These Are the Lab-Grown Detection Devices Retailers Need
The proverbial black box—a device that’s small, cheap and does everything—remains elusive, but there are options for jewelers that are scalable and affordable. Hpht Cubic Hydraulic Press
New York—Lab-grown diamonds have become both a major opportunity for and a major concern to jewelers in recent years. The amount of gem-quality man-made diamonds entering the supply chain has reached significant levels, and no one knows exactly how many are moving through it as mined. As quality and supply of these stones increase, retail jewelers remain vulnerable. “Buying diamonds over the counter or online is a high-risk proposition in today’s world,” said Harold Dupuy, FGA and vice president of strategic analysis at Stuller Inc. “I hear firsthand accounts of jewelers buying loose stones over the counter, only to find out later they’re lab-grown. You can’t be too cautious.” Whether these mix-ups are caused by an honest mistake or unscrupulous behavior by the seller, it’s the jeweler’s reputation that’s on the line when a customer discovers the error and shares it with an attorney, the media or both. But, he said, the situation is improving as many in the industry are now aware of the problem and acting. Gem Certification and Assurance Lab (GCAL) lost a few clients in the past year because vendors, including manufacturers that do final setting in Hong Kong, have invested in their own in-house screening equipment. Not that jewelers are out of the woods yet. “It’s still a very large-scale problem,” GCAL President Don Palmieri said. Tightening up the screening process is a high priority. Fortunately, there are many options available now for screening lab-grown diamonds; so many, in fact, that choosing one has become a dilemma in itself. What Can Retailers Do? Unless they buy most of their stock over the counter or on eBay, retailers can protect themselves to a certain degree by dealing with reputable suppliers and demanding written guarantees. “We can’t predict the future and retailers have to invest as it suits their businesses, but there are basic precautions all jewelers need to take,” Dupuy said. First, they need some specific language in all their vendor agreements, he said. Second, they need to know what each vendor is doing to control its supply chain. All it takes is one piece sold under false pretenses to cause irreparable damage to a jeweler’s reputation. “But reliance on your suppliers is not enough,” Dupuy said. “If you unintentionally sell a lab-grown diamond and your only defense is ‘My supplier told me it was natural,’ that’s not going to look good in a court of law.”
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