GIA Takes Strong Action with Counterfeit Reports

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Sept. 25, 2009 – The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) was recently notified of three counterfeit grading reports that accompanied diamonds weighing 3.00 carats (cts.), 4.08 cts., and 5.01 cts., sold to a client in Johannesburg, South Africa. After further investigation, it was found that not only were the reports fraudulent, but at least one of the accompanying diamonds was also high pressure/high temperature (HPHT) treated. Follow-up testing is being done for the other two diamonds.

The problem is not believed to be widespread and is limited to a small number of stones. GIA took swift action.

GIA, working in collaboration with the client and industry leadership in South Africa, funded private investigations that led to the arrest of one individual. GIA takes the misuse or misrepresentation of its reports very seriously and will continue to pursue any violators wherever these crimes occur.

“GIA cooperates fully with law enforcement agencies worldwide to help prevent, detect and prosecute these activities,” said Tom Moses, senior vice president of GIA Laboratory and Research. “It is critical for the trade and our public benefit mission that GIA protect the gemological standards our grading reports have set for more than 50 years. We are committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity in our reports to ensure consumer confidence.”

Ernest Blom, chairman of the Diamond Dealers Club of South Africa, said, “As soon as these counterfeit reports surfaced, GIA responded immediately by taking effective actions to solve the problem. We join GIA in strongly condemning unscrupulous parties who fraudulently sell treated diamonds without disclosure and sell forged grading reports.”

“We want to assure the public and the trade that we go to great lengths to incorporate robust security measures into our reports,” Moses added. “Authentic GIA reports include a number of important security features, some apparent and others more subtle.”

In addition, GIA also provides a number of services to safeguard against the misrepresentation of a diamond and its report. For GIA diamond grading reports and GIA Diamond Dossiers® issued since Jan. 1, 2000, GIA Report Check is a free online service that lets customers confirm that the information contained in a report matches the data contained in GIA’s database. A customer can also submit their diamond, along with its original report to a GIA Laboratory for Report Verification, where the stone and its report are examined to make sure they match. Alternatively, a customer can request an Update in which case the diamond undergoes the full grading process, including tests for treatments, and a new report is issued.

For more information about these services and to access GIA Report Check, please visit the GIA Laboratory.