As many of you are aware, GIA will soon be launching its new cut grading system for round brilliant diamonds. This system is the result of years of sophisticated research in computer modeling, as well as extensive observation testing of diamonds.

GIA researchers used computer modeling to calculate a diamond’s light return (brightness, fire, and sparkle-related scintillation) for tens of thousands of proportion combinations. By further applying a series of comprehensive algorithms, they were able to use this same proportion information to quantify pattern-related scintillation. These components – together with weight ratio, durability, polish, and symmetry – form the foundation for our cut grading system.

GIA also conducted more than 70,000 human observations of diamonds to test these findings. The observation testing – the assessment of a broad range of diamonds by representatives at all levels of the international diamond trade (including consumers) – not only helped refine and ultimately validate our scientifically developed metrics, but it also provided useful information on how various proportion combinations are perceived.

First, this testing confirmed what we and many others in the trade had long believed, that there are many different proportion sets in round brilliant diamonds that provide equally pleasing face-up appearances. Second, it showed that most experienced individuals can consistently discern no more than five levels of overall cut quality (in the upcoming GIA system, these will be Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor). Third, it demonstrated that within each of these levels, observers will often prefer one face-up appearance over another, but not necessarily the same one. That is, within each of the grade categories, there are a variety of appearances, with the single “best” diamond determined by personal taste, often in association with regional preferences.

Consequently, while the upcoming GIA diamond cut grading system will objectively classify round brilliant diamonds into five levels of quality – to both benefit and protect the public by insuring that well-made and poorly performing diamonds are recognized as such – it will also allow for the subjectivity of diamond purchasing by emphasizing the differences in diamond appearance within each grade category (see figures of Excellent and Good cut grades). Precisely because of these differences, we continue to recommend that consumers look at the actual diamonds they are considering, and seek the advice of experienced professionals to help them learn about diamond quality.

We know that, above all, a successful diamond cut grading system should boost consumer confidence in the purchasing decision. I believe that the soon-to-be-released GIA diamond cut grading system for round brilliants will provide a practical balance between the desire of consumers to have the protection of a cut grade and the role of the trade in guiding consumers through the different appearances within each grade. Ultimately, it will benefit others in the diamond pipeline, especially those who are open-minded about the realities of cut grades in round brilliants, and innovative enough to grasp the opportunities that this grading system will bring.

Traffic appeared to be down in the jewelry sections of the 2005 BaselWorld, held March 31–April 7 in Basel, Switzerland, although the organizers reported 89,700 visitors for the fair as a whole, up slightly from last year. Many exhibitors in the major jewelry halls reported lighter traffic and slower sales, as several major European markets struggle with slowing economies. In addition, a depressed U.S. dollar reduced the buying power of American clients. The exceptions came at the extreme top end, where outstanding colored diamonds, colored stones, and designer pieces found strong demand. Colorless diamonds, however, met stiff price resistance from buyers even for the best qualities.

Leading jewelry designers appeared to be moving away from the bold, chunky looks of the previous four years into open, lacy, or cascading styles featuring cabochons, drops, and briolettes of colored gems mixed into splashy combinations: orange and green, blue and pink, red and purple, and multicolored “tutti frutti.”

Designer Henry Dunay of New York noted that, “American women have stayed away from such cuts for years, but now designs of which these shapes are an integral element are becoming much more important.”

In the newly revamped Hall of Elements, rubies attracted the most buyer attention. Emeralds appeared to be scarce, though some exhibitors noted that demand and prices at the wholesale level have been picking up since the February Tucson shows. Much of the seven-year, $668 million renovation of the exhibition space went into that hall. Although most exhibitors were pleased with the results, they were unhappy with the three- to five-fold price increases for booth space.

Corundum of all colors dominated the Thailand pavilion in the international hall (Hall of Universe). A number of dealers, responding to the emerging design trend of mixed colors, were offering large, multicolored parcels of corundum, which they claimed contained untreated, heat-treated, and beryllium diffusion–treated goods in "multi-bags" at a blanket price, but without individual identification.

Hong Kong exhibitors in the international hall reported strong business, largely because this was their second year in this venue and attendees were more aware of the location. In addition, Hong Kong products, manufactured in a currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, offered a price advantage. Indian manufacturers in the same hall also reported that business had improved over last year.

Diamond companies noted that price resistance extended even into the large, top-quality goods that are scarce today.

One major sightholder said that “many large companies are making sales and profits selling older inventory. The difficulty now is in having to replace those goods at nearly the same prices we are selling them for.”

Fancy-Colored Diamonds: By contrast, top-color blue diamonds and rare colors such as purplish red and green met no price resistance. Several dealers displayed such goods, some carrying per-carat prices of $300,000–$400,000 and more. By the show’s end, several Fancy Vivid blues, a Fancy purplish red, and several greens – most under one carat – had sold.

Despite the demand, many dealers worry that the steep price increases seen for nearly all colored diamonds during the past several years may not be sustainable.

“Many new dealers have been getting into the market because of their popularity. They are pushing prices up, potentially destabilizing the situation,” noted one dealer who was showing a large array of pinks and yellows.

However, the Natural Colored Diamond Association (NCDIA), a group of colored diamond producers, dealers, and jewelry designers, is determined to keep colored diamonds in the consumer eye. At an April 3 press conference, Christian Haussen, the association’s newly appointed vice president for marketing, said that the NCDIA placed $10 million of colored diamond jewelry on actresses at the 2005 Academy Awards, which garnered $1.2 million worth of publicity.

He noted that the potential remains vast, citing a study which found that 58.8% of the American women surveyed expressed a strong desire to own a natural colored diamond. The survey also noted that 55.6% of “champagne” colored diamond acquisitions in 2004 were self-purchases.

Diamond Trading Company: At a special press briefing, the De Beers Diamond Trading Company (DTC) announced that marketing campaigns in its Supplier of Choice initiative helped diamond jewelry sales achieve “tremendous” growth in 2004. Worldwide retail sales increased 6.8% last year, on top of a 5.9% increase in 2003, according to Jonathan Kendall, manager of DTC international trade marketing. Sales in the U.S., which accounted for about half of world demand, increased 8%. The fastest-growing markets were India (+19%), the Persian Gulf (+14%), and China (+11%). By contrast, sales in several major European markets (Italy and Germany) showed declines, with only small growth in France and the U.K.

Kendall pointed out that advertising expenditures on behalf of diamond jewelry increased from $186 million in 2000 to $550 million last year. “This has propelled an amazing shift in sales growth,” he said.

Jonathon Pudney, DTC marketing manager for special projects, stressed that consumer confidence is the key to maintaining diamond jewelry as a symbol of dreams and emotions.

He cited a survey that found that one-third of consumers did not return to the same retailer when they considered buying another diamond jewelry item. While 52% noted they had strong trust in the retailer from whom they had purchased their diamond, 13% “actively distrusted” the retailer.

Pudney stressed that the industry must act to address the social, technological, and business challenges confronting it today. These include detection and disclosure of synthetics and treatments, fair labor practices, environmental considerations, and ethical business practices.

Hazel Kay, DTC director of international marketing, noted that the three-stone ring achieved the highest growth of all categories of diamond jewelry in the U.S., totaling $3 billion last year. This year a new advertising campaign, “I Forever Do,” is designed to push that total even higher, she said.

GIA GemFest Basel: GemFest Basel featured GIA President Bill Boyajian reviewing the Institute’s performance for 2004 and updating attendees on its diamond cut research. In addition, Dr. James Shigley, director of Research, provided an update on treatments and synthetic diamonds, and Shane McClure, director of West Coast Identification Services for the GIA Gem Laboratory, offered a look at a new corundum treatment and a review of other processes.

Boyajian noted that demand for GIA education and laboratory grading services saw strong growth in 2004, and confirmed that the Institute’s priorities are to continue to meet this demand.

“We are doubling the size of our grading laboratory in Carlsbad,” he said. “In addition, GIA will continue to look at new educational facilities overseas.”

Addressing diamond cut, Boyajian said this “is the right time to introduce a cut grade. The science is done, including observation testing and trade interaction.”

He announced that the cut grading system will consist of five categories: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor. He reiterated that a grade will be assigned based on the diamond’s brightness, fire, scintillation, design and craftsmanship (which includes weight ratio and durability), and polish and symmetry.

Noting that the “overwhelming majority” of diamonds currently submitted to the GIA Gem Laboratory would fall into one of the top three grades, Boyajian added that such grades encompass a wide range of proportions that offer more options for cutters and more opportunities for retailers to explain cut to their customers.

He also said that GIA is creating software to help diamond manufacturers, retailers, and appraisers use the cut grading system, as well as a standardized lighting unit.

Shigley reviewed the distinctive characteristics of synthetics currently in the market, noting that all can be identified through their unique growth patterns, inclusions, and uneven zoned fluorescence patterns. All currently available synthetics are produced by the high pressure/high temperature growth process, and few of these products are colorless. Synthetic diamonds grown by the chemical vapor deposition process are not yet commercially available, he said.

McClure described the new treatment that transforms poor-quality Madagascar rubies into saleable goods by infusing leaded glass into heavily fractured material. Identifying such stones presents little challenge, McClure said, because the fractures are visible with magnification. However, he cautioned, this process will certainly be used on better-quality material.

Preliminary testing suggests that the treatment can withstand most normal jewelry-repair procedures, but caustic cleaning solutions may damage it.

McClure added that the laboratory is seeing fewer beryllium-diffused rubies and sapphires with the distinctive surface-related layer of color. He and his colleagues are also seeing more examples of a synthetic overgrowth on lower-quality rubies that have not been beryllium diffused. 

Russell Shor
Senior Industry Analyst

GIA has released the Spring 2005 issue of its award-winning quarterly journal, Gems & Gemology. This issue features a trio of research articles on diamonds, plus the latest on colored stones, and other news from the world of gemology.

The spectacular prices earned by natural red and pink diamonds in recent years have spurred research into ways to produce these colors through various treatments. In the lead article, “Treated-Color Pink-to-Red Diamonds from Lucent Diamonds Inc.,” Dr. Wuyi Wang and colleagues from the GIA Gem Laboratory report on this new diamond product, which is being marketed as “Imperial Red Diamonds.” The article summarizes the gemological and spectroscopic characteristics of these treated-color diamonds and the means of identifying them.

“Natural-color pink-to-red diamonds hold a prestigious place in our industry, and Lucent’s method marks the latest and most sophisticated attempt to produce these hues in the laboratory,” said G&G Editor-in-Chief Alice Keller. “This article describes the properties and analytical features that identify this product as natural diamonds with an artificially induced color.”

The diamond theme continues with the two articles that follow. In “A Gemological Study of a Collection of Chameleon Diamonds,” Thomas Hainschwang of GIA’s GemTechLab in Geneva heads a report on a unique collection of 39 chameleon diamonds that exhibited temporary changes in color when heated to approximately 150°C and, in some cases, when stored in the dark for extended periods. The study shows how a combination of spectroscopic properties and reaction to UV radiation can be used to separate chameleons from other green diamonds without unnecessary exposure to heat. And in “Coated Pink Diamond—A Cautionary Tale,” David J. F. Evans and colleagues from the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Research Centre examine a purportedly HPHT-processed diamond that was instead found to have been treated with a gold–calcium fluoride coating to produce an intense purple-pink color. This episode emphasizes the importance of sound gemological observation when examining stones for potential color treatment.

Still more cutting-edge news and research can be found in the regular sections of G&G. The Lab Notes column explores recent discoveries at the GIA Gem Laboratory, including reports on a coated “night glowing pearl” and “pink fire” quartz. The Gem News International section provides in-depth coverage of the 2005 Tucson gem and mineral shows and the spectacular variety of products seen there, among them saturated blue aquamarine from Nigeria and emeralds from Xinjiang, China.

A special feature of this issue is the annual Gems & Gemology Challenge, a 25-question multiple-choice quiz based on G&G articles published in 2004. Successful participants will receive a GIA Continuing Education Certificate and, if they score 100 percent, recognition in the Fall issue. Only original entry cards from the Spring 2005 issue will be accepted (no photocopies or faxes).

To order the Spring issue or to subscribe, click here or contact Circulation Coordinator Debbie Ortiz. Call toll-free 800-421-7250, ext. 7142. Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 760-603-4000, ext. 7142.

The spodumene seen in jewelry is more often pink to bluish purple than green. Most green spodumene is a light-toned green or yellowish green. Hiddenite, the strong green to bluish green variety, is extremely rare.

Spodumene’s characteristics and properties distinguish it from other transparent green stones. Its refractive index (RI) range is 1.660–1.676 (± .005), while its birefringence varies from 0.014 to 0.016. The gem is doubly refractive (DR) and biaxial negative.

Spodumene’s specific gravity (SG) is 3.18, which means it floats in methylene iodide. Yellowish green stones fluoresce a weak orange-yellow under long-wave ultraviolet (LWUV), and even weaker under short-wave ultraviolet (SWUV). Yellow-green spodumene’s spectrum shows absorption lines near 433 and 438 nanometers (nm).

A moderate green color can be induced in spodumene by irradiation, but the change is not permanent and will fade rapidly after exposure to heat or sunlight. However, the strong green color of hiddenite is due to trace amounts of chromium and is stable.

Although diopside is a common mineral, it is rare in transparent gem quality. Its color can range from bluish green to yellowish green. Chrome diopside, the variety that is most prevalent in jewelry, is a vivid medium to dark green. Yellowish green diopside is sometimes marketed as “Tashmarine,” a trademarked name.

Chrome diopside’s distinctive spectrum shows absorption lines at 635, 655, and 670 nm, and two closely spaced lines at 690 nm. These lines are due to chromium and are often vague. There is sometimes a cutoff in the blue area of the spectrum at 450 nm, and two strong, sharp lines at 505 and 508 nm.

Ordinary green diopside’s spectrum commonly shows a 505-nm absorption line due to iron. That spectrum and a spot RI of about 1.68 can help you identify diopside’s cat’s-eye and four-rayed-star varieties.

Diopside’s RI range is 1.675–1.701 (± .029, –.010) with a birefringence of 0.024 to 0.030, and SG 3.29. The darker the tone, the higher the RI and SG.

Diopside is DR and biaxial positive. Its pleochroism is weak to moderate light green and dark green. Ordinary green diopside fluoresces green under LWUV and is inert to SWUV. Magnification reveals stubby black needle-like and metallic inclusions.

A step-by-step procedure to identify natural and synthetic gems is taught in GIA’s Gem Identification course. Click here for information on this course and other GIA programs.

Respected and loved throughout the global gemological community, Dr. Edward J. Gübelin – longtime jeweler, expert gemologist, and prolific author – passed away March 15, one day before his 92^nd birthday, in Lucerne, Switzerland. In honor of his numerous contributions to the industry, GIA will hold a tribute at the Institute’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., May 21 at 3 p.m. GIA has also established the Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Memorial Scholarship, which will offer a paid tuition for a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) student in 2006, as well as a permanently endowed fund, the Edward J. Gübelin Research Fund.

Gems & Gemology, the Institute’s quarterly professional journal, has dedicated the editorial column in its Spring 2005 issue to Dr. Gübelin. An in-depth article on his contributions to gemology is planned for a later date. Dr. Gübelin was a frequent contributor to G&G, and the Dr. Edward J. Gübelin Most Valuable Article Award is given annually in his name.

GIA President William E. Boyajian acknowledged Dr. Gübelin’s legacy in the March 25 GIA Insider saying, “It is difficult to comprehend the enormity of a man who devoted his entire life to our field, making contributions that may never be duplicated.”

One of the pioneers of modern gemology, Dr. Gübelin was born in Lucerne to a watchmaking family. He began his gemological career in 1925, when his father provided him with a laboratory. After finishing his Ph.D. in mineralogy in 1938, he traveled to Los Angeles to study at GIA. When he returned to Switzerland in 1939, he began his famous work with gemstone inclusions.

Dr. Gübelin's research on inclusions was the basis for several G&G articles he wrote during the 1940s, and in 1953 Dr. Gübelin published Inclusions as a Means of Gemstone Identification. The landmark book offered the first systematic classification of inclusions in diamonds, colored stones, and synthetic gem materials.

Subsequently, Dr. Gübelin wrote numerous books and more than 150 research papers, and even produced a film on the rubies of Mogok, Burma. He recently completed the second volume of his classic Photoatlas of Inclusions in Gemstones, co-authored by John Koivula, which contains more than 1,400 entirely new photomicrographs. The widely acclaimed first volume is considered the authoritative book on the subject.

Through the last two decades, at an age when most would be content to savor a lifetime of distinguished achievements, Dr. Gübelin never stopped producing. He continued writing, lecturing, and traveling to gem localities all over the world. A detailed history of Dr. Edward J. Gübelin’s life and illustrious career will be featured in the Summer 2005 issue of GIA’s publication, The Loupe.

To RSVP for GIA’s tribute ceremony on May 21, please send an e-mail to Tribute@gia.edu.

April 8, 2005

After operating an education branch in Vicenza, Italy for more than 12 years, GIA has announced plans to relocate to Florence. Classes at the relocated branch will start in September. The move is expected to offer a number of advantages for students, including expanded classroom space, proximity to leading Italian jewelry and design professionals, and potential internships with manufacturers.

GIA Florence – the branch’s new name – will be favorably located next to the famous Uffizi Gallery, one block from the Arno River, and just a short distance from the heart of the city, the Piazza della Signoria. It is a historic center and one of Florence’s most prestigious areas.

The branch will occupy two floors, compr