GIA Develops Melee Diamond Analysis Service

(IDEX Online News) – The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) announced that it has developed a fully automated melee diamond sorting system to rapidly and accurately analyze and sort D-to-Z melee-size diamonds.

The GIA Melee Analysis Service will separate natural, untreated diamonds from stimulants and potentially lab-grown or treated diamonds, and sort the screened diamonds by color range. The system will be able to process 1,800 stones per hour.

The system can accommodate stones from 1.1 to 3.8 mm in diameter (~0.005 carats to ~0.20 carats). The cost of the service ranges from eight to 30 (US) cents per stone based on diameter, with a minimum of 500 pieces in each parcel.

“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,” said GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer Tom Moses.