GIA Counters Counterfeit Inscriptions

Laboratory procedures detect attempted fraud

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Feb. 23, 2021 – Recently, GIA encountered a number of stones that were submitted for updated reports or verification services that did not match the GIA report submitted with them. The newly-submitted stones were either laboratory-grown diamonds or treated natural diamonds, falsely inscribed with GIA report numbers.

Consistent with GIA’s mission to protect consumers and ensure their trust in gems and jewelry, the Institute overwrites the counterfeit inscription with Xs; issues a new, accurate report; and inscribes the newly-submitted stone with the number of the new report and, when appropriate, the phrase ‘Laboratory-Grown.’

The newly-submitted stones had the following commonalities: (1) the weights and grading parameters of the original and newly-submitted diamonds were close to each other; and (2) the newly-submitted diamonds were inscribed with counterfeit inscriptions of the original GIA report number.
 
In a recent example, the report that accompanied a diamond submitted for an update was for a 1.50362 carat, VVS2, E, type I natural diamond with an excellent cut grade. The newly-submitted stone with a counterfeit inscription was a man-made diamond, 1.51212 carat, VVS2, D, type IIa with a very good cut grade. It is clear that these are two different diamonds. 
 
These instances of attempted fraud highlight why it is important, especially in any transaction where the buyer does not have a trusted relationship with the seller, to have the diamond grading report updated prior to completing a purchase.
 
Depending on the circumstances of the submission of stones with counterfeit inscriptions, GIA considers all of the options outlined in GIA’s Client Agreement, including notifying the submitting client, law enforcement and the public.