Are Your Christmas Diamonds the Real Thing? Make Sure, Because Dubious Sellers Are on the Rise
Using masking techniques in the diamond industry is not something new. Already for decades, dubious sellers try to mask synthetic diamonds as natural diamonds to get themselves that premium price. A natural diamond is up to 3 times higher in value than the synthetic one. But this year alone 6 different jewels have been discovered by HRD Antwerp where sellers try to mask LGDs as natural diamonds with new techniques. A good reason to inform customers who do their Christmas shopping, is to always ask for a certificate.
Certificates are becoming more important than ever
Trying to mask lab-grown diamonds as natural ones looks like a lucrative business. But that’s also why most diamonds or pieces of jewelry pass by a grading & certification lab and the retailers have screening devices to do their own checks. The combination of powerful research equipment within the labs guarantees authencticity to retailers who can sell certified diamonds to their customers. Simple techniques like mixing LGDs with natural ones are no longer undetectable.
But this year alone in 6 different jewels, stones were detected that presented themselves as natural diamonds but were actually LGDs masked with a new irradiation technique that circumvents certain screening devices. New techniques are being tested and show that a growing trend of post-growth treatment of LGDs is on its way, escaping detection from the retailer and the customer.
Ellen Joncheere – CEO HRD Antwerp:” Informing the customer is the key to solving this issue. With all these new masking techniques, the only guarantee is a certificate from a respected grading lab. Today, nowhere in the world a retailer is obligated to show you the certificate proactively. So ask for your certificate. It will give you all the crucial information on the characteristics of your diamonds. We want to make sure you don’t get disappointed after your Christmas shopping.”
As an additional measure, customers can always take their diamonds or jewelry to an HRD lab. The lab will verify all certificates and confirm or deny the authenticity of the certificate or produce a new grading report. Certainly, for inherited or vintage pieces where certificates got lost or never existed, it might be useful to grade your diamonds or jewelry and ask for a new grading report.
‘Point of Trust’ dealer network as a tool for customer empowerment
HRD Antwerp has just started with her ‘Point of Trust’ dealer network to make sure customers get the right information when they buy a piece of jewelry. It’s our ambition to create an international ‘Point of Trust’ network that lives up to the HRD motto to put transparency first.
Ellen Joncheere – CEO of HRD Antwerp:” Retailers are well-positioned to play a crucial role in customer empowerment. To ensure that customers have access to the best information when they buy diamonds, we launched a ’Point of Trust’ dealer network to make sure customers can buy jewelry safely and informed.”
Within these points of trust, you can be guaranteed that your stones are verified by the high-tec research center of HRD Antwerp. HRD Antwerp starts with a network of ‘Points of trust’ in Belgium. By the end of the year, we aim to be active internationally and add at least 100 additional ‘Point of Trust’ dealers.