How to Talk (Correctly!) About Lab-Grown Diamonds

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How to Talk (Correctly!) About Lab-Grown Diamonds

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The lab-grown category is growing quickly with all the news and information coming out on them, and although this one talks about things we've posted before, it also goes into simulants, which are seldom mentioned along with lab-grown diamonds so I'm posting this one for you too, to make sure you get it right when you're discussing them with your customers. ;)

How to Talk (Correctly!) About Lab-Grown Diamonds
November 6, 2019 by Rob Bates

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"When it comes to lab-grown diamonds, you don’t want to get too creative with language. Here’s a refresher on the lingo (and legalities).

In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded a major overhaul of its Jewelry Guides, including its recommendations on lab-grown diamonds. Many in the lab-grown community, with some validity, hailed the changes as a major victory.

And yet, in the months since, some have gotten “creative” with their interpretations of the new Guides, says Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) president and CEO Tiffany Stevens. A year after the overhaul, the FTC sent eight companies that sell lab-grown diamonds and diamond simulants letters about their marketing, warning their advertisements could possibly “deceive” consumers.

Which is why it’s important to review what the FTC Guides do—and don’t—say:

Disclosure is still required.

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Pendant with 0.55 ct. t.w. lab-grown diamonds in 10k white gold; $999; Smiling Rocks; 646-452-7046; smilingrocks.com

In perhaps the most commented-upon change, the FTC removed the word natural from the definition of a diamond. “It is no longer accurate to define diamonds as ‘natural’ when it is now possible to create products that have essentially the same optical, physical, and chemical properties as mined diamonds,” the FTC wrote, explaining the change.

That has led some to insist that the FTC has declared “a diamond is a diamond.” While that’s a possible interpretation of the change, the commission never used that particular wording. Under the new FTC Guides—just like the old ones—the unadorned word diamond can still refer only to a natural, mined gem. That means disclosure remains a requirement for non-natural diamonds.

“Marketers still need to make those disclosures [if they are not selling] a mined diamond,” says Reenah L. Kim, staff attorney for the FTC’s enforcement division, who worked on the revamp. Furthermore, the disclosures need to be clear and conspicuous—and the closer the disclosure comes to the claim, the better.

“Some advertisers reveal the true nature of their products behind vague hyperlinks, in an FAQ section, or on an ­‘education’ page,” wrote the FTC in a June blog post. “That won’t do. Consumers could easily overlook the information because it’s not close to the product description.”

Marketers even have to be careful on social media. If the only descriptor comes in a hashtag (#labgrown), that could be misleading, the FTC says.

The FTC recommends three descriptors for lab-grown diamonds.

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Ring in 10k white gold with 0.98 ct. t.w. lab-grown diamonds; $1,525; Smiling Rocks; 646-452-7046; smilingrocks.com

So how should companies describe lab-grown diamonds? The FTC recommends the terms ­laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, and [manufacturer name]-created. It has okayed use of the word cultured, but manufacturers need to use other descriptive or qualifying language.

The term synthetic was once on that list of recommendations, but it was removed with this revision. However, contrary to some assertions, synthetic hasn’t been prohibited; some lab-grown companies currently use it in their marketing.

The new guides do give marketers leeway to use other descriptors “if they clearly and conspicuously convey that the product is not a mined stone.” But that doesn’t mean marketers can call their diamonds whatever they want. For instance, in the warning letters it sent out in June, the FTC cautioned against using the descriptors aboveground and real diamonds created in America, which it felt “[do] not clearly and conspicuously disclose that the diamonds are laboratory-created.”

“As a federal agency, [the FTC is] always balancing consumer protection against free speech,” Stevens said on “The Jewelry District,” JCK’s podcast. “They wanted to give a little more of that free speech breathing room. Their line of thinking is, ‘Let’s open this up. And if anyone steps over the line, we’ll slap them down.’ Which they did.”

Stevens thinks the safest bet is that companies stick to the three recommended descriptors. “That fourth category is a little unknown,” she says.

Simulants are different from lab-grown diamonds.

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Forever One 3.69 cts. t.w. emerald colorless moissanite solitaire with accents engagement ring in 14k white gold; $3,289; Charles & Colvard; 877-202-5467; charlesandcolvard.com

The FTC—as well as the world of gemology—has always been clear that a simulant, or simulated diamond, may look like a real gemstone but ... "

https://www.jckonline.com/magazine-arti ... -report-2/
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


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