Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife ( Jun 12/00) - The North may soon take another step into the international world of diamonds.

With Ekati up and running, Diavik being constructed, Windspear on the way, two cutting and polishing plants in operation, and two more planned, the NWT is well on its way to laying claim to being the diamond capital of North America.

And the world is watching. Two weeks ago, representatives of the Diamond High Council of Antwerp, Belgium visited the capital with a view to establishing a polished diamond grading facility in the North.

The council runs the most respected finished diamond valuation lab in Europe. Its lab in Antwerp grades 400-500 diamonds a day, certifying the cut, clarity, colour and size of each. The certificates which go with each diamond graded assure buyers of their value.

"It would be a pretty substantial step," said Martin Irving, the territorial government's director of diamond projects.

"It adds credibility not only to the product that's coming out of here, but it also adds credibility to statements that we're a diamond centre."

The Diamond High Council has helped develop a diamond-cutting and polishing certification program that's now in place in the NWT.

Irving said the establishment of a finished diamond grading facility here would also benefit Northern diamond manufacturers.

"If you're going to send your stones to Antwerp to be graded, you've got to pay for the shipping there and the insurance, you've got the security risk of sending them, and you've got the timeline of anywhere between a week and a month to get them graded and get back to you," Irving said.

High Diamond Council is one of a number of groups looking at setting up a finished diamond grading lab here, Irving said.

The biggest graders in North America are the American Gem Society and the American Gemological Institute.

A grading facility would fit in well with government plans to certify the origin of diamonds mined in the North. The certificate of authenticity and the certificate of origin could be combined to capitalize on the status of Northern diamonds.

Ultimately, it will be up to manufacturers to determine when the North is ready for a grading lab. A lab does not make business sense until there is sufficient quantity of diamonds to grade.

Irving is optimistic. He said a lab could be established in a year or two or as early as six months.