Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Diamonds, Says FTC

RAPAPORT... The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has expanded its definition of "diamond" to include those grown in a laboratory, as part of several changes to its jewelry guidelines. The FTC's previous definition of a diamond stated: "A diamond is anatural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometricsystem." This is no longer applicable, the commission said Tuesday. The new listingdoes not include the word "natural." "When the commission first used this definition in 1956,there was only one type of diamond product on the market -natural stones mined from the earth," the FTC said. "Since then, technologicaladvances have made it possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. These stoneshave essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as mineddiamonds. Thus, they are diamonds." The fact that diamonds exist "in the soil of [the] earth"is not a necessary attribute, lab-grown producer Diamond Foundry argued afterthe FTC requested input from members of the trade. The commission agreed. One should also qualify the word "cultured" when describing man-made stones, the commission added, as the term on its own often leads consumersto believe a diamond is mined. The commission suggests marketers use words suchas "man-made," "lab-grown" or "foundry" to qualify "cultured," thereby avoiding confusion about a diamond's origins. However, marketers should not use the word "synthetic" to qualify "cultured," the FTC noted, as it creates confusion among consumers, who believethe term indicates a stone is fake or artificial. The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) declined to comment untilit had studied the implications of the new guidelines further. In January, the DPA was oneof several trade organizations that collaborated on a universal standard forreferring to diamonds, saying that "diamond" on its own implied natural origin. Image: Max Pixel