Industry Groups Ask GIA to Fund Diamond Promotion

By Rob Bates | February 06, 2026

GIA has told diamond and jewelry trade groups it can’t comply with their request to add a surcharge to its lab fees that would help fund the Natural Diamond Council (NDC).

In a November letter to GIA president and CEO Pritesh Patel, 15 industry organizations, led by the Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America (DMIA), asked the GIA to set up a “nominal, grading-linked contribution mechanism” to raise money to promote natural diamonds.

“We view this mechanism as a fair, transparent, and scalable partnership—a modest ‘toll at the bridge,’ where every diamond that benefits from GIA’s grading contributes modestly to the collective good of the industry,” the letter said. “While the specific contribution levels will require careful, collaborative discussion, the guiding principle is clear: a sliding scale based on [carat] size that generates meaningful annual funding dedicated exclusively to revitalizing consumer marketing for natural diamonds.”

The letter noted that “similar models have proven effective elsewhere” and that “India has already implemented small levies to support industry promotion.”

But GIA spokesperson Stephen Morisseau tells JCK that the organization’s “nonprofit status prevents GIA from participating in the funding proposal and that GIA will continue to cooperate with the NDC and fund initiatives that support our consumer protection mission.”

DMIA president Stuart Samuels says that while “the promotion part will have to come from other sources, as GIA is nonprofit,” he feels “there is a ton of [natural diamond] education that indeed falls within their purview.”

He adds that the industry groups hope to devise other methods for funding diamond marketing.

In addition to DMIA, the letter was signed by the American Gem Trade Association, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, Bharat Diamond Bourse, CIBJO (World Jewellery Confederation), the Diamond Dealers Club of New York, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association, the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association, Jewelers of America, United States Jewelry Council, World Diamond Council, and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

(Photo: Getty Images)