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 Post subject: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:57 pm 
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De Beers Develops Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
By Rob Bates, Senior Editor
Posted on December 10, 2012

De Beers is developing a device that can detect whether smaller diamonds are lab-grown or natural, executives said at a Nov. 30 briefing for Anglo American shareholders.

“We are working on an additional machine which is going to detect automatically very small diamonds,” said CEO Philippe Mellier. “Up until today you have to look at them one by one to see if it’s synthetic or non-synthetic. We will have something automated going down to the smallest [diamond].”

Later, Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier described the machine as ready to go into testing.

“There is now some concern in the industry over melee small diamonds [that might be synthetic],” he said. “We have made an automated melee feeder that will allow you to volume process through the machines. That will go into test with our clients early next year.”

The executives didn’t say whether the device could also detect diamond treatments in smaller stones.

De Beers isn’t the first industry entity to announce a breakthrough on this front. Earlier this year, the Analytical Gemology and Jewelry laboratory announced it had developed a method to batch-test melee diamonds and identify them as natural, treated, or synthetic.

De Beers also hinted that it had developed a new automated grading device.

“We are using some specific machines to have automatic color and clarity assessments,” Mellier said. “[It] can be rough but we are also moving down to polished.”


Developing an instrument which would consistently determine the color and clarity of a fashioned diamond might be the difference needed to view diamond grading as science, not a subjective art. :D


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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:21 pm 
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True. I wonder what technology this new device uses and the rates of false positives and false negatives.

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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:29 pm 
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Even though the article's title makes it sound like the device is already developed, I think "In Development" would have been more accurate. :D


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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:50 pm 
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Barbra Voltaire wrote:
Developing an instrument which would consistently determine the color and clarity of a fashioned diamond might be the difference needed to view diamond grading as science, not a subjective art. :D


Wow! I've been waiting such a machine to come into use since Dr. Joel Arem announced one was nearly ready to be unveiled. That was at a diamond conference I attended -- in 1981.

Forgive my cynicism but this technology has been forecast for a long time now.

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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 6:58 pm 
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When I was in Russia, they were using a spectrographic unit at both the University of Moscow and Alrosa to grade color and clarity.
Apparently, the unit is less forgiving than the human eye.


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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:58 pm 
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ROM wrote:
Wow! I've been waiting such a machine to come into use since Dr. Joel Arem announced one was nearly ready to be unveiled. That was at a diamond conference I attended -- in 1981.
Forgive my cynicism but this technology has been forecast for a long time now.

Perhaps he forgot about it.

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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:59 pm 
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It wasn't Arem's machine, Thomas. He was talking about technological capability and industry research being done at the time.

In all seriousness Barbra, how did your Gran Colorimeter work out? I could only find your initial 2006 posts about a "lemon" from Kassoy. Did the replacement work any better?

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 Post subject: Re: JCK: Device to Detect Synthetic Melee
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:48 am 
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I think it was Gene (G4Lab) who had the worst experience with one.

I lost interest with it after a few months.
I still have it; never use it.
It was temperamental needing frequent recalibration.

I thought that is was somewhat accurate, once calibrated, giving color results within one grade in either direction when I checked it against GIA Human Graded Diamonds.


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