DiamondBuzz
GIA stops using 4Cs to grade LGDs
In a landmark decision that will reverberate through the global diamond industry, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)—the world’s foremost authority in gemology—has announced it will no longer use its internationally recognized 4Cs grading system for laboratory-grown diamonds. Instead, beginning later this year, lab-grown diamonds submitted to GIA will receive simplified descriptors—categorized broadly as either “premium” or “standard”—or no grade at all if the quality is subpar.
While GIA’s move to redefine lab grown diamond grading might sound like a simple nomenclature change, it’s much more than that. This move marks a definitive moment in the ongoing separation of natural diamonds from lab-grown diamonds. It confirms what many in the industry have long known: lab-grown diamonds are not the same as natural diamonds and should not be treated as such.
GIA created the 4Cs—cut, color, clarity, and carat weight—as a rigorous system to help consumers understand the unique and complex qualities of natural diamonds. No two natural diamonds are exactly alike. They are rare geological miracles forged deep within the Earth over billions of years, each carrying a singular fingerprint from Mother Nature. A grading report for a natural diamond is essential because these stones exist along an immense spectrum of characteristics.
DiamondBuzz
CVD Synthetic Fashioned To Imitate A Rough Natural Diamond
The Near-Colorless Stone Is Believed To Be The First Time Creators Of A Synthetic Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Diamond Have Shaped It To Resemble A Rough Diamond
The 6.87-carat near-colorless CVD diamond was shaped to resemble a natural rough octahedral crystal but showed distinct synthetic features under microscopic and spectroscopic analysis.GIA’s tests confirmed the stone’s synthetic origin, noting polishing marks, facet junction roughness, and luminescence patterns inconsistent with natural diamonds.
No evidence currently suggests widespread substitution of synthetics for rough natural diamonds, but existing detection tools could be adapted if such cases increase.
The near-colorless stone is believed to be the first time creators of a synthetic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond have shaped it to resemble a rough diamond, according to an article in the spring issue of the institute’s Gems & Gemology quarterly journal.
Upon investigation with the use of raman spectroscopy, the results confirmed that the material was a diamond, with its near-octahedral shape similar to that of a natural rough crystal. Further analysis showed that it was not a true octahedron, as only one set of opposing faces was parallel. Microscopic observation under differential interference contrast revealed extremely flat faces marked mainly by parallel polishing lines, unlike the growth steps and trigons typically seen on natural octahedral faces. The facet junctions were extremely rough, possibly due to measures taken to improve the color, after which the main faces appear to have been repolished, the institute explained.
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