An Italian grading laboratory, Gem-Tech, has issued a warning following the submission of three stones accompanied by Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certificates claiming they were natural. Last week, Gem-Tech discovered discrepancies in these stones that raised concerns regarding potential synthetic diamond deception.
Upon initial inspection, Gem-Tech found the stones to closely match the descriptions on the GIA certificates, with laser inscriptions featuring visible GIA logos consistent with other GIA-graded stones previously encountered by the lab.
However, a deeper investigation revealed fraudulent pairing of the stones with the grading reports, indicating potential forgery in the inscriptions. When exposed to ultraviolet light to detect fluorescence, the stones displayed inert properties, contradicting the reports that had described the fluorescence level as “faint.”
Further analysis through spectrophotometry uncovered distinct greenish coloration and characteristic traits commonly found in synthetics created using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), casting doubt on their natural origin.
Subsequent cross-referencing of the report numbers with the GIA website revealed that they were actually issued for other, slightly different, natural stones compared to those submitted to Gem-Tech.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Gem-Tech commented. “There have been instances where unscrupulous individuals obtained reprints of genuine reports and paired them with different stones.”
Despite only three stones being submitted, Gem-Tech suspects there might be more such cases. The laboratory informed Rapaport News that the client who submitted these stones mentioned that similar stones with matching report data had been offered elsewhere. This suggests a potential spread of these three synthetic diamonds in various parts of the country, as reported by other dealers.
The discovery by Gem-Tech raises serious concerns within the gemological industry regarding the potential misuse of authentic grading reports to misrepresent synthetic diamonds as natural, urging heightened vigilance among dealers and consumers alike.
