The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)
Buy and sell diamonds with the help of the experts
The largest diamond offered at an auction went under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday setting a world record for a diamond of its shape.
The D colour 11A type flawless diamond was Polished from a 404 carat rough diamond which was recovered in February 2016 in the Lulo mine in Angola.
The 163.41 carat called The Art of Grisogono, sold for $33.8 million, after taxes and commissions, at the Christie’s autumn jewellery auction.
Improvements in diamond growth technology and methods have led to a noticeable increase in colorless synthetic gem diamonds in recent years. Concerns in the diamond industry focus on laboratory-grown diamonds not being properly disclosed or even being sold as natural stones. Through careful examination and analysis, gemological laboratories can separate natural from synthetic diamonds. Occasionally, however, fraud is involved in attempting to conceal a gem’s identity. The Carlsbad laboratory witnessed such an attempt.
On this occasion, a round brilliant cut (figure 1, left) was submitted for an updated diamond grading report. Its girdle was inscribed with an actual GIA report number issued in 2015 (figure 1, right). The older report was for a natural, untreated diamond and contained the following grading information: 1.74 ct, round brilliant cut, D color, Excellent cut grade, and VVS1 clarity. Upon grading, the new submission was described as a 1.76 ct round brilliant cut with F color, Excellent cut grade, and VS1 clarity. Moreover, our screening processes determined that the newly submitted sample needed additional testing to determine its origin. This examination revealed it to be an HPHT-grown synthetic diamond. Synthetic cuboctahedral growth structure and phosphorescence were clearly visible in DiamondView imaging (figure 2).
Aside from the observed discrepancies in weight (1.74 vs. 1.76 ct), color (D vs. F), and clarity (VVS1 vs. VS1), FTIR spectra clearly showed that these were not the same diamond. The natural diamond from the original report was type Ia with aggregated nitrogen impurities, while the new one was type IIb with boron impurities (figure 3). Careful examination of the report number inscribed on the synthetic diamond revealed a font different from the one used by GIA, proving that it was not an authentic inscription.
While most synthetic diamonds that come to the laboratory are properly disclosed, some are submitted out of concern that a stone presented as natural might be synthetic. Rarely do we encounter the type of blatant fraud described here. It is important for the industry and public to exercise caution, because these types of misleading practices do occur. We believe the submitting client noticed inconsistencies with the GIA report information and sent it to the lab for an updated report. If any doubt exists or some aspect of a diamond (such as an inscription) seems odd, the stone should be sent to a gemological laboratory for verification.
Source: GIA Education
Sierra Leone mining company has recovered a 476 carat rough diamond in the nation’s Kono at Meya.
The 476 Carat stone ranks as the fifth largest rough ever found in Sierra Leone.
Meya holds an exclusive diamond exploration license in the Kono district. 
Meya also recovered rough diamonds weighing 27.93 carats and 19.70 carats at the same time.
The company’s announcement follows the discovery of the 709-carat Diamond in the Kono district in March.
The Rapaport Group will auction that diamond believed to be the 14th-largest in history in New York on December 4.
Sierra Leone Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources Minkailu Mansaray with the 476-carat diamond.
The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the International Diamond Council (IDC) have decided to use the same terminology for describing diamonds, making it easier for consumers to understand grading.
CIBJO agreed to make amendments to its Diamond Book — a guide to grading standards and terminology — following requests by the IDC, an organization that works to ensure consistency in grading across the industry. The IDC’s language will now be “harmonized” with that of the Diamond Book, CIBJO said Tuesday.
“The true beneficiaries of this agreement are the diamond consumers, who will now be able to refer to a single set of rules for describing diamonds,” said CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri.
The two organizations finalized the agreement at the CIBJO Congress in Bangkok this week. The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), one of the IDC’s founding bodies, has also endorsed the new Diamond Book.
IDC http://www.internationaldiamondcouncil.org
Source: diamonds.net
Alrosa the Russian miner and top diamond producer by output, recovered three gem quality large rough diamonds.
A 82.82 carat, a 108.34 carat, and a 163.11 carat all light yellow or yellow.
All three rough diamonds were recovered at the Jubilee kimberlite pipe, one of Alrosa’s Mining units Aikhalsky in the country’s northeast.
The three diamonds will be sent to Alrosa’s for assessment in the coming days.
The Fancy Colour Diamond Index for the third quarter of 2017 indicates a slight rise overall of 0.2 percent over Q2 2017, for yellow, pink and blue fancy colour diamonds in all sizes and saturations.
Moreover, the index shows that in Q3 prices of fancy blue and pink colour diamonds appreciated 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent respectively. Similar to Q1 2017 trends, the strongest performing price categories during Q3 2017 were fancy intense and fancy vivid blue diamonds across all carat sizes.
In Q3 2017, fancy yellow diamond prices declined by 0.1 percent, the lowest price decrease for the category since Q3 2016. There was price stability across most other fancy colour diamond categories, continuing the trend in fancy colour diamond pricing patterns during 2016 and early 2017.
On a year-on-year basis, when compared to Q3 2016, the Fancy Colour Diamond Index is slightly down by 0.2 percent, with fancy blues up 4.7 percent and fancy yellows and fancy pinks down 2.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. Compared to the same period in 2015, the Fancy Colour Diamond Index is up 0.7 percent with fancy blues and fancy pinks up 8.1 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, and fancy yellows down 4.1 percent.
The Fancy Colour Diamond Index is published by the non-profit Fancy Colour Research Foundation (FCRF), and tracks pricing data for yellow, pink and blue fancy colour diamonds in three key global trading centers – Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.
FCRF Advisory Board Chairman Eden Rachminov said: “As far as supply is concerned, 2017 and the year before were record low years for blue fancy colour diamond production from mines. The majority of the blues that are coming into the market are pre-owned stones. Manufacturers have seen a significant drop in availability across all sizes and qualities, and consequently prices have continued to increase. Going forward, the market will have to adjust to a lower “new normal” supply level for blue fancy colour and pinks in the high saturations levels.”
Source: idexonline
There is common misconception that a diamond exhibiting fluorescence under ultra violet light has some kind of colour defect or transparency issue.
This NOT true at all. The naturally occurring fluorescence phenomenon is a unique completely hidden feature, which is present to some level in approximately 30% of all diamonds.
The effect is seen in Diamonds which have Carbon bonds which include boron.
Boron causes the diamond to glow when held under a powerful ultra violet light also known as blacklight.
The amount of boron in the Carbon bond making up the diamond will determine the level of fluorescence. Fluorescence is rated by the Laboratory as Very Strong, Strong, Medium, Faint, None. This relates to the strength of the fluorescent glow under ultra violet light.
Laboratories use fluorescence as a means of identifying the diamond along with many other characteristics found in natural diamonds.
May Jewellers and consumers have been led to believe that fluorescence in diamonds will negatively affect the colour or transparency.
Again this is NOT true. Fluorescence has a tendency to make the middle to lower colour diamonds in the colour chart look whiter than the same colour would with no fluorescence. More obvious when viewing the diamond from the table view or top.
Therefore fluorescence has very little, to no negative effect on the diamonds colour or transparency. Diamonds are more likely affected by heavy graining or microscopic clouds.
This is good for the buyer as misinformation has caused consumers to be wary of a UV responsive or fluorescence diamond. This has caused diamond dealers and jewellers to discount these diamonds based on the level of fluorescence in the diamond the same colour and clarity.
Conclusion: save some money and take advantage of the lack of knowledge in the market.
Production will cease at the De Beers Victor mine in Canada in 2019, the company announced Wednesday.
The Diamond Mine in Ontario started production in July 2008 will continue to operate until the open pit is exhausted. This is in line with the company’s original study of mine and the plan for the project.
The mine has yielded 7 million carats of rough exceeding the forecast of 6 million carats predicted for its life of mine.
De Beers discovered the Victor kimberlite cluster in 1987 the first economically viable mine in Canada.
An Oval Cut Fancy Vivid Pink Diamond goes under the hammer at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale this month.
The 14.93 carat Type IIa VVS1 clarity Oval Diamond, named the Pink Promise is estimated to sell for between $28 million to $42 million USD.
Due to resources dwindling Beers’ joint ventures will close four diamond mines by 2022.
Namdeb is a DeBeers project with the government of Namibia, Will close the Elizabeth Bay mine at the end of 2018 followed by the Daberas deposit at the end of 2019 and Sendelingsdrif in 2020. The main asset Southern Coastal will close in 2022.
Production saw a shift to offshore assets this past year. For the first nine months of 2017, Debmarine’s production surged 22% to 1.1 million carats.
Subdued world economic growth will make the next few years challenging, mainly due to negative impacts forecast in exchange rates and other indices.