Indian Government Creates Diamond Standards

As a first step in the process of attempting to establish standardization in grading across the diamond industry in India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recently published details of the new Indian Standard (IS) for polished diamonds. The BIS is a government body in charge of creating and implementing standards for products across a range of industries. It is already the nodal agency for the implementation of gold and silver hallmarking within the country.

The BIS standards for diamonds are based on existing international norms and are similar to the CIBJO, GIA, HRD and other benchmarks widely accepted throughout the industry. Designated as IS – 15766, the norms cover both classification and testing methods.

The standards have been drawn up through a process of interaction between government officials, laboratories and representatives of diamond exporters over the last few years. There are no plans to make them mandatory at present.

However, the government plans to lay down clear-cut criteria for granting recognition to diamond and gemstone grading laboratories operating within the country. It is understood that this may be finalized within the next six months to a year.

Over the last few years, the number of diamond and gemstone labs operating within the country has increased tremendously, both due to the entry of foreign players, and the opening of a number of new Indian labs.

Concerns have been expressed by members of the trade about the ability of some of these labs to detect synthetic and treated diamonds, as they believe that a few of the Indian branches of international labs do not have the same sophisticated instruments used at their parent branches, while many of the private Indian labs are inadequately equipped.

Therefore, the government believes that some regulation of this sector is essential so that consumer confidence in diamonds is not dented. Labs that meet the criteria will be designated as BIS recognized labs.

The BIS also proposes to create a diamond hallmark, which will be laser inscribed on all stones that are graded as per the Indian Standards. So far, no timeframe has been announced for the implementation of this proposal.

K.T. Ramachandran, secretary of the Gemmological Institute of India, and a key participant in the government process told Jewelbiz India that while acceptance of the Indian Standards internationally will take time, the BIS Hallmark will be important for consumers in the Indian market, especially those in the smaller cities and towns. These consumers are aware of the BIS name, while many of them may never have heard of the international labs, and would therefore have greater confidence in the government body than in a private one they are not familiar with.