History

By Dieter Hahn

As the only individual to have served with IDC from its establishment in 1975 until today, I feel uniquely qualified to share a brief summary of the origins and development of the organisation.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the leadership of the international diamond industry’s two leading representative organisations, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), recognised that the number of private labs grading diamonds was exploding, and each seemed to be claiming that its standards were the best and its results the most reliable. A body of opinion developed, therefore, that it was time for the WFDB and IDMA to take matters into their own hands. So during the World Diamond Congress in Amsterdam in 1975, a Joint Committee of the WFDB and IDMA was set up, which was later renamed the International Diamond Council (IDC).

Experienced diamond cutters and dealers from Amsterdam, Antwerp, Idar-Oberstein, Johannesburg and Tel Aviv were asked to work out a reliable and clear “guideline for grading polished diamonds.” This committee presented its proposals, called the “International Rules for Grading Polished Diamonds,” to the World Diamond Congress in Tel Aviv in 1978, and they were unanimously approved. In 1980, the U.S. representatives changed their approval to an abstention.

Initially, three labs fully adopted these standards and comply with them to this day: the Diamond Lab of HRD Antwerp, the Jewellery Council of South Africa in Johannesburg, and the Diamant Prüflabor (DPL) in Idar-Oberstein. We expect more labs to follow.Needless to say, it was the above mentioned labs and especially HRD Antwerp that carried out the research to develop the IDC’s standards.

Since 1975, many positive developments have occurred, among the most significant being accreditation by the International Standards Organisation (ISO). Initially, the HRD Diamond Lab of HRD Antwerp and then the Diamant Prüflabor (DPL) were the only labs whose standards of quality management for grading polished diamonds were ISO accredited, but others have followed suit and the trend continues.

The IDC rules were revised slightly in 1995, and the changes were accepted by the WFDB and the IDMA. In November 2005 the IDC presented an updated survey regarding definitions and nomenclature at the WFDB and IDMA Presidents’ Meeting in Mumbai. Both organizations accepted all the proposals, but the IDMA voted in favour of certifying synthetic stones and the WFDB refused to do so. Since then, this  sensitive issue has been resolved.

Currently, IDC and CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, are working toward a unified, single standard for the nomenclature of synthetic, gem-quality diamonds. This is the only issue that remains under discussion between IDC and CIBJO, as both organizations completely see eye to eye on all other diamond nomenclature and grading standards.

The latest revision of the “International Rules for Grading Polished Diamonds” was presented and approved by the WFDB and IDMA at the 33rd World Diamond Congress, held in May 2008 in Shanghai, China.

At present, IDC is looking into "proportions" grading and making other small improvements to the “International Rules for Grading Polished Diamonds.” The results of these discussions will be presented to a future World Diamond Congress for its consideration.