Donna Baker, CEO of the Gemological Institute of America

As the diamond market struggles to regain its footing, yet remains ever volatile, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently held a meeting with key industry leaders. On January 27, the leaders and the GIA converged in New York and consumer confidence was the main topic on the table.

Avi Paz, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), Artur Beller, president of Beurs Voor Diamonthandel and Moshe Mosbacher, president of the Diamond Dealers Club met with Donna Baker, chief executive officer of the GIA, and Thomas M. Moses, senior vice president of lab and research for the GIA. In addition to the status of the industry, meeting attendees also discussed GIA’s work in treatment detection (“treatment” refers to the tactic of coating diamonds to enhance their color), global quality standards and automated compliance controls.

The meeting concluded with the air of a “mutual admiration society” as the GIA expressed its reliance on the industry leaders to maintain the standards they set forth. “It was a productive and positive exchange of information and ideas that will greatly serve public and industry interests as we continue to work together for our constituents,” Baker said.

The industry representatives declared dependence on the GIA’s research to create those global standards. “It was a productive and positive exchange of information and ideas that will greatly serve public and industry interests as we continue to work together for our constituents,” Baker said of the meeting.