- LAB-GROWN,Federal Trade Commission,International Grown
- Diamond Association,Diamond Producers Association,Jean-Marc Lieberherr,Gems & Jewellery Export
- Promotion Council,IGDA,Jean-Marc Lieberherr
The US Federal Trade Commission recently revised
the descriptive nomenclature for diamonds. The
new guidelines, intended to protect consumers
from deceptive marketing, seem inconsistent with ISO
nomenclature and are clearly pro lab-grown. The revisions
have shocked the mined diamond industry and opened up
a Pandora’s Box of accusations with producers of mined
diamonds sharply pitted against the lobby for laboratory
grown diamonds, besides issuance of parallel guidelines
by leading diamond industry organisations that has created
more confusion for the hapless consumer. Here is an insight
into FTC revisions and what they mean for the US $80 billion
global diamond market. By Aasha Gulrajani Swarup
What is there in a name? Shakespeare
may not agree but in these days
of suave evolved multi-level
marketing, nomenclature can
impact erosion in market share and value. It is to
protect inventory values and prevent consumer
deception that producers of mined diamonds are
pitted against the lab grown lobby to protest against
the revision of the Jewelry Guides by the Federal
Trade Commission, an independent agency of the
U.S. Government for consumer protection and
prevention of anti-competitive practices.
The FTC recently revised its Jewelry Guides
to prevent deception in jewellery marketing by
providing a framework for businesses to avoid
making any deceptive claims.
MINED V/S LAB-GROWN
However, while the revision of the Jewelry Guides
by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is being
termed as a long overdue correction by the labgrown
diamond industry, the mined diamond
industry, has claimed the revisions are inconsistent
with ISO norms, followed by businesses globally,
which shall leave the consumer confused and open
to marketing deception.
“With the revised Jewelry Guides, FTC has
struck a balance between recognising latest
scientific developments of the 21st century and
realigning the jewellery industry’s marketing
framework to ensure that consumers can make
informed decisions ,” said Richard Garard,
Secretary General, The International Grown
Diamond Association (IGDA).
After all, as the lab grown diamond industry
reiterates the Commission first used the diamond
definition in 1956, when there was only one type of
diamond - natural stones mined from the earth -in
the market. Since then technological advances have
made it possible to create in a laboratory, diamonds
with the same optical, physical and chemical
properties as mined diamonds.
LAB-GROWNS ARE NATURAL
DIAMONDS
Garard especially refers to the FTC dropping the
word ‘natural’ from the definition of a diamond, that
now recognises that diamonds can be cultured on
earth, just as below the earth. Or even cautioning
marketers not to use the terms ‘real’ or ‘genuine’
to imply that a lab-grown diamond is not in fact
an actual diamond. “Lab-grown diamonds are
absolutely 100 per cent diamond,” Garard adds.