GJEPC Begins Synthetic Diamond Investigation in Surat

The Times of India reported that the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has started trying to find out which units are secretly manufacturing synthetic diamonds in Surat. Small diamond manufacturers in Varachha and Katargam have recently come under scrutiny due to “reports of large-scale mixing of synthetic and lab-grown diamonds in the natural diamond parcels.”

As quoted in the market news:

The GJEPC has appointed experts – A T Kearney (global management consulting firm) and Bonas & Co. (De Beers brokers) – to assist in the project of ‘establishing the current status, prepare a framework/guideline for the industry members to trade in natural and synthetic diamonds’.

A Natural Dimaond Monitoring Committee (NDMC) has also been formed with various associations like Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) and Mumbai Diamond Merchants’ Association (MDMA) to take vital decisions pertaining to synthetic diamonds.

Industry sources said experts from Mumbai have been camping in the diamond city for the last few days to find out the scale at which the synthetic diamonds are cut and polished and the strategy of mixing them with natural diamond parcels.

Click here to read the full report from The Times of India.