Tel Aviv, Israel—The laboratory of the International Gemological Institute (IGI) in Tel Aviv recently uncovered a 6-carat lab-grown diamond that had been deceitfully marked to pass off as a natural stone.
The pear-shaped synthetic diamond, weighing 6.01 carats, was found fraudulently inscribed with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) report number, signifying a G-color natural diamond of identical size and shape. However, IGI disclosed several distinguishing factors in a news release issued on Tuesday.
The laboratory’s findings revealed crucial disparities. Firstly, the photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy analysis—an instrumental method widely used to differentiate natural diamonds from lab-grown ones and to detect diamond treatments—displayed a distinctive wavelength peak of 737 nanometers within the diamond, a telltale sign indicative of artificial growth using the chemical vapor deposition process.
Secondly, microscopic examination by IGI graders unveiled a carbon inclusion precisely where the clarity plotting diagram in the GIA report indicated a feather. Additionally, a cloud inclusion was noted, leading IGI to assign a lower clarity grade to the lab-grown diamond than the VVS1 clarity grade attributed to the natural diamond.
Moreover, a disparity emerged between the diamond’s actual depth analyzed by IGI and the depth recorded in the GIA report.
IGI CEO Tehmasp Printer, who assumed leadership of the lab in October following Roland Lorie’s retirement, emphasized the necessity for vigilance across the industry in light of escalating attempted fraud. Ongoing verification is imperative to safeguard consumers from acquiring misrepresented gemstones and jewelry,” Printer asserted.
This revelation from IGI echoes a recent report by Rapaport about Italian grading lab Gem-Tech, which encountered three lab-grown diamonds engraved with GIA report numbers corresponding to natural diamonds. These stones, accompanied by physical grading reports declaring them as natural diamonds, displayed characteristics typically associated with diamonds grown via the CVD process.
Similar to IGI’s findings, Gem-Tech graders observed subtle distinctions in the submitted stones compared to the descriptions outlined in the grading reports.
GIA previously addressed fraudulent inscriptions in a news release in May 2021, following a series of incidents earlier that year involving the submission of moissanites engraved with report numbers for natural diamonds, along with a mix of lab-grown diamonds and treated natural diamonds bearing counterfeit report numbers.
Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, highlighted the importance of updating diamond grading reports before concluding a purchase, particularly in transactions lacking a trusted seller-buyer relationship.
GIA has encountered “several” lab-grown diamonds with counterfeit inscriptions referring to GIA diamond grading reports for natural diamonds. These lab-grown diamonds exhibit measurements and weights almost identical to the GIA reports, yet the discernible differences are significant enough to raise concerns, as per the institute’s statement.
