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Watch: A 3-Minute Lesson on Lab-Grown Diamond Lingo
The Jewelers Vigilance Committee breaks down how retailers should, and shouldn’t, talk about man-made diamonds in a new, short video.
New York—Confused about the terminology that can be used for a lab-grown diamond versus a natural one? If you have 3 1/2 minutes, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee can help.
JVC just posted a short video on its website in which CEO and General Counsel Tiffany Stevens breaks down the correct disclosure terminology for lab-grown diamonds and associated “eco-friendly” claims.
The release of the video follows the Federal Trade Commission’s revision of the Jewelry Guides, its first in 22 years. The new guides, which cover the terminology that can be used in advertising gems and jewelry, dropped last summer.
Since then, Stevens and her fellow attorneys at JVC have been traveling the country talking about what the new rules mean in PowerPoint presentations at various jewelry trade shows and conferences as well as sharing them via webinars.
JVC was also instrumental in calling the FTC’s attention to potentially deceptive advertising by some companies selling lab-grown diamonds and diamond simulants, which resulted in the commission sending out warning letters to eight companies earlier this year.
A few of the points Stevens hit on in the short video include the following.
1. The word “diamond” alone always means a natural diamond.
2. When selling lab-grown diamonds, retailers must use a descriptor that makes it clear the diamond was made by man. Three FTC-approved descriptors are: laboratory grown, laboratory created and [manufacturer name] created.
3. All environmental claims, such as stating that a product is “carbon neutral,” must be substantiated.
WATCH: JVC’s ‘How to Advertise Jewelry’
In addition to changes to lab-grown diamond terminology, the FTC’s revision of the Jewelry Guides included changes to the sections on metals, pearls and more.
JVC Senior Counsel Sara Yood joined Stevens at AGS Conclave earlier this year to outline some of these changes.
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