IGI Stands by 4Cs Grading for Lab Growns
July 15, 25
(IDEX Online) - IGI says it has no plans to stop grading lab growns for color and clarity.
Its announcement yesterday (14 July) comes weeks after its biggest rival, GIA, said it would start grading lab growns simply as "standard" or "premium".
IGI (International Gemological Institute) started lab grown grading in 2005 and says it will carry on applying the 4Cs "to prevent industry and consumer confusion".
The move, detailed in a press release headlined "IGI Reaffirms Commitment to 4Cs Grading for all Diamonds," puts clear blue sky between it and GIA.
More than half the diamonds graded by IGI are now lab growns - 54 per cent according to its latest financial update. Meanwhile, the vast majority of GIA's business is in grading natural stones.
In its statement IGI said: "This affirmation (that it will continue applying the universal 4Cs grading to all diamonds, whether natural or lab-grown) comes as many in the industry grapple with the unprecedented shift by others to a different, diluted scale for lab grown diamonds sent to their locations."
Last month GIA, which started grading lab growns in 2006, said it would no longer score them for color or clarity because the vast majority fall into such a narrow range that the nomenclature is no longer relevant.
Pic courtesy IGI.