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The president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), Ernie Blom, today expressed his concerns over the discovery by the GIA of a shipment of allegedly treated diamonds.
Yesterday, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) said that some 500 colourless to near-colourless diamonds have been submitted primarily to its grading laboratory in Ramat Gan, Israel, which had been potentially subjected to an undisclosed temporary treatment.
The GIA believes that the treatment temporarily hides the colour of the diamonds submitted, giving a colour grade that could be up to three grades higher than its actual grade.
In a statement, Blom said that he is “extremely concerned” by the development. He described it as “clearly unlawful behaviour”, adding that the GIA will have “no tolerance” whatsoever for the alleged illegal activity.
He said: “It is crucial that this kind of unlawful action is stamped out. We are pleased that the GIA publicised this development so that diamantaires can be on their guard, and that the IDE [Israel Diamond Exchange] is moving firmly in order to deal with this issue with the utmost seriousness.
“Our industry must come together to counter such activity, both for the good of our members and for the end consumer who is always uppermost in our minds.”
The GIA said that it ended client agreements with the companies that submitted the diamonds and notified the relevant trade bodies.
The report numbers of the potentially treated stones have been posted on GIA’s website. Anyone who has purchased or has access to any of these diamonds is asked to submit them to any GIA lab for a no-cost, expedited review.
