As part of an initiative to boost its global muscle, CIBJO, the International Jewellery Confederation, has made uniform international standards for flawless diamonds.

The policy, outlined in CIBJO’s Diamond Book, aims to eliminate discrepancies in diamond grading across international borders. The initiative by CIBJO, a trade organization representing 21 countries around the world, adopts the definition previously used by both the Gemological Institute of America and the Federal Trade Commission. It makes stricter definitions used by several European labs.

The definition is included in CIBJO’s standardized clarity/purity scale, which requires that diamonds be "examined by an experienced professional under 10-power magnification in normal light by means of an achromatic, aplanatic lens."

Flawless diamonds, according to this standardized scale, must be found "absolutely transparent and free from inclusions" under this 10-power magnification.

The move by CIBJO illustrates the organization’s move toward greater international presence. Formerly known primarily as a European organization, CIBJO has been increasing its U.S. strength for several years and, in May voted to move the organization’s general secretariat to the United States. In the process, well-known U.S. industry leader Matt Runci, executive director of Jewelers of America, was appointed to replace former Secretary General Jack Ogden.

Until March 2001, Runci will lead CIBJO in conjunction with the organization’s current president, fellow American Jose Hess. In March, CIBJO President-Elect Gaetano Cavalieri assumes his new position.