"Diamond STC will create a line of Russian high-tech devices for gemstone identification

"The Diamond Science and Technology Center (DSTC) intends to produce a line of devices capable of determining the authenticity of precious stones in the nearest future.

"Since the market both in Russia and abroad showed a high interest in the ALROSA Diamond Inspector devices of the Diamond Science and Technology Center to identify precious stones, the company plans to produce new devices in the coming months," - said Vladimir Sklyaruk, director of the Diamond Science and Technology Center LLC, which is the manufacturer of ALROSA Diamond Inspector.

He specified that customers will be offered a number of new devices, each of which has unique features and complements the entire line of products.

About the device

ALROSA Diamond Inspector is a compact device (15x25x10 cm) weighing 3,1 kg, in a metal housing. There is only one button on the panel that is used to start the diamond inspection. The device does not require Internet or computer connection. Power is supplied by connecting the device to the mains through an adapter or by an external battery. Testing can be done by anyone, because it does not require gemological knowledge.

The ALROSA Diamond Inspector uses three optical methods for the detection of a precious stone, which guarantees high precision and reliability of the appraisal. In addition to all the obvious advantages, the device has a low price in comparison with foreign competitors.

Analyzing the authenticity of the stone takes less than a minute. The result is displayed on the device in an easy-to-understand format. The ALROSA Diamond Inspector is able to check diamonds individually and in jewelry. To be tested successfully, a gemstone must weigh from 0.03 to 10 carats and have a color ranging from D to J (colorless and near-colorless) according to the GIA international classification. The stone itself can be any traditional cut shape (KR-57, oval, pear, princess, marquise and others).

The ALROSA Diamond Inspector can identify all types of stones: cut and uncut natural diamonds (if they have at least one facet), polished diamonds, non-diamond imitations (including moussanites, cubic zirconia, rock crystal, spinel, amethyst, etc.), as well as HPHT or CVD cut synthetic diamonds.

At present, the device was purchased by many Russian companies, including such State organizations as Gokhran of Russia, the Assay Chamber of Russia, custom services, criminalistics departments, gemological laboratories.

Besides the above-listed organizations, the device is also used by jewelry stores, pawnshops, Internet shops, offices, and in transactions.

Along with this, the Diamond Research and Technology Center actively develops the company's export potential, which accounts for about 52% of its total sales. The company's management intends to reach 70% export performance in 2020-2021.

Independent expertise

In 2019, the independent laboratory UL Verification Services, Inc. in Boston (USA) tested more than 20 devices from different manufacturers that determine the authenticity of diamonds. The study itself was conducted as part of the Diamond Producers Association's (DPA) ASSURE program, which aims to develop and apply a uniform standard for evaluating the performance of tools and special instruments for diamond identification.

All tested instruments were divided into three categories depending on the set of functionalities. The first Russian portable ALROSA Diamond Inspector was put into the third category as a device with the widest functional capabilities. Other devices, which turned out to be large stationary detectors, fell into this category in addition to it. Their price was several orders of magnitude higher than the price of the ALROSA Diamond Inspector.

The domestic device in the study identified about 1.4 thousand images of various stones, including natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds, including samples not on the market and grown using the most advanced technology, as well as non-diamond imitations.

Based on the test results, the ALROSA Diamond Inspector demonstrated almost 100-percent accurate results: 96.4 percent of correct answers to identify natural diamonds and 100 percent of correct answers to identify synthetic diamonds. It should be noted that the remaining 3.6% of natural diamonds were sent by the device for further testing, thus showing that they are type II diamonds, which may be of both synthetic and natural origin. In addition, the Russian device turned out to be the only device able to show an error-free result in detecting non-diamond imitations (simulated diamonds). All the rest, even the most advanced and expensive devices, were unable to detect simulants as accurately.

About the company

"Diamond Science and Technology Center" is a member of the ALROSA group of companies. The company develops and manufactures high-tech equipment that verifies the authenticity of gemstones. The ALROSA Diamond Inspector device was developed to protect the market of natural diamonds. Such a device, the first in the domestic market, was first demonstrated in 2018 at the meeting of the Public Expert Council of the Assay Chamber of Russia, dedicated to the topical issues of circulation of synthetic analogues of gemstones in the Eurasian Economic Union.