Webinar: What Millions of Diamonds Taught Us with GCAL By Sarine #naturaldiamonds

After 25 years and millions of diamonds, GCAL has seen the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable sides of diamond grading. This candid founder-led conversation with Donald, Pamela, and Angelo Palmieri shares the stories behind the standards. Moderated by Joshua Freedman, senior analyst, Rapaport. This episode of the Rapaport Webinar is sponsored by GCAL by Sarine, celebrating 25 years of guaranteed diamond grading, innovation, and consumer-first standards. After grading millions of diamonds, GCAL continues to combine ISO-accredited laboratory practices with Sarine’s advanced technologies to deliver science-based certificates, 8X cut-grade evaluation, and trusted results backed by accountability. About Rapaport: Rapaport Group includes Rapaport News, delivering industry-leading content across digital platforms, including news coverage, interviews, editorial features, original storytelling and branded content initiatives; Rapaport Analysis, providing in-depth research on the global diamond and colored-gemstone markets, including demand and pricing trends and the benchmark Price List for diamonds; Rapaport Trade (formerly RapNet), the world’s largest online diamond- and gemstone-trading marketplace, with over $8 billion in daily diamond, gem and jewelry listings; and Rapaport Auctions, the world’s largest recycler of diamonds. Additional information is available at www.rapaport.com. 0:00 – Welcome & Introduction to GCAL by Sarine Guests 1:50 – 25th Anniversary Video: GCAL's Origin Story 4:50 – Why GCAL Was Founded: Don Palmieri's Story 9:30 – Pam Palmieri's Memories of Launching the Lab 11:40 – The Apollo Moon Jewelry Design Story 13:50 – The Diamond Grading Guarantee Explained 17:00 – Has GCAL Ever Paid Out on Its Guarantee? 20:00 – Hiring & Building GCAL's Company Culture 24:30 – Is There a Shortage of Diamond Grading Talent? 26:40 – Managing Seasonal Spikes in Diamond Submissions 28:20 – Zero Defects: GCAL's Quality Control Philosophy 29:40 – ISO Accreditation & Grading Consistency 32:10 – Expanding to India with Sarine's AI Grading Tech 35:30 – Light Performance Grading & Diamond Profile Lab History 38:40 – GemPrint: Unique Diamond Fingerprint ID 40:30 – Introducing the GCAL 8X Cut Grade Standard 44:20 – Expanding 8X to New Diamond Shapes 46:30 – Natural vs. Lab Grown Diamonds: AEX Adoption Trends 48:30 – Certificate Cost vs. Diamond Value 50:00 – Live Audience Q&A Session 58:30 – Closing Remarks & Thank You