New York: The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has joined the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) as its first premier affiliate member.

With an aim to educate consumers and increase global demand and desire for natural color diamonds, NCDIA is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization. Beyond the record-breaking blue and orange diamonds sold recently at auctions, the association has been working to promote the broad spectrum of naturally occurring colors that exist in diamonds. NCDIA membership includes an impressive number of producers, manufacturers, designers, retailers and now, affiliate services (organizations providing support services for NCDIA members).

“We welcome IGI as a new NCDIA member. They are a globally respected, independent gemological institution and one of the few qualified labs to differentiate natural color diamonds from synthetics, treated and lab-grown diamonds. We feel that all diamonds, especially fancy color diamonds, need a comprehensive, third-party opinion to protect consumers and instill confidence,” said NCDIA’s vice president, Alan Bronstein

IGI utilizes the latest technology to assess the natural origin and provide reliable color descriptions for natural color diamonds.

Jerry Ehrenwald, the president of IGI, said, “We are excited to expand our role with NCDIA and its affiliates as our organizational objectives greatly complement one another. The Institute emphasizes education, which leads to greater transparency and strengthened consumer knowledge and assurance. We look forward to continuing to work with NCDIA to advance our collective mission.”