The Grown Diamond Trade Organisation (GDTO) will be led by executive director Marty Hurwitz. It plans to emphasise the distinction between natural and lab-created diamonds among consumers.
Based in California, Hurwitz founded The MVEye in 1989, a research and communications firm. He has also previously served as a board member of the International Grown Diamonds Association and WD Lab Grown Diamonds.
The GDTO plans to create a retail advertising fund, provide sales training materials, and lobby the government on behalf of the industry.
“It’s time for lab-grown diamonds to have their own ecosystem,” Hurwitz said.
“The consumer’s voice is loud and clear; we must organise to meet the growing demand and proudly differentiate from the traditional mined-diamond institutions.”
The GDTO will offer members reports addressing manufacturing processes, quality control, and the specifications of the finished jewellery.
“Lab-grown diamonds are manufactured to strict standards and should be graded accordingly,” Hurwitz added.
“There are multiple quality control steps throughout. Sending a lab-grown diamond to a laboratory to verify the quality after it’s produced is akin to reopening and tasting every bottle of wine after it’s corked. It simply doesn’t make sense.”
Among the other stated aims was launching a trade show featuring exclusively lab-created diamonds.
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