Result of Assure Program announced!
Performance
of Diamond
Verification
Instruments announced!
The
joint collaboration by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) and Signet
Jewelers – the ASSURE Program has published the results from the independent
performance tests of Diamond Verification Instruments in the Assure Directory
on diamondproducers.com/ASSURE.
Through
the Assure Directory trade participants can access objective and third party
verified information on the relative performance of Diamond Verification
Instruments and guidance on how to ensure that their business is protected from
undisclosed laboratory grown diamonds.
Jean-Marc
Lieberherr, CEO of the Diamond Producers Association, said “Trade participants
have a shared responsibility to disclose the nature of the product they are
selling to protect the end consumer. Through the ASSURE Program we will support
the diamond trade, from independent jewellery retailers to large diamond
manufacturers, to make informed decisions on how to ensure that undisclosed
laboratory grown diamonds do not enter their natural diamond supply chain. The
Assure test results should be considered along guidelines formulated by the
Responsible Jewellery Council.”
Andrew
Bone, Executive Director at the Responsible Jewellery Council, said “We welcome
this initiative to support the spread of effective diamond verification
practices across the pipeline. We will continue to support the DPA and the
Assure Program in their efforts to enhance consumer confidence in the jewellery
industry.”
The
Assure Program partnered with the 11 manufacturers representing the 18 most
widely available Diamond Verification instruments in the market. The
instruments submitted to Assure have been tested in accordance with the methods
and protocols in the Diamond Verification Instruments Standard.
The
standard was developed in collaboration with the independent third-party test
agency UL and a Technical Committee consisting of leading scientists and
academics from major gemmological organisations, including GIA, GII, IIDGR,
NGTC, SSEF, TISNCM and WTOCD. The Diamond Verification Instruments have been
tested with a deliberately challenging sample (including natural diamonds,
laboratory grown diamonds and if applicable, diamond simulants), designed to
provide an indication of the relative performance of the instruments.
The
first round of testing took place at UL’s laboratories in Canton,
Massachusetts, USA, and the results will continuously be made available in the
Assure Directory in the coming weeks. Thereafter, the Assure directory will be
regularly updated as new instruments are submitted to testing or re-testing,
and the set of stones included in the sample will evolve continuously to
include new synthetics diamonds as they are identified.
David
Bouffard, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Signet Jewelers Ltd. said “The
Diamond Verification Instrument Standard is a vital initiative to provide the
diamonds and jewelry trade with independent guidance about the capabilities of
diamond verification instruments available in the marketplace. The Assure
Program has already proven valuable for companies in our supply chain who
operate at a global scale. We look forward to all of our suppliers implementing
Assure Certified technology to help protect the integrity of the global jewelry
supply chain.”
Wayne
Bilodeau, Operations Director, UL, said “UL is proud to partner on the Assure
Program and provide trustworthy and stringent testing, empowering trust and
delivering quality in the diamond supply chain and Diamond Verification
Instrument industry.”
Comments
Post a Comment