Anyone who wants to know anything about laboratory-grown diamonds needs to meet Dusan Simic. His precise presentation was very informative and his 20+ years of experience in the jewelry and gem trade was obvious and impressive.

He is an internationally trained research Gemologist and has become an expert in the identification of diamond treatments and the process of creating gem-quality diamonds in laboratories.

The intricacies of various treatment techniques, along with useful identification processes, were shared and the use of advanced research equipment was explained.

---

Mr. Simic took time to explain different diamond types and their chemistry in detail. He also gave a very useful overview of the firms who market the various brands of synthetic diamonds. The Federal Trade Commission has determined that the term “diamond” or “created diamond” in connection with laboratory created diamonds is not appropriate. “Synthetic, laboratory -grown or laboratory-created” are the correct terminology to be used to identify these truly fascinating creations of men’s ingenuity and scientific know-how.

---

This was truly a talk for those who are curious about the intriguing differences between man-made and natural diamonds. The difficulty of creating and identifying diamonds, which are the result of technology rather than nature, became obvious. Various charts and graphs, listing the many different treatments used today, contributed to a very fact-packed evening which ended with a lively Q&A session.

---

Dusan Simic and his partner Branko Deljanin authored an “Information
Guide to HPHT-grown and CVD-grown Diamonds”, which provides detailed
information on the very relevant and timely topic of Synthetic Diamonds.

---

Meeting summary by Denise Nelson