Consumer warning on Authenticating Canadian Diamonds

[mdx]

During the normal cause of our business it has come to our attention that there are possibly misleading certificates of Canadian origin in circulation.

What I mean by misleading C of O is certificates created by the vendors (not the mines or local government) stating diamonds are of Canadian origin.

These diamonds cannot be authenticated as Canadian by the relevant mining companies, local government or the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct.

These diamonds are typically purchased outside of Canada and are of non Canadian origin.

They are first laser inscribed with official looking logo’s and numbers then submitted to AGS or GIA.

The laser inscription is then mentioned under comments on the reports giving the impression of Canadian origin.

The perpetrators can even be signatories to the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct.

At this time I cannot supply any names as there is currently an investigation into some of these indiscretions. If found to be true I am sure they will appear in the press. I will let you know if it becomes public knowledge.

I am not sure how legal or illegal this practice is but if Canadian origin is important to you then you may want to authenticate your diamond by contacting.
The Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct or in the case of Canadamark fill in your diamonds details on their web site.

Links

Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct

Canadamark

Johan

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Hi Johan,

May I add the following: If you enter your Canadamark-number on their website, and it does not seem to fit, please do not panic. Do contact Canadamark regarding that particular stone, and they will come back to you. It regularly happens that their website is not up-to-date.

I had the case a few weeks ago, where a consumer was presented a Canadamark-stone, which was also re-presented as an Infinity-diamond. Going through our files, we could verify that it was never cut by us, while the Canadamark-number did not verify on their website. However, when checking with Canadamark, the number proved authentic.

Live long,

 

[denverappraiser]

This is sure to get worse, not better, as it evolves. Customers value Canadianness (Canadiosity?) and are apparently willing to pay extra for it. There’s no gemological test for this particular attribute and this creates a strong incentive for less than scrupulous people to provide counterfeit documents. As more and more people get into the business of producing ‘genuine’ origin documents, it becomes harder and harder for customers to tell which ones to believe and which to avoid. As with grading reports, the first defense it to buy from credible dealers.

Johan,
Even a valid Canadamark number on the girdle doesn’t seem like all that good a test for authenticity. What should customers consider to be valid evidence of Canadian origin?
Paul,
Genuine Canadamark but counterfeit Infinity? Interesting. Is this a common problem?
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[WinkHPD]

Paul,

Congratulations on being well enough thought of to be counterfeited. I think it says a lot about you and the stones you cut. It also sucks that someone would do this, but it seems less and less surprised me any more...

Wink

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 7/4/2006 6:48:32 AM
Author: Paul-Antwerp
Hi Johan,

May I add the following: If you enter your Canadamark-number on their website, and it does not seem to fit, please do not panic. Do contact Canadamark regarding that particular stone, and they will come back to you. It regularly happens that their website is not up-to-date.

I had the case a few weeks ago, where a consumer was presented a Canadamark-stone, which was also re-presented as an Infinity-diamond. Going through our files, we could verify that it was never cut by us, while the Canadamark-number did not verify on their website. However, when checking with Canadamark, the number proved authentic.

Live long,

Did they cut the counterfeit Infinity to the same parameters as yours? Did it have an AGS report with it as well?

I would think it would be pretty easy to track who did this.

The item of concern is how many times has this been done. Hopefully your trademark is registered.

Rockdoc

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 7/4/2006 11:31:28 AM
Author: RockDoc

Did they cut the counterfeit Infinity to the same parameters as yours? Did it have an AGS report with it as well?

I would think it would be pretty easy to track who did this.

The item of concern is how many times has this been done. Hopefully your trademark is registered.

Rockdoc

Our stones carry a laser-inscription with our logo, and are sold by Infinity-dealers only.

It is impossible to try and track down everyone who tries to represent a stone, as if I have worked on it. In the end, this consumer contacted us, since he had not heard about Infinity yet, and with the seller talking about us, he found us through Google. Thank you for the free publicity, I could also say.

Live long,

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 7/4/2006 3:21:53 PM
Author: Paul-Antwerp

Our stones carry a laser-inscription with our logo, and are sold by Infinity-dealers only.

Have you had counterfeiters fake the girdle inscription or do they just claim that it’s your work and hope no one will notice?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

No fake inscription, just verbal claims that it is cut by us.

Live long,