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By Darren Arnold, Europe Correspondent
Mick Elmore, Bangkok Correspondent
Catherine Pawasarat, Japan Correspondent

In trade shows, in conference halls, in hotel rooms and meeting rooms, the amount of time that the gem and jewelry industry has spent wrangling over terminology is truly mind-boggling. While it may seem like a lot of fuss over subtle differences in meaning, any businessman will tell you that a difference in terminology that costs him sales is a big deal.

But for most of the world, agreeing on a word in English is just the first step. Once they get back to their home countries, dealers have to translate not just the word, but the intent behind it — and the wrangling begins all over again.

Crossing the Eurozone
In late 2004, a German court issued a restraining order prohibiting Munich-based distributor Gemsmart GmbH from using the term zuchtdiamenten (“cultured diamonds”) in their local marketing of gem-quality synthetic diamonds produced by Florida’s Gemesis Corp. The court stipulated that any future use of the word “diamond” in relation to the product must be preceded by either “artificial” or “synthetic,” translated in German to künstlich or kunststoff, respectively.

Naturally, Gemesis executives were less than pleased with this decision. President David Hellier states that “the term ‘synthetic’ is scientifically correct; we don’t argue with that. But consumers — at least in the U.S. — equate synthetic with fake. We want consumers and retailers to understand what the product actually is.”

This is by no means a new problem. Germany’s neighbor France saw a similar situation nearly 40 years ago when Pierre Gilson used the term “cultured” for his synthetic emerald, which led to both controversy and a new French law. More recently, a French law was created in 2002 which, as Eric Ruskoné of Paris-based gemstone dealer Marcel Poncet SA explains, would “allow us [in France] to call all enhanced gems only by their name, without any accompanying terms. Because of this, all the natural gems that are not enhanced and not treated have to be known in France with the prefix ‘natural.’ This is a paradox, because all enhanced and treated gems have a natural origin.”

Even all of this is relatively straightforward compared to the difficulties that can be thrown up regarding the translations of gem treatments. Rui Galopim de Carvalho, the International Colored Gemstone Association ambassador to Portugal, has been active in translating the World Jewellery Confederation’s (CIBJO) Blue Books — one of which, CIBJO’s Diamond Book, figured prominently in the zuchtdiamenten case. According to de Carvalho, terms such as “enhancement” and “treatment” can prove quite tricky: “Treatment translates [in Portuguese] as tratamento and enhancement as melhoramento. The first has been widely used for all kinds of artificial processes that change the appearance of a gem, no matter the specific or general disclosure policy. The second doesn’t sound quite [as] effective if applied to gems.”

As a gem wholesaler involved on the French side of Blue Book translations, Gérard Grospiron notes that “we consider the word ‘enhancement’ as too positive, and we [in France] speak of traitement [treatment] in all cases of human intervention.”

There are other terms that make hard work for translators. “Clarity” is a term that de Carvalho notes “may be translated as claridade, but it is better served in Portuguese by pureza, literally meaning ‘purity,’ that in turn may sound like chemical purity and/or free of impurities.” Bleaching is another difficult one. Literally it should translate as lexíviamento — in Portuguese, bleach is lexívia — but it is more easily digested as branqueamento, effectively meaning ‘turning things whiter,’ ” explains de Carvalho.

Italy has seemingly found a way to avoid confusion when dealing with certain processes — at least within the native language. Francesco Roberto, who has worked on translating the Blue Books into Italian, explains: “Heating and oiling remain the most controversial [terms]. How can a natural, heated ruby with fissures containing a certain quantity of foreign substance be defined as ‘enhanced’? And how can a natural emerald with a small residue of colored oil slightly penetrated into minor fissures be called ‘treated’? This is why Italy implemented the UNI [Unification of Italian] rule, which in my opinion, is the clearest and simplest rule for gems available in the jewelry trade.”

The UNI is a set of standardized rules describing — in Italian — all processes that may be applied to gemstones. As the name suggests, it’s a rule as opposed to an actual law, although since its inception in 1993, there has been a movement to turn it into a parliament-approved law.

Tongue Thai’d
At the weekend gem market in Chanthaburi, Thailand, one can easily hear a dozen languages in an hour of trading. Some conversations move from Burmese to Thai to English or French, then into several African languages and back to Thai and English. One wonders if, after so many translations, the rubies you were discussing are now sapphires — or, more realistically, whether the heat treatment you asked about now includes diffusion.

Gem conversations in Chanthaburi can be global in nature and in language, too. That causes problems through misunderstanding and sometimes intentional obfuscation, using language “problems” as an excuse for non-disclosure.

No matter which language is used, much is agreed. Key phrases like “heat treatment,” “diffusion,” and “treated with chemicals” are now part of the colored stone lexicon. But still, some things are lost in translation, and even the words whose meaning is agreed upon in English hold a lot of emotional connotations.

Often it is the different understanding of the English words that causes the problems. The meaning is lost in English semantics, not foreign translation.
P.J. Joseph, director of academics at the Asian Institute of Gemological Studies (AIGS) in Bangkok, Thailand, says that although many Thais use English words when describing the gem processes, definitions can still be a problem, with meanings getting mixed. “An example is [the words] ‘treatment’ and ‘enhancement’ are often used to mean the same thing, but they’re not,” he tells Colored Stone. Thais will use the word “treatment” in English while speaking Thai, but sometimes the meaning the Thais have for it is not the same as that of an English speaker. English is the accepted language of the gem trade, but many Thai buyers, dealers, and heat-treaters have a limited command of the language, so detailed explanations are not always possible, and things get lost.

“A bigger problem is in the subcategories, where people are not as careful,” Joseph adds. Pinpointing exactly what was done to a stone — like how long something was heated, what other stones were heated with it, which chemicals were used in enhancement, and under what conditions — causes the most problems.

During its 25 years, the AIGS has promoted common definitions in its classes to keep things understood. Its approach is to try and be certain what has been done to a stone, which takes patience.

Professor Sakda Siripant, director of the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT) on the Chulalongkorn University campus, says many definitions are globally accepted, but the words “enhancement,” “treatment,” and “diffusion” can sometimes be confused. In an effort to standardize the industry, GIT works toward common terminology, and that is in English.
“Every country uses English. When they translate [definitions] into English, it should be the same,” he explains.

But again, many Thai dealers and others in the industry, particularly heat-treaters in Chanthaburi, have limited English, so there is some confusion there.

“This is a problem for Thai people who don’t speak English,” Sakda says. They cannot effectively explain details about the treatments and processes to others, and it causes a breakdown in the chain of communication.

GIT is a member of the international Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee (LMHC), which among other things is working to develop a common language for stone definitions, he adds. Sakda encourages everyone in the industry to use the committee’s rules as a guide in their use of language.

Honest to a Fault?
The Japanese gem and jewelry industries understand all too well the potential pitfalls of vague disclosure language. In 2002, tens of thousands of carats of bulk diffusion-treated corundum were passed off as padparadscha on the Japanese market, creating serious havoc throughout the industry. To avoid the confusion in treatment terminology in the future, the Japanese have eliminated its usage altogether.

“We don’t use general terms like ‘treatment’ or ‘enhancement’ anymore,” explains Hisashi Ashino, secretariat of the Japan Jewelry Association, which, together with the Association of Gemological Laboratories Japan (AGLJ), introduced a new mandatory gemstone certification system for Japan last September (see “Japan Gets Tough on Disclosure,” page 26). “Now we specify the process and the gemstone.”

The bulk-diffusion sapphires would today be tagged with the description: “natural corundum; with the purpose of changing the color, humans have introduced a foreign element in a diffusion heat treatment.”

“Most consumers misunderstand this kind of language,” laments Kazuo Matsumoto, president of wholesaler Koshin Jewels. “They see this and think it’s not a real sapphire.” Consequently, he maintains, the new disclosure rules have resulted in a sharp drop in sales of colored stones.

But rules are rules. All member labs of the AGLJ — considered the most reputable labs in the country because of required qualifications — must use the new certification system, which means that reputable gem and jewelry dealers are doing the same.

“Treated stones are now terribly difficult to sell,” echoes Toshinori Miura, executive director at jewelry importer and wholesaler Miura Jewelry. “I used to sell ‘enhanced jade,’ no problem, but now I have to explain this label that says, ‘in order to improve color, coating wax has been included.’ ”

Is the new system too complex for the average consumer? Potential customers are shocked to learn what processes colored stones have undergone, says Miura. Many consumers seem to think that a treated stone is just one small step above a fake, according to Matsumoto.

“The information is correct, and people in the industry are fine with the language, because we know,” he points out. “But for consumers, the change was too drastic and too sudden. We should have eased into it in stages, over a year or two.”

There’s also a time-lag issue. Some stones that wholesalers sold to retailers before the changeover are only now being sold to consumers, and thus are going to labs for new certificates. What the retailer bought and what he is now selling to the consumer may seem like completely different stones, according to the two different terminology systems.

In Japan, it may be at least a few years before everyone gets used to what’s what, and colored stones regain their shine.

March/April 2005 • Style: Waking up in the Townships • Sources: Lost in Translation • Reader's Choice Award 2005 • News & Updates • In This Issue