26-7-2018
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has renewed its jewellery guides, which loosens the existing standards on man-made stones, from ‘a diamond is a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallised in the isometric system’ in 1956 to ‘a diamond is a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system’. FTC justified the change: “technological advances have made it possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. These stones have essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as mined diamonds. Thus, they are diamonds.”
For man-made gemstones, FTC suggests marketers to use words like ‘man-made’, ‘lab-grown’ or ‘foundry’, instead of ‘cultured’ for stones which are not mined to avoid customer confusion. ‘synthetic’ is not suggested as well due to the term may mislead consumers that the stone is fake or artificial.
For more details about the guide, please go to https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1393857/g711001_jewelry_guides_statement_of_basis_and_purpose_for_final_jewelry__.pdf.
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