Chief Representative of HRD Antwerp in China Ms Jun Jiang has described the work of this company’s representative office disclosing the tasks and outlooks of the world’s leading diamond certification centre with regard to the Chinese diamond industry in an exclusive interview to Olga Patseva, Rough&Polished correspondent in Shanghai.
Please say a few words about your work in China.
HRD Antwerp is engaged in several kinds of activities in China. We promote our international diamond certification. In addition we provide educational programs for professionals and diamond traders as well as commercial programs for retailers. Finally we provide the industry with equipment. The promotion of the HRD Antwerp brand is incorporated in road shows with industry leaders of the Chinese diamond and jewellery industry as well as government officials.
Do you sell any equipment here? What are the items most sought for?
Equipment sold by HRD Antwerp ranges from microscopes to polishing machines. In China, we sell our equipment through our representative office in Shanghai and our local partner in Shenzhen.
Highly demanded kinds of equipment here are instruments for diamond examination, the D-scope and D-screen.
The D-scope is a microscope which is an indispensable analysis tool for controlling and grading diamonds with a perfect combination of excellent light, optics, diamond manipulation and ergonomics.
The D-screen is a compact screening device, that can quickly and reliable identify diamonds that are neither synthetic, nor HPHT coloured enhanced from batches of cut colourless or nearly colourless diamonds (D to J).
Does your branch here provide any research services to the Chinese diamond sector?
The Research Department of HRD Antwerp provides services and shares its unique know-how to the entire industry, including our clients in China. For example, with our partner Tesiro, we set the standards for polishing and grading of their unique cut called the Blue Flame. This means that all diamonds with this cut are graded according to a strict norm to ensure its quality.
What kind of education or advanced training is necessary for your job?
It is important to have an in-depth knowledge of the diamond industry. Being Chinese but having studied in Belgium, I understand the culture and language of both countries. I provide the bridge between the two diamond centres and have the ability to provide the necessary tools and support for tailor-made courses, importance of certification, history of Antwerp…just to name a few.
If you run any education programs in China on gems quality grading, please describe what these programs are and what kind of audience you have here?
HRD Antwerp conducts a wide array of programs for professionals and retailers. The professional Certified Diamond Grader which is a 3 week course is a perfect balance between practice and theory.
Students learn how to evaluate the quality of a polished diamond, based on the 4 C’s. This is accomplished by in-depth theory sessions combined with a lot of hands-on-practice. Furthermore students are trained to identify fake and treated stones using only basic tools such as the loupe. The gemology course deals with the evaluation, identification and grading of all the other gemstones (Rubies, emeralds, sapphires, etc.), with a strong emphasis on natural/synthetic or treated origins.
For retailers we have developed a commercial training program for sales people. Starting with an introduction about the diamond history of Antwerp, participants are taught the 4Cs, the importance of diamond grading reports and their impact on pricing. Furthermore they are introduced to the operation of a diamond grading lab and the use of the loupe.
No prior knowledge is demanded for the HRD Antwerp courses and courses can be tailor made to suit the needs of our clients. Hence, these courses appeal to a wide audience and greatly vary from course to course. We have students from existing diamond companies upgrading or fine-tuning their skills, or people who want to start in the business and want to get a solid basis. Another group of participants are changing careers in or outside their companies. And of course we do have a lot of students out of various fields who are attracted to and interested in the world of diamonds.
According to HRD Antwerp’s CEO Georges Brys on his recent visit to Nanjing we should expect gradual growth of prices for jewellery polished diamonds due to depleting diamond reserves in the world. Will it in any way affect prices for your services? Are they pinned to diamond prices?
HRD Antwerp has a transparent policy regarding the pricing of our services. The pricing is based on the size of diamonds and not on the eventual diamond price.
Could you give any data in relation to your company’s commercial turnover in China?
Since the introduction of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, the diamond trading and polishing industry in China is rapidly developing. In addition the quality of goods and demand for certification is rising steadily. China is an important market for HRD Antwerp and we will continue to increase our efforts on the Chinese market.
So far China's diamond cutting industry cannot be ranked on a par with the world's major diamond cutting centres like Antwerp, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, New York, Tel Aviv and Surat. Since you are here, does it mean you expect expansion in this field in China?
The Shanghai Diamond Exchange is part of the International Diamond Council (IDC), of which 28 diamond bourses around the world are members of. The Chinese laboratories have their own national standards but the SDE follows the international norms. These norms are applied for diamond cutting and HRD Antwerp uses this standard for its certification. As we are seen as the reference for certification according to the IDC rules, we plan to expand in China.
HRD Antwerp’s Diamond Lab is the first diamond lab in the world that is NBN EN ISO/IEC 17025-certified. What does it mean for diamond buyers from the legal point of view?-certified. What does it mean for diamond buyers from the legal point of view?
Grading labs have an obligation to the diamond industry and consumers to be independent, objective and consistent, HRD Antwerp - Diamond Lab has, since 1976, incorporated a set of procedures that guarantee the highest possible quality standards. In fact it was one of the first laboratories to have achieved such a status worldwide, and was the very first in Belgium and in the diamond grading community to do so.
Since 1995, an annual external audit by a third party appointed by the Ministry of Economy, verifies if the standards as set by the International Diamond Council, the accreditation institute, and the Diamond Lab itself, are being maintained. The audit team consists of experts in quality management and internationally recognized diamond experts and their conclusions are binding.
This accreditation confirms that HRD Antwerp applies the strict rules and working procedures. Our customers can be confident that the results of their diamonds are consistent. In fact, the ISO norm is considered by justice as proof for correct workings. Judges trust the ISO concept and acknowledge that companies working according to this standard are correct. In essence the ISO certificate is accepted as proof and in essence protects the customer.
It is said that the purpose of an HRD Antwerp diamond certificate is to offer the highest possible level of security and confidence to buyers. But there are other certification centres, like for instance the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), having their own certification standards. And there are also many other less prominent national certification agencies issuing similar papers. What a buyer should do in case of conflicting certificates? Who will be the final arbiter in this case?
HRD Antwerp provides a high quality certificate through different means. As explained earlier we were the first laboratory to be accredited with the ISO accreditation. In addition, we follow the strict grading rules, set by the International Diamond Council. Furthermore, we have upgraded the security features in all our certificates.
The exclusive security features included in the new certificate are unique in its kind, with line structures, a watermark, an embossed logo, fluo marks and micro text. Certain of these features are visible only using a loupe or when viewing the document under UV-light. Customer confidence is our first priority, hence our choice to disclose our advanced security features.
Finally we offer a Certificate Link which enables clients to check all HRD Antwerp Diamond Certificates, Diamond Identification Reports and Diamond Colour Certificates issued after January 1, 2005, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Each document can be retrieved in English, Turkish, Mandarin, Cantonese or Arabic.
In terms of legal dispute, the customer should visit a reputed jeweller, who has the necessary education and knowledge to explain the difference between the certificates. HRD Antwerp works according an international standard and there are laboratories who work according to national or their own norms, jewellers or diamond traders are in the best position to explain the difference. Because these differences exist in the market, HRD Antwerp emphasizes the importance of getting the right education.
What do you think, if HRD Antwerp were able to certify a major part of globally polished diamonds would your certificates turn such diamonds into a commodity and would your certificates be viewed as a kind of financial instruments to be traded on the stock market?
Every diamond is unique. An international laboratory like HRD Antwerp can examine the diamond to check if it is natural, treated or synthetic and our certificate can guaranty that the diamond is in fact a product of nature but the emotional value is an added value. Hence this makes it a product that will never become a commodity.
What do you like best about your job?
Appreciation from the Chinese diamantaires towards HRD Antwerp. It enables me to feel confident to develop our products and services in China.
Please describe your further plans in China. Are you going to open new offices or offer new services in China?
HRD Antwerp currently has one representative office located in the Shanghai Diamond Exchange. One office is not enough for the Chinese fast-growing diamond industry, hence we work with various local partners and in the near future we shall open a branch office in Shenzhen, the processing centre of China.
Olga Patseva, Rough&Polished, Shanghai
