Gemchecker Debuts Diamond Grading System

Gary Roskin, G.G., FGA, Senior Editor -- JCK Online, 2/1/2002 2:00:00 AM

Gemchecker, an Australian manufacturer of gemological equipment, recently announced the introduction of its Diamond Grading System. (An announcement of the product last year was premature; only colored gemstone identification technology was released.) The system includes a "Classification Light Box" and digital camera that stores digital images. The images are analyzed by Gemchecker's diamond grading software.

Gemchecker says its device can guarantee accuracy and consistency—something no electronic color grader has accomplished—and claims that its light box unit with digital camera can clarity-grade diamonds: "Another advantage is the ability of this new system to detect even the smallest flaw or inclusion in stones, well beyond what the eye can see, even through a 10-power loupe," says a company press release.

Kelvin Johnston, system developer and engineer for Gemchecker products at Electronic Systems and Research Laboratory in Runcorn, Queensland, Australia, tells JCK that its digital camera will indeed spot inclusions. "Once the fingerprint of a gemstone is mapped, it initiates an auto-detection of clarity code, which will then match closest to the database as a GIA code—for example, VVS₁ etc. Naturally, if a stone is in a ring, it will only show an image of what it sees, and not what is covered by gold [or other metals]."

For more information on Gemchecker systems, visit the company's Web site at www.gemchecker.com.