Malca-Amit Opens GIA Gem Lab Service

Quietly and without any fanfare, courier company Malca-Amit opened a Gem Lab Service, a GIA drop off certification service for the Israeli diamond sector.

The service, launched in February, is currently serving Malca-Amit clients.

The service offers members of the local diamond sector direct access to the GIA as diamonds are picked up in Israel and returned to the clients with their certificates after being graded at the lab.

Despite the soft launch, demand for the service has been high and has forced Gem Lab Services to increase its staff and move from Malca-Amit’s office to a new office in the Diamond Tower of the Israel Diamond Exchange complex.

“We are a go-between for our clients and GIA,” Gem Lab Services General Manager Orna Kleinstein-Haike told IDEX Online, noting the administrative aspect of the service. “We ensure they get the services they asked for.”

Malca-Amit’s entry into the market led to a sharp drop in the market price of the service, until now provided only by the Rapaport group. Costs of the service are a combination of the GIA charges plus the shipment service.

According to Malca-Amit General Manager Aaron Hochberg, their charge structure is not a set percentage of cost, but declined to divulge any specific figures.