THE Cultured Diamond Foundation (CDF), an international body set up to maintain high ethical standards in the synthetic diamond industry, recently claimed that it poses no threat to the natural diamond trade, as it fills a separate niche in the market. %%According to Lappeman all laboratory-made diamonds will have its logo and an identification number inscribed on the girdle. However, industry experts have dismissed this plan, saying that the inscription, which is only a few microns thick, can easily be polished away. %%Lappeman added that the synthetics industry was focusing on producing coloured diamond varieties, which are rarely found in nature. He said that the foundation was looking to gain market share from gems like Tanzanite, while making synthetic coloured diamonds more affordable.%%There has also been criticism of the use of the term “cultured†to describe the artificially-produced diamonds. De Beers said that it misleads the consumer, and prefers the term “synthetic diamondâ€. However, the man-made diamond producers reacted sharply to this suggestion as they feel that the terminology demeans the product. People when they hear that term synthetic immediately think of something that is not real, which is not the case.
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