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DPA to Scrutinize Synthetic Detection Machines
Feb 8, 2017 9:08 AM
By Joshua Freedman
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RAPAPORT... The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) plans to audit synthetics
detectors to help the industry navigate its way around the broad choice of
machines available on the market.
The group is laying the groundwork for an independent
laboratory that will test diamond-screening devices currently sold in the
market and publish its results to the trade. The marketing body aims to gather
a committee of representatives from major industry organizations by the end of
March to assess the scope of the program.
“This is a DPA initiative that responds to an obvious need
that all in the trade recognize, and aims to do it in a concerted and efficient
manner without duplication of work,” Jean-Marc Lieberherr, chief executive
officer of the DPA (pictured), said in an email to Rapaport News.
At least five different companies or laboratories produce
devices for screening diamonds, while the number of actual products is more
than double that figure. Devices vary in terms of ease of use and the size of
diamonds they can test, while the purchase prices range from $4,000 to
$350,000, according to research by Surat-based DRC Techno, which itself produces
three different screening machines.
The variation is such that some equipment can only identify stones grown from chemical vapor deposition (CVD), while other devices can only pick out high-pressure,
high-temperature (HPHT) diamonds, and some can do both.
"Sometimes a single
instrument is not necessarily capable of delivering foolproof results," said Sutariya Vipul, president
of DRC Techno. "In some
cases, the client may require two or more instruments to reach a conclusion."
Lieberherr said the lab would not rank equipment or make
recommendations, but would carry out objective and robust testing so diamond companies could know the market better.
“That way they can
make an informed choice about what is best for their business,” the executive
added.
The DPA has requested a budget of $60 million from its seven
members this year for all its operations, Ernie Blom, president of the World
Federation of Diamond Bourses, said at a press conference in Mumbai this week.
De Beers and ALROSA are expected to contribute $25 million each, with the
other member companies splitting the remaining $10 million between them.
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Tags:
Diamond Producers Association, Dpa, DRC Techno, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, Joshua Freedman, lab-grown diamonds, marketing, Sutariya Vipul, Synthetic diamonds, Synthetics, synthetics detectors
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