Industry takes harder line on synthetic gemstone trade

Synthetic coloured gemstones are causing concern in the jewellery industry. This year the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) banned the display or sale of synthetic, man-made and lab-grown gemstones at its trade shows, either as loose gems or in jewellery.

The association came to this decision, it said, “to thwart potential confusion”, adding: “It’s perfectly acceptable for AGTA dealers to sell synthetic gems if they choose and so long as they are disclosed, but for the sake of clarity and peace of mind, buyers attending AGTA GemFairs can shop knowing that only natural gems will be available for purchase.”

This is just one instance of the industry attempting to deal with the challenges facing the rough coloured gemstone market, which is worth billions of dollars a year. The precise figure is hard to pin down but, according to a 2020 report by Global Initiative, a Geneva-based non-governmental organisation, it is between $17bn and $23bn. This estimate itself is based on older data.

The report, A Rough Cut Trade, focuses on Africa’s coloured gemstone flows to Asia, where most gemstones are cut. The report says: “Due to the clandestine nature of flows, both informal and illegal, official trade figures fail to reflect the scale of the trade and there remain significant knowledge gaps around the actors and networks involved, and the modus operandi used to export coloured gemstones to the international marketplaces.

“In turn, traceability of the source of gemstones and the ability to support sustainable development in the gemstone sector in Africa are major challenges facing the industry, governments and development actors.”

Traceability is a key factor here and of great importance to Eric Braunwart, founder of Columbia Gem House, based in Washington State, who has been trying to sound the alarm about the introduction of synthetic gemstones into the supply chain of natural coloured stones for some time. Columbia’s core business, over almost 50 years, is gemstone cutting, but it also manufactures jewellery. He has spent the past six months on a research project in an attempt to gauge the extent of the problem.

“Way back in the 1990s the American Gem Trade Association and one of the trade magazines did some research on buying gemstones from retailers and testing them. And we did find that there was some level of a problem,” he says.

Since then the quality of synthetic stones has improved considerably and it has become harder to separate them by eye, says Braunwart.

“We [Columbia] are cutting from rough, so we can analyse the rough pretty carefully and from there through the rest of the supply chain. We know they [synthetics] don’t get added. But I have heard too many instances where people have found this to be the case. So far it has not seriously damaged the industry. But at some point it is going to. I would much rather have the industry working on solutions ahead of time, even though there are no absolute answers.

“Everybody wants a lab report now, and why do they want a lab report? Because they don’t trust the industry to supply the proper information.”

Braunwart adds that there is more rigour in the sector for checking diamonds. “With the advent of synthetic diamonds on the market, everybody is checking down to the tiny stones, but nobody is thinking about colour.”

One of the examples Braunwart gives to illustrate his concerns is that the last time he was in southern Africa, working with a ruby mine, “other than at the mine, I never saw a piece of ruby rough that either was not imitation or synthetic or already lead glass-filled [a technique to produce a clearer stone]”.

So far Braunwart has struggled to identify the scale of the problem and for that reason is continuing his research. “Some people in the industry thought it was a minor problem; some though it was significant,” he says. As for those involved, he says his gut feeling is that this is not the work of organised crime but, rather, small groups or individuals. “It doesn’t just happen by accident. Do I think it’s a major conspiracy? No, but it is not accidental that this stuff gets mixed in somewhere,” he adds.

“There is a saying at my end of the industry: the closer you get to the source of the material, the more synthetic you see. So when you are running around the mines there’s plenty of synthetics you see. If you’re not a knowledgeable buyer and those get mixed into the supply chain, it just carries all the way through.”

He says there are key points on that chain, including mining, consolidation, cutting and manufacturing, where synthetic mixing can occur. “That is why we push traceable supply chains. If people are looking at those points we have a better chance of eliminating it.”

Braunwart says there is a particular issue with gemstone beads: “Our belief is that 50 per cent of them are either fake, synthetic or goodness knows what being sold as natural. It’s a huge problem.”

As far as retail jewellery brands are concerned, Braunwart is seeing more concern and vigilance to ensure no synthetics get through. “I probably see less intentional monitoring and checking at the wholesale level and down the supply chain,” he says.

One of the issues is the economics and practicalities of testing, particularly smaller stones. Most coloured gemstones come from artisanal and small-scale mines and, says Braunwart, there is neither the technology nor the infrastructure to carry [testing] out. Then there are the manufacturers.

“Yes, they have the general ability to test, but imagine you are a manufacturer and have an order for 500 pieces of a ring with a certain stone type and you are 100 stones short, and you are going to be fined 20 per cent if you deliver late. You just go to the market and buy. Synthetics can get mixed in,” he says.

A new service from the Gemological Institute of America that could cut the cost considerably of testing stones as small as 1mm is being launched this summer, according to Tom Moses, the GIA’s chief research and laboratory officer. “We have developed with our research team a conveyor belt-type system that can do the testing for a few cents, rather than dollars,” he says.

This service will address one of Braunwart’s biggest concerns: that consumers with smaller budgets to buy jewellery should have the same protection as those spending large sums.

Moses believes Braunwart’s fears about synthetics are valid. “It’s a big concern and I suspect that where there is smoke there’s probably fire,” he says.

For Braunwart’s part, the next phase of his research will involve tracking the journey of synthetics from the manufacturers in an attempt to quantify how many remain labelled as man-made.

“I truly believe that the majority of people in the diamond and coloured gemstone industry are very ethical,” he says. “They are not intentionally trying to do this, although there are some bad players. But in the end it will make the whole industry look bad. I am hoping the industry can come up with a proactive approach and is seen to be rigorous.”