DiamondBuzz
Fluorescent Diamonds: GIA to Introduce Clearer Guidance
According to GIA, around 25% to 35% of all diamonds show some level of fluorescence. Greater transparency about this significant segment of the market could help improve confidence among both consumers and the jewellery trade.
Later this year, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will introduce new wording in its diamond grading reports to reduce confusion about fluorescent diamonds. The update, expected in the fourth quarter, is one of the most important steps taken by a grading laboratory to explain this feature more clearly to both the jewellery trade and consumers.
Rapaport Intelligence Report explores what this change could mean for the diamond market. Fluorescence has had a long and complicated history. In the past, fluorescent diamonds often sold at premium prices. However, attitudes changed during the diamond boom of the 1970s and again after a grading controversy in South Korea in the early 1990s. Although later gemological research helped improve confidence in fluorescent diamonds, many buyers still view them negatively, and they often sell at discounted prices.
The report also looks at how these discounts have changed over the past six years through both strong and weak market conditions. In addition, the report explains two key questions: how fluorescence affects a diamond’s appearance and whether it influences its color grade. It also considers whether GIA’s new report comments could change how buyers view fluorescent diamonds.
The report revisits a long-debated issue—does fluorescence really affect a diamond’s beauty, or are today’s concerns mainly based on old perceptions that continue to influence buying decisions?
According to GIA, around 25% to 35% of all diamonds show some level of fluorescence. Greater transparency about this significant segment of the market could help improve confidence among both consumers and the jewellery trade.
DiamondBuzz
CIBJO Backs ‘synthetic’ As Sole Label For Man-Made Diamonds
CIBJO’s Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee, Told Delegates That “Synthetic” Remains The Primary Term Recognized By Consumers, Despite A Formal Push From The Sector’s Steering Committee To Defer The Ruling and Authorize “Laboratory-Grown.”
The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has recommended “synthetic” as the only acceptable descriptor for non-mined diamonds, rejecting calls from trade leaders to permit the term “laboratory-grown,” the organization said on Monday.
The decision, finalized at the closing session of the 2026 CIBJO Congress, deepens a global divide over gemstone terminology at a time when manufactured stones are rapidly eroding the market share and pricing power of mined gems.
CIBJO’s Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee, told delegates that “synthetic” remains the primary term recognized by consumers, despite a formal push from the sector’s steering committee to defer the ruling and authorize “laboratory-grown.”
CIBJO’s move aligns with a growing regulatory push in several major markets. France restricted terminology to “synthetic” in 2024, Russia followed suit in June, and the London Diamond Bourse endorsed the single descriptor on Sunday. In May, the African Diamond Producers Association also tightened descriptor rules to shield the natural diamond trade.
In contrast, regulators and retailers in the United States and India have favored consumer-friendly phrases such as “lab-grown” or “laboratory-grown.” The commercial stakes are particularly high in the U.S., where synthetic stones now account for more than half of all engagement ring sales by volume, applying severe downward price pressure on natural rough and polished stones.
CIBJO, which began moving to strike “lab-grown” from its influential Diamond Blue Book standards last year, warned that the diverging legal frameworks are leaving the global market increasingly fragmented.
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