Gemological Institute of America’s lab has begun an investigation and suspended its diamond sealing service after it spotted a sealed diamond the report of which didn’t match the stone.
Diamond sealing—which involves putting the gem in a secure tamper-resistant package—is an additional service offered by the lab, generally for the investment market. Only one-tenth of one percent of the stones that the lab grades are sealed, says spokesman Stephen Morisseau.
When GIA was recently asked to double-check a sealed stone, it discovered that the gem did not match the grades and description on the accompanying label. GIA has enlisted a corporate investigator to examine the situation.
A statement adds clients with concerns about whether a sealed diamond matches the grade can submit their packets for a check to GIA free of charge.
The lab has also suspended its duplicate report service, which clients use to replace lost or stolen reports. The lab also offers Report Check, which shows grades online and allows clients to print PDFs of their reports, and some say it’s now redundant.
“There have been instances where stones have not matched the duplicate reports,” Morisseau says. “But that is not related to this sealing issue. The driver of suspending the duplicate reports is Report Check.”
Morisseau says no decision has been made as to whether the two services will be reinstated.
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