Friday, 25th June 2004 (5088 views)

The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is planning to open a specialised identification and grading laboratory in Hong Kong.

The 2,500 sq ft facility is expected to be operational by November and is responding to a growing local demand for internationally accepted certification.

Marc Brauner, IGI's worldwide chief laboratory officer who will be in charge of the new operation said: "Hong Kong, the major diamond and jewellery trading platform in the Asia Pacific region, is increasingly expressing a need for internationally accepted certification to be performed locally."

He added: "Furthermore, we have seen a tremendous increase in demand for IGI certified diamonds and jewellery items in Hong Kong and its re-export markets."

It is expected that IGI will recruit local graduate gemologists as well as Fellows of the British Gemological Association to staff the laboratory.

IGI currently has bases in Antwerp, New York, Mumbai, Bangkok, Tokyo, Toronto, Los Angeles, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Cavalese and Seoul and is the world's largest independent gem certification and appraisal institute.

 

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