New U.S. Sanctions Effectively Ban Burmese Gems

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has placed Myanma Gems Enterprise on its Specially Designated National...

Why an Ad Watchdog Warned Diamond Foundry

Yesterday, I spoke with Laura Brett, vice president of the National Advertising Division (NAD), the ad watchdog that just issued marketing...

Watchdog: Diamond Foundry Ads Could Confuse Consumers

BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division (NAD) has recommended that Diamond Foundry modify some of its advertising, to better communicate...

A Sometime Industry Critic Is Returning to the State Dept.

Jose Fernandez (pictured), who advocated for Kimberley Process (KP) and wider industry reform when he was assistant secretary of state for economic,...

U.S. Reimposes Sanctions On Diamond Trader Gertler

The U.S. government taketh away, and then it giveth, and now it taketh away again. (more…)

Jeweler Pleads Guilty to Lying to Federal Agents

On Tuesday, the manager of a jewelry store in Jersey City, N.J., admitted to lying to federal agents during an investigation into a fraud conspiracy,...

GIA Finds Fake Inscriptions on Diamonds

GIA's grading lab recently detected “a number” of diamonds that had counterfeit GIA inscriptions on their girdles. "This is not the first time...

Suit: Chicago Jeweler Allowed Rolex Sales To Gray Market

On Feb. 11, a former employee of Chicago's C.D. Peacock filed suit against the retailer, alleging that management of the authorized Rolex dealer...

Customs Intercepts More Than 200 Fake Cartier Jewels

On Feb. 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville, Ky., intercepted two packages that contained more than 200 pieces of...

The Gem Industry Speaks Out on Recent Events in Myanmar

While many in the gem industry call the recent military coup in Myanmar (formerly Burma) a terrible tragedy, they also fear what will happen to the...