2004

German Court Says Term Cultured Cannot Be Used for Synthetics

Dec. 2004

A German court banned the term 'cultured diamonds' to describe synthetic diamonds, according to CIBJO, the World Jewelry Federation. The verdict was triggered by a case brought against Gemsmart, the German distributor for Gemesis synthetic diamonds, by the Central Office for Control of Unfair Competition. The company placed an ad in the local press for its stones and described them as “cultured.”

While the synthetic manufacturers say the process for making the stones is similar to how cultured pearls are formed, many industry groups have objected to the term. The court added that in future the company can only refer to laboratory created diamonds as 'diamonds' if the word is immediately preceded by the words 'synthetic' or 'artificial'. The court relied on the terminology and definitions contained in CIBJO’s Diamond Book. Because the verdict came down in an EU country, it could impact the use of the word in other EU countries.