The Rapaport Group announced that it will be introducing a
new diamond price index that can be used by the financial sector to monitor the
price of diamonds, it said in a statement issued Aug. 10.

The index will be published daily and available online
throughout the day, the company said. It will track the best price per carat
for round, D-H color, IF-VS2 clarity diamonds offered for sale on the RapNet Diamond
Trading Network.  

Along with this, the company is introducing a proprietary
diamond investment fund that will provide an opportunity for the financial
community to invest in diamonds with “extraordinary levels of transparency.”

The company also is unveiling what it calls “a certification
system for ethical diamonds.”

“The system will track diamonds from the source to polished
diamonds and then on to finished jewelry,” the statement said.

Different ethical grades will be provided. According to the
company, the highest grade will be reserved for fair trade diamonds that
provide economic beneficiation to artisanal miners, with recycled diamonds
receiving the next highest grade, followed by ethical diamonds from known
sources that comply with ethical mining, production, and environmental
standards. Initial Rapaport
certification centers will be based in Surat and Mumbai, India and New York City.

Rapaport Group CEO Martin Rapaport was unavailable for
further comment at press time.

JCK