The Diamond Commission of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will be presenting a new version of the Diamond (Blue) Book at the organization’s upcoming Congress in Vancouver, Canada, July 24-27.

“There seems to be a fundamental change in how CIBJO regards itself,” said CIBJO Diamond Commission’s president, Harry Levy. “In the past, it was an instrument for the jewelry industry at large. However, without abandoning this role in the industry, CIBJO is now looking towards the end-user and consumer confidence, and is becoming an arbiter in the protection of their interests.”

Levy said the new Diamond Book will be more informative regarding the terms used, how they apply, and how to read a diamond grading report. There will be a glossary of terms and a reference section where the consumer can get more information on many aspects of the diamond industry.

Levy said that while the Diamond Book will retain many of the rules of the diamond industry, the rules regarding diamond grading will become a separate section of the book.

“This section will have to be compiled in a joint effort with the laboratories, although there is now available an ISO-PAS publication, which proposes all the norms for diamond grading,” he said. “PAS” stands for “Publicly Available Specification.” This term is used by the International Organization for Standards.

“The diamond industry is moving fast ahead with new techniques in improving the appearance of a diamond as well as advances in the production of synthetic diamonds,” he added.

In the recent World Diamond Congress of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturing Association, many of the positions held on treatments, disclosure, grading, and attitude towards synthetics have changed with a much more pragmatic approach, Levy said.

“The WFDB membership has now agreed to the grading of some treated stones, such as HPHT, and also to grading of synthetic diamonds, but they have not fully agreed as to how this should be done and how the grading report for such stones should be formatted,” he said. “I very much hope that these issues will be fully discussed at the CIBJO Congress, in the Diamond Commission, so that there will be a unified approach through the industry.”

JCK