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CC/09-08Tuesday 8 September 2026The Diamonds Desk · Nomenclature
NomenclatureDiamonds · CC/09-08

CIBJO backs 'synthetic' alone, FTC holds three terms to 2028

The confederation's general assembly and board took up the change in Vicenza on 7 September. Its lab-grown committee had asked to keep one alternative term, and its coloured stone commission voted the same way.

By The Diamond Desk8 September 2026Brief 25 sec · Full read 2 min
PLATE IThe number
3
Terms the FTC allows
synthetic, lab-grown, lab-created
2028Next FTC revision
2Countries on synthetic only
2025Study began
Source CIBJO Centenary Congress, Vicenza, 4-7 September 2026 · JCK and CIBJO releases published 7 September 2026
What changed

The Blue Books change word. CIBJO's general assembly and board took up the switch to synthetic on 7 September, putting the confederation alongside the London Diamond Bourse and the African Diamond Producers Association in recommending that term alone.

What it means · The Desk’s View

If you print tags outside the US: check your supplier's wording. CIBJO now recommends synthetic alone.

If you sell in America: nothing changes. The FTC still allows three terms, and reopens its guides in 2028.

What this is not: a ban. Cavalieri says each country follows its own terminology.

The article4 sections · 191 words
Table I · What each body permitsCIBJO and JCK, both 7 September 2026
Body or marketTerm permittedStatus
CIBJO Blue BooksSyntheticRecommended alone from 7 September 2026
CIBJO commissions votingDiamond and coloured stone2 of 2, on 6 and 7 September
United States, FTCSynthetic, lab-grown, lab-created2018 guides, next revision 2028
FranceSyntheticThe only term allowed
RussiaSyntheticThe only term allowed
United States and India, in trade useLab-grown, laboratory-grownIn use
London Diamond BourseSyntheticRecommended alone
African Diamond Producers AssociationSyntheticRecommended alone
Source CIBJO's release of 7 September 2026 for the France, Russia, United States and India rows; JCK of 7 September 2026 for the CIBJO, FTC, London Diamond Bourse and African Diamond Producers Association rows. The FTC position dates from its 2018 Jewelry Guides, and the next revision is slated for 2028.CC/2026/058

ITwo commissions voted the same way

Diamond and coloured stone. CIBJO's diamond commission proposed the change, having begun studying it in 2025 after the Paris congress. Its coloured stone commission voted for synthetic on 6 September.

The board decides. Under CIBJO's procedures a final nomenclature decision rests with the board, on guidance from Sector A and the general assembly. Both met on 7 September.

IIOne alternative term was requested

The committee asked. CIBJO's Laboratory-Grown Diamond Steering Committee requested that one alternative term, laboratory-grown, be kept, its chair Wesley Hunt told the congress.

A letter sought delay. Hunt said CIBJO had received a letter earlier in September from senior industry participants asking it to defer any final decision. Cavalieri said it would proceed.

The reason given. Udi Sheintal, who heads CIBJO's diamond commission, told the room: “This is not about marketing. It is about telling the truth to the consumer.”

IIIAmerica keeps three terms

Nothing moves before 2028. The Federal Trade Commission allows 3 terms: synthetic, lab-grown and lab-created, a position set in its 2018 Jewelry Guides. The next revision is slated for 2028.

AGTA is lobbying. The American Gem Trade Association told the congress it will keep pressing the FTC to correct the 2018 decision, and is briefing members of Congress.

IVThe market splits by country

Two words, two maps. France and Russia allow only synthetic, while the United States and India use lab-grown or laboratory-grown, CIBJO's release says.

The depthMethod, sources, corrections · open what you need
01What would change this call+

The CIBJO board reopening the Blue Book wording to admit laboratory-grown as a permitted alternative. Its own lab-grown committee asked for exactly that, and the Blue Books are revisable documents.

02What the Blue Books are+

The Blue Books are CIBJO's grading and nomenclature standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, precious metals and gemmological laboratories. They are guidance rather than law. They bind CIBJO's members and are widely cited by national trade bodies and laboratories, but a jurisdiction's own regulator sets what a tag must say in that market, which is why the FTC's three terms are unaffected.

03Method · the desk’s arithmetic+

The vote and its outcome are taken from JCK's report of 7 September 2026 by Karen Dybis, fetched at its own URL. The committee's request for one alternative term, the France, Russia, United States and India split, and CIBJO's decision procedure are taken from CIBJO's own release of the same day, timestamped 2026-09-07T10:29:24Z in its schema.org datePublished field. CIBJO's release was published before the board met and describes the decision as pending; JCK's report, published later the same day, describes the outcome. The two are a sequence, not a disagreement between sources. CIBJO's page prints a SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 dateline in its body while its own metadata and category, Congress 2026 News, give 2026; the metadata date is used. The congress ran 4 to 7 September 2026 and its general assembly re-elected Gaetano Cavalieri as president.

04Sources3 documents
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