Latha, a housewife, was taken by surprise when she found out that the diamond nose-ring which she bought for her daughter, from a local jeweller, was a fake. She discovered this on her visit to another jeweller, for a minor repair in the jewellery.

Synthetic diamond has become a reality and the biggest concern is that it is hard to differentiate between a synthetic and a natural diamond through a naked eye. “Even the best gemmologist cannot identify a synthetic diamond,” said Amarendran Vummidi, partner in 118-year-old Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers.

Synthetic diamonds are made through a process called copper vapour deposit. Over a period of time, layers of vapours deposit on a seed and crystalise to become synthetic diamonds.

“Synthetic diamond is a menace. It costs 5 per cent less than natural diamonds, but gives the same look and quality. Synthetic Diamonds are sold on par with the natural diamond,” Amarendran told BusinessLine . People will shy away from buying diamond jewellery if they know that they could be defrauded, he added.

Imports up

Import of synthetic stones nearly doubled to $344 million in 2017-18 as against $191 million in previous year (synthetic diamonds also have industrial use). Import of natural diamond dropped to $2,235 million (provisional) as against $2,634 million a year before, according to Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) quoting customs data.

“Synthetic diamonds represent a small percentage of overall diamond jewellery sales. Even then, it is important to educate customers about the difference between synthetic and natural diamonds,” said TS Kalyanaraman, Chairman & Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers.

Certification is a pre-requisite to ensure that customers can extract value from their purchases. “The two categories can co-exist separately without the fear of one overpowering the demand for the other. As long as customers are aware of what they are buying and there are certifications in place, there is nothing to worry. Synthetic diamonds could emerge as a different product category by itself,” he said.

While it is difficult to identify synthetic or natural diamond with naked eyes, there are detection machines and services available in the market to identify genuineness of diamonds, say sources in GJEPC.

Quick-Check machine

Customers can avail services from The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research for identification of diamonds. Gemmological Institute of India has developed an advanced detection instrument called Quick-Check machine.

However, the issue is that these machine are not available at the premises of jewellers. Customers should get an assurance about the authenticity of the diamonds during purchase itself., says Amarendran. It costs nearly ₹7,000 to check for a bangle, he adds.

Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers has taken the lead by procuring a Synthdetect machine from International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research, a subsidiary of De Beers. Customers will know the genuineness of the diamond during purchase itself.

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