Last week, I sent out a client letter about Alrosa and the current government sanctions against Russian diamonds. Read it here.
Today, I received notice from GIA (Gemological Institute of America) that the body will soon offer GIA Source Verify, a geographical origin notation for natural, mined diamonds that will be included on the GIA diamond reports we all use. GIA will also identify lab-grown diamonds. Several of you have written or called about the diamond situation. You wanted to know whether lab-grown diamonds are a good alternative to buying sanctioned material.
Indeed, lab-grown diamonds represent one way to buy knowing that the gem has not come from Russian mines or underserved mining communities. The other thing to consider is natural, mined diamonds recycled from vintage jewelry. The market for vintage diamonds is continuing strong for lots of good reasons. One, vintage diamonds are recycled, so no new mining, no conflict diamonds, no sanctions… just a beautiful old stone. The older stones are cut very differently than new material, so they glow rather than sparkle, although they do have a lot of life.
I love them. So, if you are in the market, please let me know. We can do some amazing work with the old, mined stones. Stay tuned for my latest project with one. Regards from the studio,
