GIA GemFest in Tokyo focuses on coloured diamonds

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) GemFest held in Tokyo for the first time on April 11, delivered insights into coloured diamonds with a presentation by GIA’s chief quality officer and noted expert on colored diamonds - John King. GIA opened its gem grading laboratory in Tokyo in December 2012.

The GemFest was opened by Mari Okada, executive manager of the GIA gem laboratory in Tokyo and it brought members of the Japanese gem and jewelry industry gaining exclusive insights.. Ms. Okada said, “It is very important for GIA to be present in as such an important market as Japan not only with gem grading services, but also with latest information from GIA’s nine laboratories and international research effort,” she said. GIA GemFests are held across the globe to provide the latest gemological information to the public and trade.

Speaking to members of the Japanese jewelry industry and GIA alumni, King noted that Japan is one of the world’s largest consumer markets for colored diamonds. “While colored diamonds have been coveted for centuries, it wasn’t until the mid-90s that they really emerged on the mainstream jewelry market. These rare stones were once reserved for royalty and the very wealthy, but today are more and more prevalent in the broader gem market,” he added.King discussed rare colors seen in the GIA lab, such as purple, pinkish orange, green and blue-green, along with unusually large treated colors, HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) treated colors, synthetics and treated synthetics. He also reviewed the new trend of pale colored diamonds, which are equivalent to F, G, H and I on the D to Z scale.

Over the course of its 82-year history, GIA has evaluated many of the world’s most famous and significant colored diamonds, including the Hope, Dresden Green, Sun Drop and Wittelsbach-Graff. Among the historically notable GIA-graded colored diamonds highlighted at the GemFest were: The Princie Diamond, The De Beers Diamond , The Bulgari Blue.