De Beers Opens Grading Lab for Trade; How will it affect GIA?

[PinkDiamond]

Look Out GIA: De Beers Opens Grading Lab for Trade
De Beers has debuted the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research to the trade at large
Rob Bates | February 22, 2016

"Get ready for a new addition to the industry’s alphabet soup of grading labs—IIDGR, the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research. But what is most interesting is the name behind it: De Beers.

Today, De Beers formally opened the IIDGR, which in the past has mostly issued reports on behalf of De Beers’ Forevermark brand, to the trade at large.

What makes the new lab different, says De Beers spokesperson David Johnson, is that it relies heavily on technology for grading. It uses automated devices for all color grading. A machine grades clarity from I3 to VS and is used as a “grader aider” for higher grades.

Human graders aren’t left out, though; they double-check the results. “If there is a discrepancy or the grade is near a boundary, the diamond will go through the system again,” Johnson says.

The labs are differentiated by their “technology, reliability, integrity, and repeatability,” Johnson says. “It is the focus on ensuring a grade that comes from the Surat lab is the same as those that come from other labs. Having the machine and the machine element ensures the integrity of the process. You can’t have someone subjectively soft-grading the stone because the machine would grade the stone as well.”

Turnaround time is intended to be quick, he adds.

De Beers currently has ..."
http://www.jckonline.com/2016/02/22/loo ... -306540353

[SwordfishMining]

That does not surprise me. In the quest for ever increasing stock value, any facet of a business, unexploited by the source but others are living off, becomes a target for acquisition or competition. Thus dividing the customers away from those that need every one to continue to those that just want the extra profits and can operate at a loss until the competition dries up. I do believe that is how monopolies think and act. Well public corporations.

[PinkDiamond]

GIA has had enough internal issues with grading problems for so long that I hope they give them a run for their money, and make them more diligent so we're not having to deal with their screw-ups trade-wide for years afterward, because for a group that's always touted as the 'best', and 'the place to go for certs', they have proven time and time again that their employees are not all stellar examples of honest grading practices, so why they're considered 'the place to go' is beyond me since their track record speaks volumes, and indicates they're not as reliable as the industry, or they, would have the public believe.

Hopefully DeBeers labs will force them to do due diligence and put out certs the industry can stand behind for a change, instead of having to check to make sure they're not bogus like we're dealing with now.

[rocks2dust]

Perhaps we will have to await some machine to automate the grading, take out the human subjectivity and substantially lower the cost of a report. It isn't far-fetched (just immerse the stone in fluid with the same RI, zap it with a clean light source and scan for color and flaws).