Fracture-filled: fact, fiction, future

It has been seven years since Zvi Yehuda was credited with the process that fills surface-reaching fractures in diamonds, giving them an apparent clarity improvement.
What have we learned since then and how will the industry handle the on-going debate aver its use?
Over the past five years, NGL newsletters have reported on the process, its telltale signs and ethical concerns as has the GIA and numerous trade publications.
As gemologists, we are concerned over the grading aspect. If a fracture is filled it hasn't gone away. It may be less visible but its true nature hasn't appreciably changed.
It's like clarity grading with the naked eye and saying "If you can't see it, it doesn't count."
There is no standard industry position on the fracture-filled diamond. Some labs will grade them - some will not. GIA will not. EGL did but now does not.
NGL's position is as it was in the beginning. We will identify the treatment and issue a report as such but not assign a clarity grade or value [Editor's Note, 2008: NGL will offer appraisals to the end consumer only on fracture-filled stones. It will include a visual-only clarity grade along with a disclaimer and a value for insurance purposes only.]
What sets this policy for us is the fact that it is not stable in a diamond's normal environment. Everyday wear is fine, steam cleaning and an ultrasonic may even be OK for some, but a "normal" environment for a diamond includes being subjected to the heat of the jeweler's torch and under those conditions the process is highly unstable.
The effects are obvious and the consequences for the unsuspecting jeweler are not pleasant. It cost one jeweler his life and may cost others their livelihood.