JOHANNESBURG (Kashmir English): Industry giant De Beers has introduced a black scanner-like machine which will help differentiate natural gems from their laboratory-grown competitors.
According to the company, “DiamondProof” has been launched to keep the shine on struggling natural diamond sales.
The verification device would help confirm authenticity of precious stones “formed deep within the Earth billions of years ago”, according to a press release issued by De Beers.
The decision to launch the machine comes at a time when the industry faces strong competition and falling prices.
According to De Beers, the machine available at retailers in the US detects “the distinct chemical compositions of natural diamonds”.
Diamond industry analyst Edahn Golan said that the natural diamond industry is in an endless effort to create separation from lab-grown gems, which, he said, are cheaper and only take a few weeks to be developed.
He further said that the launch “is part of a greater effort in the diamond industry to pull itself by the bootstraps” through marketing, pricing and consumer education.
Declining diamond sales
Diamond sales have been experiencing a decline since the Covid-19 pandemic, facing a downturn in consumer spending, particularly in China.
Laboratory-grown gems are undercutting prices for natural/mined stones since the Covid pandemic which cut overall jewellery demand.
