The Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Laboratory in Johannesburg recently reached a milestone with its two-year anniversary. The Lab, which opened in February 2008, has had a steadily increasing number of gemstones come in for grading each day.
“Our intake has increased by nearly 200 percent in the last eight months,” said Les Milner, director of the GIA Lab in Johannesburg. “This is due to a number of factors, but the most significant is that our clients recognize the high standards of grading GIA offers. They say it is easier for them to sell stones with a GIA report.”
Milner, who has almost 30 years of experience in the South African diamond industry, said he has been pleased to be a part of GIA’s plans to provide its services on a global level.
Riki Corthouts, of Millennium Diamonds, said it has been a pleasure working with the lab over the past two years. “The learning curve has been steep, but the lab staff has been patient, knowledgeable and willing to help – especially in explaining polish and symmetry,” he said.
The Johannesburg staff follows the same international grading standards used in GIA Labs throughout the world and operates under the same set of core principals developed to ensure objectivity and accuracy in every report issued. The original grading staff was trained at GIA’s world headquarters in 2008.
The Johannesburg lab offers the GIA Diamond Dossier and the GIA Diamond Grading Report for stones up to 2.99 carats. GIA was granted a value-added tax exemption, so these services are not subject to the traditional fee for shipping stones outside of South Africa for servicing.
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