Indian Industry Wants Country to Follow FTC Lab-Grown Diamond Guides

By Rob Bates | December 05, 2024

India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has endorsed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) guidelines for lab-grown diamonds—and is urging its national consumer ministry to do the same.

Last month, India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) held a stakeholder consultation on diamonds, to address “critical concerns regarding the lack of standardized terminology and inadequate disclosure practices in the diamond sector,” it said in a statement.

“Consumers deserve to know exactly what they are paying for,” CCPA chief commissioner Nidhi Khare told Indian newspaper Mint. “The lack of clarity not only misleads buyers but also damages trust in the entire diamond market, which has always been built on exclusivity and authenticity.”

The statement noted that, under India’s current rules, lab-grown diamonds must be labeled synthetic, and their production method—high-pressure, high-temperature or chemical vapor deposition—must be specified.

But the GJEPC considers that a legacy ruling—much like France had long had in place. In 2023, France reiterated its prior guidance, so lab-grown diamonds sold there can only be called synthetic.

The GJEPC said it didn’t want that to happen in India, and believes the current rules should change to allow for other terms.

“Globally, these diamonds are recognized as laboratory-created or laboratory-grown, not synthetic diamonds, and India should embrace this terminology,” Smit Patel, convener of GJEPC’s lab-grown panel, said in a bulletin.

The association added that the current rules don’t mandate that “diamond without a prefix implies a natural diamond”—as the FTC’s rules do.

GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah tells JCK the rule change is “under discussion. We have been following up with our ministry.”

The Federal Trade Commission’s rules that address lab-grown labeling can be seen here (and are summarized here). They advise that lab-grown diamonds be clearly and conspicuously labeled as laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, or [manufacturer name]-created. In 2018, the FTC removed the word synthetic from its list of recommended terms, but did not prohibit its use. They do not require sellers to spell out the diamonds’ production method.

The unadorned word diamond—as well as terms such as real, genuine, and natural—can apply only to natural diamonds, according to current FTC Guides.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority could not be reached for comment.

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