The CIBJO Diamond Commission has released its Special Report which will form the basis for discussions when the Commission meets during the 2016 CIBJO Congress in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 26, 2016. This is the third in the series of pre-Congress Special Commission reports brought out by the organisation.

The report reviews the impacts of technology, both positive and negative, on the diamond jewellery industry and trade, and investigates ways in which the business should react. Two focus areas which are discussed in some detail are synthetic diamonds and inclusion mapping scanners for rough.

CIBJO reiterates its long-held position, and one reflected in the standards adopted in the recently-released ISO International Standard 18323, that it is mandatory to use terms like ‘synthetic’, ‘lab grown’ or ‘lab created’ as a prefix to describe all diamonds that are not naturally mined. It also decries the undisclosed mixing of natural and synthetic stones.

Based on possible scenarios presented in a recent Morgan Stanley report, CIBJO stresses the need for the natural diamond industry to enhance its spend on generic promotion, at least up to the 5% of turnover level that was being spent earlier. Greater marketing push to enable a clear differentiation in consumer minds between synthetic and natural diamonds, and more affordable and efficient detection technology will be key factors in protecting the integrity of natural diamonds, it says.

The second development concerns scanning technologies that have been created in recent years that enable rough dealers to accurately map the internal inclusions in a diamond. Specifically, the report investigates the ethical implications of such technologies, and considers whether rough dealers who have scanned their stones are obliged to inform clients that they have done so, and even possibly divulge the results.

Calling for a ongoing dialogue between the industry and the technology developers, who both have common long-term interests in ensuring that the diamond and jewellery business remains healthy and profitable, Diamond Commission President and author of the report Udi Sheintal writes, “Technology has become an integral component in our business, and just as we need to adapt to the changes that it has instigated, the developers of technology should be cognisant that their products serve the greater good of the industry from which they benefit."