Image: Synthetic diamonds. (Shutterstock)