CIBJO report aims to gain industry agreement on nomenclature distinguish between natural and synthetic diamonds.

The diamond commission of CIBJO, the world jewelry confederation has released its annual report aiming to reach industry-wide agreement on classification that acutely distinguish natural and synthetic diamonds. Prior to 2010 CIBJO congress, scheduled February 19 in Munich Germany, the report has been released. Within the preceding days of the congress, the president and vice president of the diamond commission Udi Sheintal and Jon Phillips will meet the representatives of the international diamond council in London to ascertain the joint set of nomenclature for synthetic and natural diamonds created. “The participants concurring the lack of an agreed to nomenclature for diamonds – natural and synthetic will ultimately affect the consumer confidence negatively across the globe”, they wrote in the report.

At 2009 CIBJO congress in Istanbul, the organization decided not to affect any changes in the nomenclature created for gem quality synthetic diamonds. Finalizing the result as – CIBJO permitted only one descriptor i.e. “synthetic”, not any of the additional terms such as “man-made, laboratory grown, laboratory created or company name created”.

Also, the diamond commission report looks at the distortion of diamonds in the mass media, flight magazines and sales catalogue. Without a common joint directive from the major organizations such as WFDB, IDMA, IDC and CIBJO, the offenders will continue with argument that the nomenclature is clear and therefore ineffective, the author states.

The diamond commission report also features the study conducted by the Accredited Gemmologists Association (AGA) to look into the impact of lighting on color grading colorless diamonds. It was established in response to the gemmologists and appraisers claim that colorless diamonds exhibit blue fluorescence were been over graded by gem testing laboratories.

Braised Pork

The world’s largest gemstone “braised pork” is kept for public display on January 27 in an antique shop at Central China’s Luoyang City, Henan Province.

A gemstone weighing 23 kg was found by Mr. Li from Yu Bao Xuan in a river across Funiushan Mountain in Henan Province.

The stone has a clear multilayered structure and bears a striking resemblance to a piece of braised pork with hairs and pores on the surface and it looks like a muscle tissue and leg bone.

The gemstone is exhibited in its natural state and it has been not polished or cut to improve its appearance. The braised pork is translated as “yellow wax stone”. It is composed of silicified andesite and silicified siltstone with oil like surface and waxy texture. The gem found in the southern china guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The stone is exhibited at the international cultural industries fair which will be held in the month of May.

The exhibitor from yu bao xuan antique shop says that this is the largest braised pork gemstone in the world and it is the second largest held at the national palace museum in Taiwan and is valued at 130 million Yuan (Approximately US $19 million).

In 1958, at Brussels world exhibition, the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond was displayed in public. For some time, the stone disappeared and remains mystery until Laurence Graff, a billionaire diamond dealer bought it at auction in 2008.

Wittelsbach Graff Diamond

Laurence and his son Francois were in the gallery of Smithsonian national museum of natural history, Washington DC as the blue stone was brought from the secret vault.

He says that, over the years, I am privileged to own some of the world famous and important diamonds. But, among the list Wittelsbach-Graff is the most valuable and the most beautiful diamond.

Under ultraviolet light, the diamond has orange hue

Sitting plain on a silky white cloth, the diamond glitters grey and blue in the low light. As it classed as internally flawless, it is said that the gem has a exceptional color and viewed under ultraviolet light, the diamond has orange hue.

Originally, the stone valued at around $15 m, but Mr. Graff paid more than $25m. He re-cut, polished and reduced its 35.5 carats to 31 carats.

He says that, I decided to create beauty or acts of beauty, but it’s not a sin. I just removed the blemishes and enhanced the true perfection in the diamond. They brought the true color of the stone without changing the faceting or shape.

The rarity of the diamond, its history will continue. Every diamond that ever mined, polished and cut is still with us. It’s story unknown. The stone gather some stories, mysterious stories, intriguing stories, but at the end of the day the true beauty of the stone will remain. That will always be the best story, says Graff.

Wittelsbach-Graff originated in India. In 1664, Philip IV of Spain gave it to his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa to celebrate her engagement. In 1772, the gem acquired its name by passing to the Wittelsbach family of the house of Bavaria. After World War I, it becomes republic and the crown jewels including diamond were sold. For the next hundred years, it seen rarely.

Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian National Gem Collection told that “probably the world has never seen the most famous diamond”. Wittelsbach was secretly transported to the museum in night, before a week for display.

Mr. Post and some of the nations leading diamond experts spent time to examine and compare the wittelsbach Graff with the legendary hope, the world’s largest blue diamond at 45.52 carats, and the star of the national gem collection.

It is considered that the two gems may have the same crystal, but the test proved it is negative. Though, they share considerable resemblance and come from the same place, the hope diamond and Wittelsbach-Graff are more likely distant cousins.

Wittelsbach-Graff will be exhibited besides the Hope at the Smithsonian national museum of natural history until august. Later, its future is uncertain.

Laurence Graff says afterwards, it moves to London Natural history museum. But it could also be sold – so its future is uncertain.

The gemological institute of America has announced a new diamond sorting services for D to Z Color diamonds between 0.15 and 0.99 carats with an intension of helping the clients to save the fees.

The purpose of this service is to reduce the cost by providing the grading reports on the diamonds that fall within the color and clarity parameters specified by the clients. The grading report fee is not charged for the single stone submitted.

To qualify for the diamond sorting service, the clients should submit the stones in bulk. There should be minimum of 50 stones and a total parcel weight for the stones is required. Stones can be packed together, there is no need of parceling the stones individually. A representative should be contacted in advance for consignment of more than 1000 stones.

The new diamond sorting service is based on sorting the diamond color and clarity parameters.

Stones that meet the client’s color and clarity criteria will continue the GIA grading and testing process and receive a GIA diamond dossier or GIA diamond grading report for which standard grading and service fees apply. If stones doest not meet the criteria, they will not be tested or graded for treatments or synthetics. But a $10 will be charged as a handling fee for the service.

The GIA’s new diamond sorting service will be available initially at GIA laboratory in Carlsbad with other labs phasing the service in shortly. Clients can submit their stones to any GIA Lab Worldwide for shipping to Carlsbad and enjoy the advantage of the services. Stones are subject to local custom restrictions.

A special report for 2010 is issued by the CIBJO’s Gemological Commission.

The report discloses the latest summary of the new Gemmological Laboratory Book which will be tabled for discussion and endorsement next month in Munich. To know more information about the full report, read the below section:

THE WORLD JEWELLERY CONFEDERATION Special Report, January 2010 The Gemmological Commission CIBJO Gemmology Commission organises “Ruby Day” mini conference; aims to table, discuss and ratify the Gemmological Laboratory Book Dr Margherita Superchi, President CIBJO Gemmology Commission The Gemmological Laboratory Book African ruby, Tanzania One of the ongoing projects that the officers of the Gemmological Commission have worked on since the 2009 CIBJO Congress in Turkey is the preparation of a second draft of the Gemmological Laboratory Book. The commission is aiming for this document to become a member of the family of CIBJO’s Blue Books. CIBJO developed its Blue Book system to advance the goal of universal standards and terminology in the jewellery industry. Currently, the CIBJO Blue Books are a definitive set of standards for the methodology, nomenclature and trade practices of diamonds, coloured stones, pearls and precious metals. In the second half of 2009, the president of the Gemmological Commission, Margherita Superchi, and her two vice presidents Kenneth Scarratt and Hanco Zwaan, prepared a second draft of the Gemmological Laboratory Book (GLB) which was consequently sent for review to 77 gemmological laboratories around the globe. Once comments were received, another draft was prepared and distributed once again to the same labs as well as to CIBJO’s national and associate members. It is this version that will be tabled for discussion during the Gemmological Commission Meeting in Munich on February 20. “The Gemmological Laboratory Book aims to offer gemmological laboratories and practicing gemmologists at large a guide that equips them with a set of best practices that will help them guarantee the quality of the services offered by their laboratories. “We hope that the current draft will be adopted at the congress in Munich so that we can give it its rightful place alongside the other Blue Books,” Superchi noted. The CIBJO “RUBY DAY” Polished rubies The 2010 CIBJO Congress will see the beginning of a new tradition, the organization of a gemological mini conference that will be an integral part of this and future CIBJO congresses. This year’s gemological mini conference is named “Ruby Day,” and exclusively dedicated to presentations and discussions on the research findings of ruby, the red gemstone variety of the mineral corundum. The event will take place on Friday February 19, from 13:00 to 16:00 hours at Hall 5 of the International Congress Centre, at the Messe Muenchen. The list of speakers and presentation topics are: Wolfgang Hofmeister, Dean of the Faculty for Chemistry, Pharmacy and Geosciences of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. Topic: Mineralogy of ruby deposits connecting North-Vietnam and South-China Pornsawat Wathanakul, Academic Adviser of the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT); Head of the Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. Topic: Low temperature treatment of Mong Hsu ruby 40 Grams Ruby Specimen Kenneth Scarratt, Managing Director, South East Asia & Director, GIA Laboratory, Bangkok, Thailand. Topic: Rubies from Mozambique, before and after treatment Adolf Peretti, Director of the GRS Laboratories, Geneva, Switzerland Topic: Occurrence and identification of rubies from Winza, Tanzania Claudio Milisenda, Director of the Deutsche Stiftung für Edelstein Forschung (DSEF) – the German Gem Lab, Idar Oberstein, Germany. Topic: Recent observations on synthetic rubies Michael S. Krzemnicki, Director of the Schweizerische Stiftung für Edelstein-Forschung (SSEF) – Swiss Gemmological Institute, Basel, Switzerland. Topic: Heating and diffusion processes on rubies: characteristics, detection and declaration Elena Gambini, Head of Gem Materials Department, Centro Informazione e Servizi Gemmologici (CISGEM) – Centre for Information and Services on Gemmology, Milan, Italy. Topic: Glass in rubies: various cases, their detection and declaration Superchi noted that the Ruby Day mini conference will be a useful opportunity for gemmologists to exchange information and share knowledge. “We’ll have plenty of room for interested parties and participants who are not registered for the 2010 CIBJO Congress. They will be charged a symbolic entrance fee,” she said. To register, send an email to cibjo@cibjo.org. Incorrect and misleading nomenclature and descriptions employed in gem and jewellery promotions and in advertising The struggle against the phenomena of incorrect and misleading nomenclature and descriptions employed in gem and jewellery promotions and in advertising is one that concerns the entire CIBJO membership. The officers of the CIBJO Gemmological Commission are most often those who take the lead in identifying and following up on promotional activities, and in particular advertising that violates CIBJO rules – the blue books. At the upcoming CIBJO congress, the Gemmological Commission will recommend that CIBJO set up a taskforce to collect and identify cases of misleading nomenclature and erroneous descriptions used in gem and jewellery promotions and advertising. This task force is to liaise with CIBJO members to collect samples of cases of misleading and or outright misrepresentation of gem materials around the world and consequently build a continuous and up-to-date database. Polished Rubies The task force would then inform CIBJO who, in turn, would notify the violating advertisers and publishers to rectify their harmful practices within a reasonable period. At the same time, the relevant national members would be alerted and asked to follow up and offer these firms their help and support in complying with CIBJO’s standards and regulations. Roland Naftule, president of Sector III (gem materials and laboratories) suggested that the congress programme be adapted to include a panel discussion on “CIBJO’s commitment to the struggle against the misrepresentation of jewellery industry products in promotions and advertising – print and online.” Communications between commissions and CIBJO members The Gemmological Commission also intends to discuss the vital need to improve communications between the national members, i.e. the national jewellery organisations and CIBJO’s associate members, throughout the year, and not just in the period leading up to the annual congress. “CIBJO has so much to offer, and our members are simply not taking advantage of the tools and services that they can enjoy. In addition, we need the members’ input in projects such as the Gemmological Laboratory Book. I intend to take the attending members’ delegates to ask about this during our meeting,” Superchi stated.

Source – (jckonline)