Sarine Working on Near-Field Communication For Diamond Tags

(IDEX Online) – Two companies, including Israeli diamond industry mapping and laser-cutting equipment maker Sarine Technologies, are working on applying near field communication to the needs of the diamond trade.

The technology is widely used for enabling mobile payments. Thinfilm is working on producing NFC tags for high value products or that are widely copied such as wine and spirits, specialty foods, luxury goods like handbags, and pharmaceuticals.

Sarine and Thinfilm, which prints NFC tags, are partnering to bring NFC to diamonds with Thinfilm to print NFC tags that show a smartphone user the profiles of individual stones, such as its history, measurements, grading and other information. Sarine already offers this information in online profiles, but not directly connected to a diamond itself. The two companies are trying to use NFC tags to make the information more accessible to wholesalers and commercial buyers, according a report on Mashable.com.

NFC allows electronic devices to communicate when they're within inches of each other. A diamond customer would bring a smartphone close to a printed NFC tag to access the diamond's profile. "We're empowering jewelers and consumers to instantly and seamlessly connect to an identical digital version of a diamond through the tap of a smartphone," Thinfilm corporate communications head Bill Cummings told Mashable. "This is one of the first instances of the type of NFC we're talking about being produced through a printing process unique to the diamond and gemstone industry," Cummings said.

The NFC tags will be printed on paper sold with diamonds wholesale or eventually on tags attached to rings in stores. Sarine is demonstrating the technology this week at the Hong Kong Gems and Jewellery Fair.