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.
Natural diamond continue to command record breaking prices at auction. Looking back at 2022 we see a diverse set of exceptional diamonds, spanning a range of sizes, which the fall of the gavel transferred to new owners.
In the 1980s a young young girl in the DRC decided to explore a pile of rubble located near her uncle's house. While playing she found a large golden-colored rock in the pile and took it home to her uncle...
If the emotional aspect of diamond engagement rings resonates with you, 'Only Natural Diamonds' has a beautiful pictorial essay - covering their history from Mary of Burgundy all the way through 'Bennifer.'
The Future Rocks (TFR) is a Hong Kong based platform offering 'future-forward' jewelry, espousing the shared values of sustainability, innovation and creativity. Since launching last year the online marketplace has more than tripled its roster of brands and products.
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.
On November 17 IGI honored Leysen with a diamond craftsmanship award, recognizing the jewelry Maison's 'Blue Flame Diamond.' The ceremony, attended by diplomats, industry principals and members of the press, took place at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Belgium in Shanghai.
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.
A 20 minute bidding war for a pink diamond culminated in a final bid of $49.9 million, exceeding the pre-sale estimate by over 230%, and setting a record for the highest price per carat ever paid for a diamond at auction.
Diamond Standard's coin, the world's only market-traded diamond commodity, is up 30% in the two years since launch, outperforming gold by almost 40% and the S&P 500 by 20%. Last week that commodity's first spot market was established, giving all investors in the product liquidity.
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.
Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas has now yielded 35,000 diamonds to visitors - and counting - since opening to the public 50 years ago. The park's 37.5-acres field is the world's only diamond-bearing site accessible to the public.
Over 400 exhibitors gathered at the Colorado Convention Center, many for the second consecutive year, to take part in the only USA show to bring mineral & fossil dealers and jewelry & gemstone companies together under one roof.
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.
Gem Diamonds, with offices in the United Kingdom and Belgium owns the Letšeng Diamond mine in Lesotho and the Ghaghoo mine in Botswana. Year on year those operations produce a number of delightfully large, white, exceptional rough crystals.
The spellcaster in L. Frank Baum's fictional land of Oz may have been a charlatan, but the appropriately named Merlin diamond mine in Australia could potentially restore gem-quality diamond sparkle to that country.
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."