Concluding Remarks

Abstract

Potential danger of HPHT treatment for gem diamond market is discussed. It is shown that so far HPHT-treated diamonds constitute a little fraction of gem diamonds and the majority of them can be identified with confidence. Thus at present the treated diamonds do not cause a real damage for the market of natural gem diamonds. However, with improving existing technology of HPHT treatment and developing new technologies, parameters of which are close to those of natural HPHT annealing, the recognition of the treated diamonds might become increasingly challenging. Further development of reliable methods of identification of treated diamond based on deep understanding of the physical processes occurring in diamond crystal during HPHT annealing is of ultimate importance for maintaining the integrity of the gem diamond market in future.