First ever rough laboratory grown diamonds go on tender

The Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre, or DMCC, will host the first-ever rough laboratory grown diamonds tender on its Dubai Diamond Exchange.

The tender is organised and managed by Tony’s Auction World – diamond traders based in Hong Kong – with viewings of Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) rough lab-grown diamonds – approximately 50 000 carats in 55 parcels – taking place on 11, 12 and 13 May.

As a member of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the Dubai Diamond Exchange is subject to all the organisation’s laws and must be compliant with its stringent regulations.

“Our commitment to facilitating open and transparent trade is unwavering, as is our support for the natural diamond industry.

Ensuring the integrity of the sales process is of paramount importance, and that is why lab-grown diamonds tenders will only take place on the exchange trading floor when both the seller and buyer can clearly evidence that the disclosure, detection and differentiation process has been adhered to,” says Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO of DMCC.

According to the exchange and its ‘Code of Business Conduct’, all tender participants must follow a robust due diligence process and provide evidence that lab-grown diamonds are sold and stored separately to natural diamonds.

Tender participants are required to clearly disclose and differentiate the product, with lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds traded entirely separately.

Scientific equipment commonly available in certification labs across the world can clearly and easily identify laboratory grown diamonds and distinguish them from the natural product.

Research indicated that laboratory grown diamonds make up around 2% of the total diamond jewellery market, but production is growing by 15-20% a year.

“We are proud to stage in Dubai the first laboratory-grown diamonds tender in the world. Lab-grown diamonds offer a different value proposition to natural diamonds and trading them in a regulated and open platform increases the transparency and legitimacy of the sales process,” concludes Rushabh Mehta, CEO of Tony’s Auction World.

Source: miningreview