Diamond Treatments Add Value

RAPAPORT… Have treatments and synthetics become the big threat that was always feared by the industry? Where are we today?

Actually, it depends on your point of view. On one side, the lab’s role is to make sure no treated stones go through the net without being traced. On the other side, some companies are tapping a very profitable niche in using fully disclosed treatments.

Added Value

Henry Keesje of I. Keesje and Zoon explained that “Our niche has become color- enhanced natural diamonds, obtained by a combined use of electronic beam together with high temperature. The new range of possibilities is endless and is becoming a real solution for many — not just end users, but even companies in the trade. We can supply green, yellow and pinks from cape-color diamonds; blue, cognac and red cherry from light brown and light blue from white — and we always disclose fully the color enhancement.” The company’s process uses an industrial accelerator for the electronic beam, which guarantees nonradioactive treatment. The high-temperature part of the process is used to give the diamond the same durability and brilliance that it has in its natural state.

According to Keesje, there are numerous advantages to the process. First, the company can guarantee a constant supply for jewelry lines. Second, it can guarantee an even color — for pavés, for example. Third, the color-enhanced diamonds can be 10 percent or 20 percent of the cost of natural colored diamonds. Fourth, the service is appreciated by diamantaires who want to get rid of excess $50- to $60-per-carat stones. Keesje said that once the stones are color-enhanced, they move more easily. And fifth, the process meets the needs of many jewelers who want to innovate at more affordable prices.

“The market [for color-enhanced stones] grew by 10 percent last year and will most likely reach 10 to 15 percent growth this year,” said Keesje. “Just think, barely five years ago, watches pavéd with color-enhanced diamonds didn’t exist, and today we’re witnessing a real boom. In March 2007, our Israeli partner sold more than 900 carats of such stones in Hong Kong, which is a good indication of the market.”

CVD Diamonds

As long as such treatments are duly disclosed, the argument goes, even though the stones may not be to everyone’s preference, end users’ confidence is not threatened. On the other hand, the fact that stones may be enhanced and the possibility of deliberate nondisclosure are likely to jeopardize customers’ trust. Consequently, labs have become extremely cautious regarding such matters.

Benoit Scheyvaerts of International Gemological Institute (IGI) explained that “There is indeed an increasing number of synthetic yellow diamonds, produced by HPHT [High Pressure-High Temperature] techniques, but we’re fully equipped to detect them and there’s no problem in detecting them. The new hot issue concerns the upcoming availability of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) synthetics. However, at this stage, that process is still a bit of a scarecrow, as many people are talking about it, but not a single CVD synthetic has reached the market. The major difference between the HPHT techniques and CVD is that the latter are being produced at low pressures. HPHT does not usually deliver ‘colorless’ or ‘near colorless’ goods, whereas CVD is expected to. Fortunately, those stones are clearly and easily identifiable, and they are type II diamonds, which are actually very rare. It could take some months or even years before a lab bumps into one. I want to stress that, even though the stones are not in the market yet, we’ve been able to study samples, which assures us of our ability to detect them. Having said that, the fact remains that even if creating “colorless” diamonds is very difficult to do, it’s been reported that a CVD diamond can always be HPHT-enhanced afterward in order to become a “white” stone.

Philip Claes, HRD Lab spokesman, elaborated. “The HRD Diamond Lab does not issue certificates for synthetics. Synthetic diamonds will be returned to the owner without Diamond Examination Results, with the mere mention the diamond is a synthetic one. As HRD Diamond Lab does not issue certificates for synthetics, they are very rarely offered to the lab for certification. If they are, it would indicate that either the client is not aware of the fact that his diamond is not a natural diamond or the diamond was presented with the purpose of testing the HRD Diamond Lab.”

Yves Kerremans, director of HRD Research, said HRD has been investing a great deal in research on CVD synthetics, and that it “continues to expand its know-how on CVD characteristics by collaboration with several CVD-synthetic-producing universities and companies.”

The Marketplace

• Clean goods in VS and up are doing very well across the board.
• In small, clean goods, price increases can be of 3, 4 or 5 percent.
• Certified 1-carat clean goods have seen about a 3 percent increase in prices. • Demand has increased for dark colors of K, L and M to P, and demand is even greater in the Asian market.
• Market for SI1 to P1, from 25 to 75 points, in all colors, is weaker than the rest of the market.
• Double-digit premiums are being
paid on Diamond Trading Company (DTC) boxes.
• Prices paid for rough are totally out of line with polished price trends.