On March 1, 1999 Lazar Kaplan International announced they were going
to market color enhanced diamonds.
Lazar Kaplan claimed, that they could, using an undisclosed process develop jointly by
Lazar Kaplan and General Electric improve the color of certain diamonds. Kaplan
further stated this process was undetectable.
Lazar Kaplan will market these color enhanced diamonds through their
subsidiary Pegasus Overseas Limited in Belgium. Each color enhanced diamond was to be laser
inscribed on the girdle with "GE POL".
Through an agreement with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) the GIA agreed to
grade these color enhanced diamonds. The following statement is to be included with
the report: "'GE POL' is present on the girdle. Pegasus Overseas Ltd. (POL)
states that this diamond has been processed to improve its appearance by General Electric
(GE)."
The GIA is currently examining treated gemstones looking for tell tale signs of the
process. As of now we know very little other than Kaplan claims the process is
permanent and undetectable.
