The Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai, India, has banned trading in lab-grown diamonds from its premises.
The Bharat bourse follows in the footsteps of the Israeli Diamond Exchange, which banned man-made stones in December 2013. The difference here is that this bans them from the 2 million–square–foot exchange premises; in Israel, they were banned only from the bourse trading floor.
“The Bharat Diamond Bourse is the first and only diamond bourse in the world to declare its entire premises as a natural diamond zone to ensure the growth of the natural diamond trade, strengthen consumer confidence, and reassure faith and trust in diamonds,” a statement said.
In response, Chatham Created Gems and Diamonds CEO Tom Chatham tells JCK: “Diamonds don’t cheat people. People cheat people.”
“It falls squarely into restraint of trade,” he adds. “This is why, I believe, that no one has tried it in the USA. It’s been brought up, but never acted upon.”
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