U.S. Government Declares Manmade Diamonds Are Diamonds, Not Synthetic

The U.S. government’s agency in charge of ensuring transparency and fairness in commerce and protecting consumers — the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — has made far-reaching changes to guidelines long unfairly manipulated by the diamond mining lobby.

A six-year review of its guidelines largely followed Diamond Foundry’s input that certain key guidelines dating from 1956 no longer make sense in today’s world. According to the FTC, the term ‘synthetic’ is no longer relevant given “the term is often interpreted as being ‘artificial’ when in fact man-made diamonds are not artificial.” Lab-grown diamonds may now be called gemstones, and diamond growers are allowed to market their diamonds using terms like “aboveground” and “cultured.”

Since advancements in technology have made it possible to re-create the earth’s conditions and create diamonds atomically identical to mined diamonds, the use of the words such as “synthetic” can mislead consumers as they can mistake it with “artificial.” Man-made diamonds are not synthetic.

We welcome the U.S. government taking action to ensure transparent and fair marketing.