Top 10 Stories of 2018: A Year of Synthetics

RAPAPORT... This was the year in which synthetic diamonds wentmainstream. De Beers launched its Lightbox brand, the US Federal TradeCommission (FTC) relaxed its rules for describing lab-grown diamonds, andthe likes of Macy's and JCPenney started stocking synthetics for theholiday. Two of those three stories feature in the top 10 most-read articles onDiamonds.net this year.Martin Rapaport's takes on De Beers' strategy and policies camehigh on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, news from Gemological Institute of America(GIA) laboratories proved popular as in previous years: Two of the most-clicked-onstories featured unusual findings by the organization's grading andmelee-analysis services.It was somewhat surprising that not onestory about the Nirav Modi scandal made it into the list, considering the interest it garnered among the members of the trade. (The most-read pieceabout the Indian tycoon was thisone on his US jewelry businesses.)What this year's list lacks is large, spectacular diamonds. Auctionsales, while gripping as usual, did not produce any blockbuster results in2018, and super-large stones that came on the market weren't of the scale theindustry has become used to in recent years.It was, however, a year of highly significant developments. Hereare the top 10 most-read stories on Diamonds.net in 2018: 1. Lab-GrownDiamonds Are Diamonds, Says FTCJuly 25The FTC made wide-ranging changes to its jewelry guidelines following consultations with the industry. This was the initial story following a skim of the commission's 161-page conclusions. Among those was a decision was todrop the word "natural" from its definition of a diamond to reflect the factthat mined stones were no longer the only product available. The syntheticssector saw that as a victory, but the news didn't change the fact thatmarketers must disclose clearly that a diamond is man-made. Flawless fact: The FTC's previous definition had beenin place since 1956. 2. ADefining Moment for Lab-Grown DiamondsJuly 31This piece delved more deeply into the FTC decision. It explained that the move was important,even though disclosure obligations around lab-grown diamonds remained in place.Synthetics suppliers will almost certainly use the new definition for marketingpurposes. (Diamond Foundry already has.) The newguidelines also prompted the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) to rethinkits own definition of diamonds, though it later decided to leaveit unchanged for now. Flawless fact: The FTC's new definition put it atodds with most major standards, including the International Organization forStandardization (ISO), CIBJO's Blue Book, and the "Diamond TerminologyGuideline" that nine natural-diamond organizations published in January. 3. MartinRapaport on De Beers' SyntheticsJuly 4De Beers only has its own corporate interests at heart whenit takes strategic decisions, Martin Rapaport argued. That includes its launch of Lightbox, a fashion-jewelry linefeaturing lab-grown diamonds. Key quote: "The government of Botswana should beasking De Beers: Where is your exciting new marketing program for naturaldiamond fashion jewelry?" 4. WhoAre the Top Rough Buyers? July 26Rough diamonds go on a long and winding journey beforereaching their final polishing destination. This excerpt from the RapaportResearch Report looked at who's buying the goods, and where they send themfor processing. It also presented a full list of the 124 companies buying fromDe Beers, Alrosa, Dominion Diamond Mines and Rio Tinto. Flawless fact: India cuts and polishes 80% to 90% of the world's diamonds, while anestimated 84% of rough stones pass through Antwerp. 5. MeleeParcel Contains Just One Natural StoneAugust 16This was the largest percentage of undisclosed syntheticmelee the GIA had discovered in a parcel, according to gemologists at theinstitute. Of 1,102 small diamonds in a package the GIA received for testing,1,092 were definitely synthetic, nine were not eligible for examination, andjust one was natural. Flawless fact: Fraudsters often add a few syntheticdiamonds to boost the size of a melee parcel while keeping the majority natural- a practice known as "salting." In this rare case, the lab-grown diamondsvastly outnumbered the mined ones. 6. DeBeers Destroying Transparency in the Diamond IndustryJune 19De Beers is obstructing the industry's source-verificationefforts by preventing its clients from disclosing the source of the goods theybuy from the miner, Martin Rapaport contended in an address in Las Vegas inJune. The producer is "using its marketpower to restrain competition in the market for legitimate, source-certifiedpolished diamonds," he added in this written statement. De Beers said thismonth it was proposingto loosen the rules. Flawless fact: 42% of the world's legitimate diamondproduction in 2017 came from De Beers. 7. 1.5ct.Synthetic Diamond Sells for $32November 28Cards Against Humanity is more famous for its politicallyincorrect party games than for its role in our industry. It jokingly dipped itstoe into diamond waters for Black Friday, selling a 1.5-carat lab-grown stonefrom Brilliant Earth for $32, or 99% off its original price. It offered freereturns, as 50% of marriages end in divorce, it explained. Key quote: "If anyone from Brilliant Earth is readingthis article, you should know that I am friends with lots of single women aged23 to 38 and I will continue to advertise on your behalf," said Jane Benn,community manager at Cards Against Humanity. 8. GIA SpotsBroken Diamond Glued Back TogetherAugust 14Whoever stuck these two halves of a diamond together woulddeserve an award for innovation had they not also apparently been cheats. TheGIA received what looked like a green diamond - weighing in at 1.38 carats -but quickly discovered it couldn't grade the stone because it had a line of an"unknown adhesive" running down the middle. The institute had never seenanything like this before. Flawless fact: The GIA can only grade a diamond towhich the 4Cs apply. That wasn't the case here, as the carat weight would havecomprised the two halves, plus the substance binding them. 9. WomanSays Kay Jewelers Stole Her RingOctober 8Signet Jewelers' brands have had to deal with severalpotential public-relations disasters in recent years, but it handled this onesmoothly. Requitta Darshae East, a customer at Kay Jewelers, claimed theretailer had stolen rings she had taken in for servicing. Her furious Facebookpost went viral, prompting many others to comment with reports of their allegedbad experiences of Kay's customer service. Kay, which had sent the rings to thewrong store, flewtwo senior executives to East's home in Chicago and made peace with her. Key quote: "There is a way to rectify any and everysituation," wrote East. 10. HowDe Beers Sees Its New Synthetics BusinessMay 30 De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver revealed how Lightbox would focuson fun, colorful stones with no grading reports. The company wasn't justlaunching a new product line; it was also sending a message to the trade aboutwhat consumers want from lab-grown diamonds, timed meticulously for the startof the JCK Las Vegas show. Flawless fact: Lightbox could generate revenue of $150million to $200 million per year once its production plant in Oregon is fullyfunctional in 2020, according to Cleaver.Image: Pictures illustrating the top stories of the year. (Shutterstock; Sood Oil (Judy) Chia and Towfiq Ahmed/GIA; Diamond Foundry; De Beers; Robison McMurtry/GIA; Requitta Darshae East/Facebook; Cards Against Humanity)