Gemmologically speaking...

Grading and certification have much relevance in ensuring the quality of gemstones.

Jewellery manufacturers and owners have always taken pride in the value of their gemstones. In fact, grading and certification have become as important as the process of buying precious gems.

Dubai Gem Certification (DGC) is a unique service created to facilitate certification for gemstones, pearls and jewellery from globally recognised bodies. Exclusive to members, this service is the first in the world to be ISO-certified, and is an initiative of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), a Dubai government venture.

Partnering with global leaders in certification, DGC offers efficient and quick certification at preferential rates. Alongside certification services, it provides information and advisory services in gemstones, pearls and jewellery certification.

Latest techniques

Among the world's foremost gemmologists, Laurent Grenier de Cardenal, Director of DGC, has trained in Antwerp, Germany, Nantes and South Africa, and remains at the forefront of the latest techniques.

One of just 200 in his field worldwide, De Cardenal is a member of the Jean Pierre Chenet Association, La Gemmologie a Poil Association and the International Coloured Gemstone Association.

De Cardenal has worked for Dubai Municipality as a gems expert in charge of its gemstone laboratory, tasked with the creation, development and management of the first gems laboratory in the Middle East and qualifying it for ISO and CIBJO (the apex trade organisation of the gem trade and industry in the world) certifications. "DGC services are available to private, professional and institutional bodies. Our main aim is to assure clients of the quality of gemstones. The public wants certificates to feel assured that the gemstones they have purchased are genuine. As for professional bodies, they want a certified label that is recognised worldwide."

According to Tawfic Farah, Executive Director - Diamonds and Coloured Stones, DMCC, "Buyers are careful in the trading of precious stones. They mainly look out for the certification of the stone, body colour and the shade of colour, transparency, brilliancy, cut quality, shape and caratage."

Market survey

De Cardenal was responsible for Dubai receiving the Kimberley process certification and implementing the federal rule based on EU and North American laws. He has also developed the Dubai international gems and diamonds bourse facilities, guided ‘Barrique' - the Dubai central laboratory jewellery excellence certification, and initiated the Dubai central laboratory jewellery market inspection and survey.

Gemstone certification has become crucial for jewellery traders and manufacturers participating in competitive markets. Arts and Gems was established in Dubai in 1970 as one of the first luxury boutiques offering fine jewellery in the emirate.

"The gemstone grading and certification industry has grown tremendously in the last few decades and continues to do so today. Some of the main factors that have necessitated this growth are technological developments, discoveries of new minerals, advancements in research, new gemstone treatments, prevalence of synthetic stones in the market, global growth of the jewellery industry and consumer confidence," says Pritam Mukhi, Resident Gemmologist, Arts and Gems.

De Cardenal uses the analogy of a car to explain the significance of gemstone grading. "Would you want to buy a car without knowing its history? In the same way no one wants to buy jewellery without knowing its history.

"The first synthetic stones were produced in the late 1870s. Today people can produce synthetic stones knowing their chemical composition. In fact the first synthetic emerald was produced in a place of residence under a fixed temperature. Imitation jewellery has been around for even longer. For instance, Cleopatra used emeralds that were actually made of glass," he says.

"The recent addition of the ‘cut grade' to GIA (Gemmological Institute of America) certificates was developed to scientifically assess and predict the cut quality in round brilliant diamonds," says Mukhi. "In order to make these predictions, GIA developed a software named GIA Facetware, which is used to estimate cut grades for round brilliant diamonds. This helps to show there is no single set of proportions that define what a well-cut round brilliant diamond is."

DMCC's department is the first of its kind to be working on ISO standards to assure customers that they can even certify pearls and diamonds designed on watches.

"We want to assure people that what they have is genuine and is worth what they have paid for," says De Cardenal. "You won't buy a Picasso from any souk without knowing its authenticity.

"We first weigh the stones given for certification and offer the client a unique reference number, which helps maintain confidentiality. It takes only two weeks for the stones to come back with the certificate. The stones are then weighed again before being handed back to the client," says De Cardenal.

Grading diamonds

Grading diamonds is easier than grading coloured stones. "While diamonds have a four-point grading system, coloured stones have a huge variety. For instance, one can buy a baby-skin pink coloured coral or a red one, which are both part of the same family.

"After finding the colour, one has to find the transparency or how the light is going through the stone. We then check for brilliancy, which is the reflection of light from stones, and then choose the shape and cut of the stone," says De Cardenal.

According to the EGL (European Gemmological Laboratory) a certificate does not give the monetary value of the diamond; it conveys straightforward product information that fully describes and evaluates the critical factors about the gem that affect quality, beauty and value.

Even diamond experts rely on certification to verify their purchases. "This also applies to coloured stones," says Mukhi.

"Certification is here to assist the market to get international certification from other gemmological laboratories to make the buyer and seller relationship more secure. Though a certificate will not help choose the stones, it will reassure the owner of its value," says De Cardenal.