Synthetic diamonds against natural diamonds: in the US the Federal Trade Commission takes the field ♦
Synthetic diamonds, first alarms. A warning is issued by the Federal Trade Commission of the United States. The Ftc is a government agency that protects consumers and has dealt, in particular, with the advertising of some companies that sell laboratory-created diamonds. In the viewfinder are claims that can fool potential buyers of synthetic diamonds. Among other things, a year ago the Federal Trade Commission published guidelines for those involved in marketing and communication for companies selling artificial diamonds.
The examples cited by the American body, which can result in penalties for eight companies that come under the lens of the controllers (all active in the US), are statements that define synthetic diamonds as natural, for example referring to cubic zirconia, which is instead created in the laboratory. Or simply indicated as cultivated, like plants or pearls. But a large amount of electricity is required to make a synthetic diamond.
According to the American body, when selling a synthetic diamond it must be specified that it has grown in the laboratory, or created in the laboratory and indicate the name of the producer who made it. The word cultivated, instead, can lead consumers to associate diamonds with a non-artificial process. It is also forbidden to define them as real diamonds, although from a chemical point of view there is no difference with the natural ones. And if, as happens with some companies, it is claimed that production is sustainable for the environment, it is necessary to provide proof that it is true. For example, you must indicate which energy sources are used to create diamonds.
Some operators, finally, point out that it is easy to resell a natural diamond, while there is no (at the moment) a market for artificial diamonds. In this case, in a nutshell, an artificial diamond is forever (and remains to you).
