GIA improves diamond-grading efficiency

Posted May 13, 2014 | By Stephanie Chan • Staff Journalist

The GIA has changed the way it expresses laboratory service time to clients – just one of a number of planned measures to improve its diamond grading service.

From the start of this month, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) began using “return dates” with the aim of providing clients with a clearer indication of when their graded diamonds and gemstones and accompanying reports would be ready for pick up or shipment.

This information was formerly communicated in terms of a “turnaround time” which indicated the number of business days – excluding holidays and weekends – that it expected to take to process a stone.

The weekly-updated “return date” system is instead based on calendar days, and takes into account the weight of the diamond or gemstone being processed to allow for the expedited grading of larger stones.

“We recognised that longer service times were impacting our clients’ businesses,” GIA spokesperson Stephen Morisseau told Jeweller. “Our intent in using return dates rather than turnaround time is to clarify the service time and enable clients to make the best decisions for their businesses.”

The GIA has reported growing demand for its services, with laboratory submissions increasing 70 per cent since the end of 2012. Morisseau said that although the GIA had increased its capacity by 35 per cent, the laboratory still received 25 per cent more submissions per day than it could handle.

In August last year, the GIA announced a “fast track” program that allowed clients to opt for 10 per cent of their stones to receive an expedited service. This program still continues, with Morisseau adding that more improvements were in the pipeline.

“We are undertaking an aggressive hiring program to add 50 per cent more graders as well as expand facilities where possible,” he explained – although he indicated that this was not easy. “There is not a huge pool of trained diamond graders out there. They have to be found. They have to be trained,” he added.

Return dates for items that have been submitted for grading be viewed on the GIA’s website.

The GIA was established in 1931 and is responsible for founding the International Diamond Grading System. It grades both diamonds and gemstones via nine laboratories located in Carlsbad, New York, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Johannesburg, Gaborone, Israel and Tokyo.