(Press Release)
NEW YORK – To address concerns in the gem and jewelry industry about the possibility of synthetic or treated diamonds being mixed into parcels of melee, GIA has developed a fully automated system to rapidly and accurately analyze and sort round D-to-Z melee-size diamonds.
The pilot for the GIA Melee Analysis Service will launch this month at GIA’s laboratory in New York. Current clients wishing to participate in the pilot should contact their client service representative. The service will be offered at all GIA locations, with the rollout beginning in the third quarter of 2016.
“This system, which incorporates proven instrumentation, standards and processes used in GIA laboratories, will give the industry and consumers confidence in the characteristics, including color, of these most prevalent stones,” says Tom Moses, GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer.
The GIA Melee Analysis Service will separate natural, untreated diamonds from simulants and potentially synthetic or treated diamonds, and sort the screened diamonds by color range. Clients can also specify a size range for their parcel. The system applies GIA’s decades of research into and examination of treated and synthetic diamonds, and will process about 1,800 stones per hour around the clock.
The system can accommodate stones from 1.1 to 3.8 mm in diameter (approximately 0.005 ct to about 0.20 ct.) The cost of the service ranges from eight to 30 cents (U.S.) per stone based on diameter, with a minimum of 500 pieces in each parcel. Once sorted, the melee will be sealed in secure packaging for shipment directly to a third party – upon request and when permissible – or back to the submitting client.