TECHNOLOGY
SYNTHETIC DIAMOND TESTING
Could the GIA ’ s diamond detector save the diamond industry ?
The Gemological Institute of America ( GIA ) has created a new device which it says is more effective than anything else in the market at detecting synthetic diamonds . Will the new technology be the silver bullet the industry needs to solve this problem ? SHEKINA TUAHENE speaks to Tom Moses , executive vice president of the GIA , to find out
In April , the Gemological Institute of America ( GIA ) announced that it had been working on a synthetic diamond detector which can screen lab-created stones even when they have already been mounted in jewellery . Most screening devices currently available are only able to detect the authenticity of loose stones .
Synthetic stones and diamonds have their place and can be a cost-effective alternative to the customer - some may prefer to go for lab created stones to avoid the risk of paying for an item which may associated with conflict , unlawful work conditions and harmful emissions .
But while there are many consumers willing to buy a synthetic stone over a natural one , this has not eliminated the potential risk of fraudulent trading . Issues arise when the true nature of man-made or ‘ peppered ’ stone is not disclosed , and the product is sold as ‘ natural ’, tricking jewellers and customers alike into overpaying for the gems .
The reputational damage such malpractice can do to the above-board diamond manufacturers , traders and retailers cannot be overstated . In a 2013 report by Rapaport , chairman Martin Rapaport noted that some manufacturers were going as far as to purchase GIA grading reports and creating a stone which matched the features . Some even went to the lengths of inscribing stones with the GIA logo and grading report number .
With the rapid developments in technology and synthetic manufacturers willing to do more to pass off man-made stones as natural , it was perhaps only a matter of time before the GIA felt the need to create a new device aimed specifically at solving the problem .
With its gem tester due for release later this year , the GIA claims it will provide the jewellery industry with an easy-to-use piece of equipment that can separate “ 100 % of stimulants and synthetic diamonds from natural diamonds ”.
Tom Moses , executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer at the GIA , said the device , which comes after decades of research , was “ responding to [ the ] need ” of retail jewellers to have a definitive method of separating “ natural diamonds from simulants and synthetics mounted in jewellery .”
As technology progresses , the GIA has attempted to keep up with the changes by creating a device it says has more capabilities than many others on the market . The desktop gem tester uses advanced spectroscopic technology to screen the quality of natural , treated and synthetic diamonds , making it one of the most effective testers available . It can also deter those who commercially treat natural diamonds to alter their colour , as it has the ability to separate as many as “ 50 % of High Pressure-High Temperature ( HPHT )” diamonds .
The threat of high quality synthetic diamonds remains prominent - only recently the GIA analysed a stone which it reported as having a “ rare combination ” of nitrogen and boron defects . The GIA claimed that it has never encountered such a stone before , which only serves to highlight the increasingly advanced methods used in the production of synthetic diamonds .
The examined ‘ hybrid ’ gem was a natural stone with a synthetic blue coating and was being marketed as a natural fancy-blue diamond . The GIA admitted that the due to the uncommon nature of
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With the rapid developments in technology and synthetic manufacturers willing to do more to pass off man-made stones as natural , it was perhaps only a matter of time before the GIA felt the need to create a new device aimed specifically at solving the problem
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32 JEWELLERY FOCUS
June 2017 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk