2008

Federal Trade Commission Okays "Cultured" For Use With Synthetics

Summer 2008

The Federal Trade Commission said that there is insufficient evidence that the qualified use of the term "cultured diamonds" is deceptive or unfair when describing lab-created gemstones. That goes against a petition submitted to the FTC by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and 10 jewelry industry trade associations, which argued that using "cultured" to describe lab-created diamonds is either deceptive or unfair.

However, Cecilia L. Gardner, JVC president, chief executive officer, and general counsel, said that the FTC agreed with at least part of the petition: "The FTC agreed with us that the use of the word 'cultured' alone to describe synthetic gemstones would be insufficient to protect consumers … and are required to include one of the four clear terms already obligatory under the Guides."

And that is the difference here: If you call something a cultured pearl, you don't have to use any other names. But you can't use "cultured diamond" by itself, but use other names, like "synthetic." In that way, the natural industry has shown it is different from synthetics.