The Diamond Federation of Hong Kong (DFHK) launched the Natural Diamond Quality Assurance (NDQA) mark at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show on Wednesday 4 March.
According to reports, more than 330 jewellery retailers have already committed to the program, which is said to be part of an independent third-party monitoring system on diamond quality disclosure.
Participants were required to pledge that they would not sell “man-made or synthetic diamonds or any other non-natural diamonds of a similar nature”, which, in turn, was expected to improve business credibility and reputation while also protecting consumer rights.
The initiative aims to increase consumer confidence in diamonds and “maintain Hong Kong’s reputation as an international diamond trading hub”.
“By [putting in place] a rigorous assessment process and adhering to the highest ethical business standards, the mark provides quality assurance to consumers and increases their confidence and desire for purchasing natural diamonds in Hong Kong,” DFHK founding president and chairman Lawrence Ma commented.
In other lab-created diamond news, research scientists from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and De Beers Technologies UK are scheduled to speak on the topic at GIA GemFest Basel – a one-day event held on 22 March during Baselworld.
Dr Wuyi Wang, director of research and development for GIA, and Dr Simon Lawson, head of technologies UK for De Beers, will discuss the collaborative work being undertaken between the two companies to combat the challenges of undisclosed synthetic diamonds while also presenting the latest research on ways to identify synthetic stones.
There have been a number of reports of synthetic diamonds being presented as natural stones in recent years. Just last week Jeweller reported that 110 undisclosed synthetic diamonds were recently detected in the Indian city of Surat – a major international diamond hub.
Such an incident might not greatly impact the local market, however, Australia is not entirely sheltered from the issue. In early 2014, Australia was added to the list of countries that had reported undisclosed lab-created diamonds after a parcel of five yellow diamonds were identified as synthetic despite being purchased as natural stones.
More reading
Synthetic diamonds detected in Australia
More synthetic diamonds found in India
India moves to tackle lab-created diamond fears
India continues fight against diamond mixing