3 days Ago
Slug: Safeguarding / Interests Surat: In a recent meeting of ‘Central Consumer Protection Authority' (CCPA) to decide the guidelines for the protection of consumer interests in the diamond sector, businessmen from the state suggested that the term "synthetic" be not used for lab-grown diamonds. They suggested that new category be created for lab-grown diamonds . There was a consensus on the urgent need to set guidelines to differentiate between natural and lab-grown diamonds and the terminology to be used to identify the different kinds of diamonds to protect consumer interests.
The meeting was held in New Delhi on Nov 17. Dinesh Navadiya, chairman of the Indian Diamond Institute, who was present at the meeting, told TOI: "We made it clear that lab-grown diamonds are not synthetic diamonds. We opposed terming lab-grown diamonds as synthetic.
If the process of lab-grown diamonds is applied to synthetic diamonds , they will not survive." The meeting was held to benefit the consumer who buys the diamond. "The consumer should know what he is buying when he goes for buying.
There will be certification with all the parameters written on it so that the consumer can make it out if it is natural, lab-grown, or another type of diamond. This will save cheating to the consumer," he said. The CCPA meeting was chaired by Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner, who brought key industry stakeholders and experts from the diamond industry together.
The meeting addressed critical concerns regarding the lack of standardised terminology and inadequate disclosure practices in the diamond sector. These gaps resulted in consumer confusion and misleading practices, especially concerning the differentiation between natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds. The broad key aspects and prevailing legal and regulatory frameworks were discussed in detail at the meeting.
The industry emphasised the need for ethical marketing practices and consistent terminology to enhance consumer protection. It was also discussed that explicit labelling and certification of all diamonds, specifying their origin and production method, should be made mandatory. Misleading terms like ‘natural' or ‘genuine' should not be used for lab-grown products.
Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), told TOI: "We have advocated for a comprehensive certification to avoid any injustice to the consumer who is buying a diamond. We suggested having a lab-grown diamond as a separate category apart from natural diamonds and synthetic diamonds. The synthetic diamond may include coloured and moissanite diamonds.
So, ideally, there will be three categories.".
