The Gemological Institute of America’s grading lab is suspending its diamond sealing service for the second time in six years, after a likely fraudster replaced untreated diamonds in a sealed packet with treated stones.
The suspension, which is effective immediately, stems from the lab’s discovery that an unspecified “small number” of its sealed packets had been compromised after they left GIA. According to GIA, the untreated diamonds originally in the packets had been replaced by natural diamonds treated by the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) method. The treated stones were physically and visually similar to the original gems, says a spokesperson.