With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2025 CIBJO Congress in Paris, France, on October 27, 2025, the fourth of the pre-congress Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report proposes a re-evaluation of how synthetic diamonds are being described in the marketplace, so that they are clearly distinguishable from natural diamonds.

In the report, Mr. Sheintal refers to a decision taken in 2010, by which CIBJO agreed to align with other associations by accepting the terms “laboratory-grown diamond,” and “laboratory-created diamond,” to describe non-natural diamond, along with term “synthetic diamond,” which was exclusively used until then.

“But it was more than that,” the CIBJO President wrote. “At the time, we believed we were acknowledging a commercial reality and extending a constructive hand to a new segment of the industry. Our intention was to integrate synthetic diamond producers into our structured framework.”

“Unfortunately, that cooperation did not materialise as we had envisioned,” he continued. “Many in the synthetic diamond sector — along with some grading laboratories and major retail chains — took advantage of our inclusive approach to advance their commercial interests, often at the expense of the natural diamond industry’s reputation and market share.”

To remedy the situation, Mr. Sheintal recommends that Blue Book and relevant ISO standards be amended so that the term “synthetic” be used exclusively to describe man-made diamonds, as was the case before 2010.

“Enhance consumer transparency by requiring that all descriptions and marketing of synthetic diamonds reflect the reality of their origin,” he wrote. “They are not grown or created in a ‘laboratory,’ but rather are manufactured in industrial facilities through artificial processes. I would suggest that the preferred term “laboratory grown” was always euphemistic, imparting a sense of scientific mysticism.”

The report also proves a detailed analysis on the impact of U.S. government’s punitive import tariff policy, and in particular on India, where upwards of 90 percent of the diamond cut each year are processed.

In addressing such political challenges, it is important that global industry act in a unified way, the Diamond Commission President stressed. “During these moments of uncertainty, it is vital that the international diamond and jewellery community speaks with a united voice. Our industry has always been global by nature, and actions taken unilaterally in one country reverberate across continents,” he stated.