Jewellery retailers in Russia could face repercussions for using incorrect terminology regarding man-made diamonds, according to the Ministry of Finance.
"If a seller violates product information requirements, appropriate measures will be taken against them, up to and including a ban on product sales. Compliance will be monitored by the Russian Consumer Protection Agency (Rospotrebnadzor) and the Federal Assay Chamber," TASS quotes deputy finance minister Alexey Moiseyev as saying.
New rules for naming non-natural diamonds came into effect in Russia on September 1. Terms such as "precious," "real," "authentic," "natural," "mined," "mineral," "eco-friendly," and similar ones are prohibited for use with such products. At the same time, "brilliant" («бриллиант»), a Russia-specific term for all polished diamonds, is now applicable only for natural stones.
Furthermore, it is forbidden to list quality and colour characteristics or carat weight for manmade stones; instead, tags must bear the label "synthetic."
"We have established a principle that a "brilliant" is exclusively a natural stone formed over millions of years in the Earth's crust. A synthetic stone is not a "brilliant"," Moiseyev added.
According to him, the new rules on diamond terminology will help gradually eliminate the confusion over natural and synthetic diamonds, given that the cost of the latter has "dropped 10- to 20-fold" in recent years.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
