GradingSep 14, 2021
Investigation Into Fraudulent GIA Reports Continues in India GradingSep 23, 2021
Another Diamond With Fake GIA Inscription Surfaces
Graders at HRD Antwerp found this one, a HPHT-treated natural diamond inscribed with the report number of an untreated stone.
This 1.50-carat diamond was submitted to HRD Antwerp inscribed with a GIA report number for an untreated natural diamond. However, HRD Antwerp graders determined through testing that it is an HPHT-treated diamond with a fake inscription. (Photo courtesy of HRD Antwerp)
Antwerp—Another diamond with a counterfeit GIA report number inscription has surfaced, this time at a lab in Antwerp.
HRD Antwerp reported this week that it recently analyzed a 1.50-carat diamond submitted to its lab.
The diamond was identified as Type IIa—meaning they contain no measurable nitrogen or boron impurities, a rarity for natural diamonds—which raised an immediate red flag for the lab.
HRD Antwerp said Type IIa diamonds are always “investigated extensively” to ensure they are natural diamonds without any color enhancements.
During testing, lab graders discovered the diamond had indeed undergone high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) treatment even though the GIA grading report that corresponded with the inscription number made no mention of color treatment.
Upon detailed microscopic investigation, graders noticed that even though the stone’s carat weight, cut and final clarity grade (VS1) matched the report, the clarity characteristics, while “quite similar,” did not match up exactly.
“Since these characteristics are a unique fingerprint of the diamond, the inscription was conclusively identified as false,” HRD Antwerp said.
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HRD Antwerp reported this week that it recently analyzed a 1.50-carat diamond submitted to its lab.
The diamond was identified as Type IIa—meaning they contain no measurable nitrogen or boron impurities, a rarity for natural diamonds—which raised an immediate red flag for the lab.
HRD Antwerp said Type IIa diamonds are always “investigated extensively” to ensure they are natural diamonds without any color enhancements.
During testing, lab graders discovered the diamond had indeed undergone high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) treatment even though the GIA grading report that corresponded with the inscription number made no mention of color treatment.
Upon detailed microscopic investigation, graders noticed that even though the stone’s carat weight, cut and final clarity grade (VS1) matched the report, the clarity characteristics, while “quite similar,” did not match up exactly.
“Since these characteristics are a unique fingerprint of the diamond, the inscription was conclusively identified as false,” HRD Antwerp said.
The report out of Antwerp is one in a string of recent incidents of labs finding diamonds with counterfeit GIA inscriptions, some lab-grown diamonds or diamond simulants inscribed with report numbers for natural stones and others lower-quality goods inscribed with report numbers for better diamonds.
In a statement to National Jeweler, GIA said it has seen an uptick in the number of fraudulent inscriptions on stones submitted to its labs.
In an earlier release, GIA shared the same advice HRD Antwerp CEO Ellen Joncheere did in her lab’s recent statement on the 1.50-carat diamond: It is important to have diamond grading reports updated before completing a purchase, especially in instances in which the buyer does not know the seller very well.
When asked if these diamonds with fake inscriptions are emanating from a single source or geographic locale, GIA said it has not seen any evidence that the recently reported cases are related.
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HRD Antwerp declined to grade the 1.50-carat diamond, as it only issues Treated Diamond Grading Reports for HPHT-treated diamonds when the customer discloses the treatment.
(Its Treated Diamond Grading Reports are gray in color to distinguish them from the blue reports issued for natural diamonds.)
HRD Antwerp returned the diamond to the submitting company.
(Its Treated Diamond Grading Reports are gray in color to distinguish them from the blue reports issued for natural diamonds.)
HRD Antwerp returned the diamond to the submitting company.
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