The GIA confirmed in a statement that the new terminology will use descriptive language to characterise the quality of lab-created diamonds. These diamonds will fall into one of two categories, premium or standard, which will be determined based on colour, clarity, and finish.
“The GIA will start using descriptive terms to characterise the quality of lab-grown diamonds and will no longer use the colour and clarity nomenclature that GIA developed for natural diamonds,” the institute explained.
If a lab-created diamond fails to achieve minimum standards for quality, the stone will not be assigned one of these designations. These changes aim to improve the understanding of the difference between the two categories among consumers.
Tom Moses, chief laboratory and research officer, said that improvements in the production quality of lab-created diamonds have prompted the change.
“Similar to other man-made gem materials, we anticipate the continued acceptance and popularity of laboratory-grown diamonds,” he explained.
“More than 95 per cent of laboratory-grown diamonds entering the market fall into a very narrow range of colour and clarity. Because of that, it is no longer relevant for GIA to describe man-made diamonds using the nomenclature created for the continuum of colour and clarity of natural diamonds.”
The GIA will continue to provide its current services for lab-created diamonds until these changes are finalised, which is expected later this year.
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