Saturday, November 11, 2006

NYT: Identifying Diamonds

From the 5 July 2006 New York Times:

At This Lab, No Stone is left Unturned or Unmarked

One of the features making Gem Certification and Assurance certificates effective is the use of a device called Gemprint, which, by shining a laser through a diamond, captures its unique sparkle pattern, just like a human fingerprint. A copy of this Gemprint image goes on each G.C.A.L. certificate, making it impossible to switch stones or claim a stone is better than it really is. The guarantee can only be thwarted by completely recutting a diamond, at a considerable loss in size and value.

Once G.C.A.L. has certified a diamond, company experts use a cold laser to engrave a logo and serial number onto its rim, though Mr. Palmieri admits that such markings, only a few microns deep, could be easily removed.

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