Gemological Institute of America (GIA) opens a new Hong Kong laboratory at Goldin Financial Global Centre in Kowloon Bay. The laboratory occupies the entire 20th floor of the centre, comprises an inventory, diamond grading area, coloured stones and pearl grading area, photographic studio and customer service centre etc. Two grading areas currently hold over 70 graders. Three days after GIA 88th anniversary, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 18th February 2019 celebrating the relocation and expansion of the brand new laboratory with its clients and industry. Hong Kong Jewellery takes this opportunity to invite Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, to share his vision.
HKJM: Hong Kong Jewellery
TM: Tom Moses
HKJM: Mainland China is a leading jewellery market in the world, accounting for 30 percent of global demand. Is the relocation and expansion of Hong Kong laboratory buoyed by the booming jewellery demand from mainland China?
TM: GIA opened the first laboratory in Hong Kong back in 2010. We recognised the need to expand considering the gemstone trade and demand for our laboratory services in Hong Kong has grown. We expanded to offer quality and timely service to our clients and uphold our consumer protection mission of ensuring the public trust in gems and jewellery.
HKJM: How do you see the role of Hong Kong in the jewellery industry?
TM: Hong Kong is one of the most important global gemstone and jewellery centres in the world, an innovative centre for jewellery design and an important location for diamond, coloured stone and pearl trading.
HKJM: Why does analysis and grading service of the Hong Kong laboratory exclude synthetic diamonds?
TM: GIA on-site services at each laboratory vary. We offer on-site service of synthetic diamond grading report in Carlsbad and New York. Clients may submit items for any service to any GIA location. They will be routed to the appropriate location and returned to its point of origin afterwards. We are currently expanding the offerings at several of the local laboratories to include laboratory-grown stones reporting.
HKJM: How serious is the undisclosed mixing of synthetic and natural diamonds?
TM: GIA does see this type of mixing, mostly in melee size diamonds. We test hundreds of thousands of diamonds in Hong Kong and the number of mixed parcels is small. This is a legitimate concern, which is why every diamond submitted to GIA for grading is carefully screened to determine if it is natural, treated or synthetic one. GIA’s melee analysis service could screen parcels of melee diamonds, separates simulants and potential synthetic diamonds from natural stones efficiently and accurately.
HKJM: How to position synthetic diamonds?
TM: Synthetic gemstones and diamonds have a place in the market as long as they are properly disclosed as non-mined.
HKJM: Diamond Producers Association (DPA) has released a test report of 18 synthetics detectors from 11 manufacturers. How is the performance of iD100™ based on the test report?
TM: The DPA report confirmed that the GIA iD100™ is completely accurate in referring all synthetic diamonds for further testing. The device uses advanced spectroscopic technology to distinguish natural diamonds from synthetic diamonds (both HPHT and CVD methods) and diamond stimulants in colourless to near-colorless range, mounted and loose, rough and cut as well as sizes starting from 0.9 millimetres in diameter.
HKJM: Chow Tai Fook (CTF) launches a blockchain pilot with GIA, putting diamond grading information directly into the hands of the consumer. How is the acceptability of the general public towards the technology?
TM: Since the announcement of GIA and Chow Tai Fook’s collaboration in May 2018, we have seen a positive response to the use of digital diamond grading reports using blockchain. We believe that blockchain could have broader application to how GIA and our clients manage diamond grading and other reports.
HKJM: Any updates on GIA’s new development?
TM: GIA’s recent announcement of its updated diamond origin service which uses scientific evaluation to provide confirmation of a diamond’s geographic origin is attracting both industry members and the public as it adds transparency and information about a diamond’s origin which is more and more important to the buying public.
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