The Gemological Institute of America just opened a new laboratory in Tokyo, Japan.

The Gemological Institute of America or GIA has opened a new grading laboratory in Tokyo, Japan.  This is the ninth global location for the highly esteemed diamond and gemstone grading laboratory.

“Bringing GIA’s diamond grading standards and research-backed lab services to such as ‎important market will serve the public interest by supporting the Japanese gem and ‎jewelry industry,” commented Tom Moses, who is GIA’s senior vice president for laboratory research.

He also added ‎ “Our global network of laboratories enables GIA to remain at the forefront of gemological ‎developments and provide the best possible service to our laboratory clients.”‎

GIA announced the plans to open a Tokyo laboratory approximately 1 year ago and the lab began accepting diamonds for grading on Monday Dec. 3rd.  The lab currently offers Diamond Grading Report and Diamond Dossier® services for D through Z loose diamonds up to 2.99 carats.  The laboratory will continue to expand its services in the coming months.  The lab will also currently accept gemstones and pearls for grading, however they will be sent to GIA’s other global locations for grading and returned to Tokyo for pick up.

Mari Okada, the manager of GIA’s Tokyo laboratory explained, “Providing grading services to the gem and jewelry sector where they operate is central ‎to GIA’s practice. We are ‎excited to open a laboratory in Tokyo to complement GIA’s long-standing educational ‎presence in Japan.”‎