Canada Trade Releases Synthetics Guidelines

RAPAPORT... The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has issued a guide to advertising lab-grown diamonds in response to a rise in marketing of the product to consumers in the country.The CJA based its rules on a number of Canadian legal sources, including the Competition Act and the Canadian Guidelines for Gemstones. It also takes into account the US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Jewelry Guides, as well as other international rule books."These guidelines are intended to assist industry trade members in presenting lab-grown diamonds in compliance with Canadian law, and avoid consumers being misled by unsubstantiated or false claims," the CJA said last week.The rules state that when used alone, the word "diamond" can refer only to a mined diamond. Sellers must state that a lab-grown stone is either a "lab-grown," "lab-created" or "synthetic" diamond, with the descriptive term immediately preceding the word "diamond.""Neither word shall be given greater prominence or emphasis than the other, nor may they be separated," CJA noted.The group also urged retailers to make sure any claims from a supplier or manufacturer are verified and not misleading before communicating them to consumers. These terms include "eco-friendly," "sustainable" and "carbon-neutral," as well as claims that lab-grown diamonds retain or increase in value, as those have not been proven.Image: A lab-grown diamond ring from the Grown with Love collection. (Richline/J.C. Penney)