ONCE UPON A TIME ...

Since his early days as a jewelry appraiser, Don has been a consumer advocate. He has defended consumer rights and often appears as an expert witness in court cases throughout the U.S., Canada, Asia and the Caribbean. A sought after expert, Don has appeared on Dateline and CNN and has been quoted in many prestigious publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Consumer Reports and Forbes.

One example of Don’s long held beliefs can be found in an article by Barron’s Financial Weekly in 1981. The article investigated the accuracy of grading within the diamond industry and as one of the independent experts, Don’s viewpoint was that labs could be 99-100% accurate if they took the time to do it right. He was quoted as saying, “It may cause pain now, but in the long run it’s better for consumers and so it’s better for business.”

The idea of ‘doing it right,’ meaning grading diamonds accurately and consistently, motivated Don to introduce the first Guaranteed Diamond Grading Certificate in 1982. Although guaranteed grading was unheard of at the time, he believed that as an ‘expert’ he was responsible and accountable for his work.

Still driven by the goal of providing an independent, honest and fair assessment of the quality of diamonds, Don and his wife, Pamela, established GCAL in 2001. Gem Certification & Assurance Lab is headquartered in the diamond district in New York City and is still proud to offer Guaranteed Diamond Grading Certificates, exclusively.