This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 12 in 2021. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
The fraudulent certs inventory includes manipulated databases through dishonest staff, false lab logo inscriptions, gemstones replaced in the original blister packs, not to mention the fact that document forgery is not uncommon. What IGI has revealed from its Thai office, however, is somewhat original. A man-made diamond weighing 6.18 cts was sent to the laboratory accompanied by a GIA certificate declaring it to be natural. This document turned out to be original, only that the natural diamond had been replaced by a lab-grown one.
The GIA cert showed data basically corresponding to those detected and cleverly achieved with surprising accuracy (to the hundredth of a millimeter for diameter and height). If the cutting technology on the one hand can now allow to match some given characteristics and data, on the other hand it can also offer the solution thanks to the introduction of laser markers imprinted inside the diamond lattic. After the British Opsydia also the Russian large diamond miner ALROSA as already reported by IGR on this issue, has entered this promising technology.
Gem News published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #12, Summer 2021
