De Beers' New Lab Grown Detector Slashes Screening Time

(IDEX Online) - De Beers has unveiled a new natural/lab grown screening device that cuts the scan time for seven carats of melee diamonds from around 30 minutes to under five.

SynthDetect 2 also automates more of the testing and reporting process.

It was launched on September 15 at the Hong Kong Gem & Jewellery Show and is aimed at diamond manufacturers, laboratories, wholesalers and retailers' back-office operations.

A 21cm diameter circular tray of melee takes five minutes to scan, and most individual diamonds can be screened in a few seconds.

SynthDetect 2 can screen loose diamonds and diamonds mounted in rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, bangles, tennis bracelets and brooches s from 0.001 to 10 carats in the D-to-J color range and classifies results as Natural or Synthetic or Refer (unable to determine if natural or lab grown).

De Beers has not disclosed the price of the device, which will be available early next year.

The original SynthDetect was introduced in 2017 by De Beers' International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research.

It was designed to screen diamonds in mounted jewelry as well as loose stones, using time-resolved photoluminescence and without requiring a probe.

At the time that the instrument cost $16,250 and that De Beers said its referral rate - unable to determine natural or lab grown- was around 0.05%.

SynthDetect XL followed in 2018 with a larger base that allowed more jewelry to be screened simultaneously. De Beers said could handle larger necklaces, multiple solitaire rings and multiple bracelets and currently lists the price as $22,500.

The technology is based on detecting characteristics associated with natural diamonds rather than simply looking for characteristics associated with synthetics.

De Beers says about 1% of natural diamonds screened by SynthDetect 2 are referred for further testing, although it warns that lower-color stones may produce higher referral rates.

Pic show the new SynthDetect 2.