Since the 15th century the diamond ring has been the celebrated symbol of faithfulness, love and commitment. Starting in 1975, when IGI was first established in Antwerp, the world capital…
As lab grown diamonds gain popularity consumers have questions about the "post-growth treatment" comment seen on many IGI grading reports. Post-growth treatments are commonly used to reduce, eliminate or change the diamond's color-appearance. Logically, people want to know "are the treatments permanent?"
There are two sophisticated ways of producing lab-grown diamonds. One process assembles the diamond in vertical layers and the other uses a metal catalyst to dissolve carbon. These different approaches produce inclusions which differ from those seen in natural diamonds.
IGI provided a ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour to attendees of last month's NYC Jewelry Week in Manhattan, showcasing the institute’s grading and appraisal processes for diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry.
Last month IGI instructed a Polished Diamond Course in Antwerp attended by 15 students from 12 different countries; the most nationalities hosted in one class at IGI's 14 worldwide schools since the pandemic.
The IGI GemBlog has earned a top position among thousands of blogs and websites, ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness according to Feedspot, the internet's largest human-curated database of bloggers.
Earlier this month IGI participated in a presentation at the Antwerp Diamond Bourse. The session, staged in the heart of Antwerp's historic diamond district, was part of a 'diamond immersion tour,' arranged for a group of 60 jewelry enthusiasts.
IGI has added a grade for cut to fancy shape diamond reports. In addition to traditional polish and symmetry analysis, the institute is now assessing the influence cut quality has on light behavior seen in shapes other than round.
IGI has partnered with Luxus, a new platform permitting people to invest in a “best in class” selection of precious gems, high jewelry and rare watches. The institute will serve as Luxus' independent valuation partner, setting the value of pieces listed on the platform.
Forbes.com, "Home Page for the World's Business Leaders," has published an article describing IGI's new eLearning Courses on diamonds as "first-rate professional online gemological education, ideally suited and ideally timed for a global audience."
Representatives from more than 300 independent jewelry stores around the United States gathered at the Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota last weekend for the biannual Retail Jewelers Organization (RJO) Show.
A new exhibit has been unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "Great American Diamonds," featuring four of the most significant diamonds found in the United States.
On June 13 the International Gemological Institute, Italy and Gem-Tech presented a workshop entitled "Sales Support Tools: Magazines and Certificates." The well-attended session took place at Officina Vanvitelli, in the Monumental Complex of the Belvedere di San Leucio, Caserta, Italy.
Demonstrations of IGI's new interactive eLearning Courses were provided to attendees of the recent JCK Las Vegas show. The on-demand, fully responsive courses provide fundamental gemological education while emphasizing information buyers are most interested in.
IGI Education Director John Pollard will join Rob Bates, Tanya Nisguretsky and Marty Hurwitz to present "The State of Lab Grown Diamond Industry" this Thursday. Rather than the usual "pro/con" arguments, the panel will address evolving new topics including melee, the implications of patent expirations and paradigm shifts in planning and cutting.
IGI recently graded 27.27 carat, 20.24 carat and 15.16 carat lab grown diamonds produced by Greenlab Diamonds LLP as part of their "sustainable and affordable luxury" project. The 27.27 and 20.24 carat gemstones are the largest polished lab grown diamonds ever produced.
Handheld gemstone testers are commonly used to differentiate between diamond and diamond-simulants like CZ and moissanite. However, as diamond growing technology advances the technology used in those devices becomes more limited.
In the normal diamond color range 'Z' is classified as most tinted while 'D' is classified as most colorless. So what happened to A, B and C? Are they reserved for new diamond discoveries? Extraterrestrial diamonds? What could possibly be more colorless than most colorless? If there are 23 classifications why not start with 'A' and end with 'W?'
In 2020 Synova, introduced the "Da Vinci Diamond Factory," an automated system capable of transforming rough diamonds into fully polished round brilliants. Synova has continued to increase its range and recently made it possible for rough diamond scans, used by many entities, to be incorporated into its planning and execution.
Petra Diamonds, owner of the legendary Cullinan diamond mine, is looking to sell their Koffiefontein mine, a sister operation acquired from DeBeers' in 2007. Established in 1870, Koffiefontein is one of South Africa's oldest diamond mines, located just 50 miles south of Kimberley.