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The GIA lab has backtracked on an announcement, made last year, that it will stop printing paper reports.
Since Jan. 2, GIA has issued its Diamond Dossiers only in a digital format. The Diamond Dossiers—GIA’s most popular report—are available for 0.15 to 1.99 ct. D- to Z-color diamonds. The end of the printed Dossiers was billed as the first step in a larger plan by GIA to end paper reports by 2025.
But the trade balked, citing concerns about security with digital reports, and noting that clients in non-English-speaking regions had difficulty with the new format. Others said that consumers simply found less value in non-paper reports.
“We appreciate your candid and constructive feedback,” Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer, wrote in a letter to clients. “After much consideration, we have decided to return to printed GIA Diamond Dossier reports beginning April 9.”
Moses’ announcement also said:
– All diamonds submitted to GIA on or after April 9 will be returned with a printed Diamond Dossier. It will be the same type of report as those issued before the paperless introduction in January.
– GIA will, upon request, provide a free printed Diamond Dossier to any client that received a digital-only report.
– Current digital versions of the report will still be valid.
Moses concluded: “I recognize and appreciate that both the change to a digital-only Diamond Dossier and now the return to the printed report may have caused some disruption to your business.”
The new change won’t affect GIA’s laboratory-grown diamond reports, which have always been digital and will remain so, says GIA spokesperson Stephen Morisseau.
In a statement issued after the announcement, Pritesh Patel, GIA senior vice president and chief operating officer, admitted, “We did not adequately anticipate the challenges of adopting the digital-only GIA Diamond Dossier report.”
GIA had billed the digital-only plan as an environmental move to save paper. Moses said in the statement that GIA intends to “continue to create environmentally friendly and secure products.”