Dubai: The Dubai Diamond Exchange is allowing synthetic gems to be traded, making up a small percentage of the total, Chairman Peter Meeus said.
“There is no law prohibiting synthetics to be traded in the UAE,” Meeus said in an interview in Dubai. The gems must be disclosed as synthetic, he said.
Man-made gems probably make up less than 1 per cent of all diamonds traded, according to Marc Brauner, co-chief executive officer of the International Gemological Institute.
There were 550 synthetic gems certified in Dubai so far this year, compared with 80 last year and none in 2013, Brauner said. About $30 billion of diamonds are traded on the exchange, making it among the top three bourses for gems, according to Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre,
