World's Biggest Bourse set to Lift Lab-Grown Ban
December 27, 20
(IDEX Online) - The Bharat Diamond Bourse, in Mumbai, is poised to lift its 2015 ban on trading lab-grown diamonds.
Members of the world's largest diamond hub are expected to approve the proposal at the bourse's annual general meeting tomorrow (28 December).
Many have diversified into lab-growns since the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) ban was introduced, and feel that technology now allows a more straightforward and effective separation between natural and lab-grown gems.
The ban was brought in to prevent the mixing of lab-growns with natural diamonds by unscrupulous diamond merchants - seen at the time as a genuine threat to the trade of small and melee diamonds.
Anoop Mehta, president of the BDB, has previously indicated that technological advances now make it very easy to differentiate.
Last week he told the Times of India: "The majority of the board members and trade people are in favour of allowing the trading of lab-grown diamonds".
By contrast, in September 2019 the Federation of Belgian Diamond Bourses introduced a full ban on lab-grown diamonds in its four trading halls.