Gemological Institute of America (GIA) announced yesterday that from May 24 onwards it has begun providing Country of Origin reports in the case of natural coloured diamonds as well, following the very positive reaction to the introduction of such reports for stones in D-Z colours since March this year.

The innovative service scientifically matches faceted D-to-Z and now natural coloured diamonds to their original rough to confirm the gem’s country of origin.

“Reaction to the GIA Diamond Origin Report is very positive,” said Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. “There is strong interest in this program from miners, manufacturers and retailers. We are adding capacity for evaluating rough diamonds to meet the strong demand.”

GIA said that the scientific matching process starts with the collection of physical measurements and other scientific data from natural rough diamonds. GIA then assigns a unique identification number to each rough stone. When polished diamonds with a rough identification number are submitted for grading services, GIA laboratory staff collect the same data. If the data from the polished gems matches the data from the rough, GIA will confirm the country of origin provided by the mining company and include that information on the Diamond Origin Report.

“There is recognition across the diamond value chain of the potential for building consumer trust with scientifically confirmed diamond origin,” said Anna Martin, GIA senior vice president for global business development and beneficiation. “Consumers clearly want to know more about their gems – where they come from, how they are produced, and how their purchases contribute to the well-being and sustainability of gem producing communities.”

The Diamond Origin Report includes the country of origin, a full 4Cs quality analysis of each diamond and a report number inscription. Information about the country of origin and diamond formation is available for each Diamond Origin Report in GIA’s online Report Check service, accessible at GIA.EDU, through the QR code printed on each report and in the GIA Origin app.