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Shanu Singh Guliani

Technology VS Talk: Isee2
January 9, 2007

Image sitting in a private diamond room while placing a round brilliant diamond inside a machine made to spin in front of a light source and digital camera. No scales, diamond grading reports, or charts of the 4C’s. Just a desk, chairs, a nifty diamond analyzer machine, coupled with computers and Isee2 software.

Recently, I’ve read conflicting articles regarding the Isee2 software. An article in the “Consumer Guide to Diamonds,” in the September 2006 issue of Modern Jeweler stated that the Isee2 digital technology measured a diamond’s brilliance, scintillation, and symmetry coupled with their brand of diamonds.

Another article in Professional Jeweler indicated that the technology could be used for any round brilliant diamond. The article also mentioned (for all retailers who are educating consumers about a diamond’s proportions in relation to its cut), “the system works because it demystifies diamond cutting by showing consumers differences among top-quality cuts. A final grade helps them understand what they see and why prices differ. It also gives sales associates a tool to sell up.”

I’m a technology junkie so I decided to contact the company myself. In response to inquiries regarding the technology, Davy Lapa stated, “the Isee2 technology/apparatus can be and is used by all our partners around the globe to assess the "Beauty" parameters of ANY round stone. The "Isee2" technology/apparatus remains the propriety of Overseas Diamonds Technology. In a commercial program including the purchase of "Isee2" diamonds, the apparatus is leased on a yearly base against a rental fee to our partners/retailers.

Well, there it is!

Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on January 9, 2007 | Comments (2)

January 11, 2007
In response to: Technology VS Talk: Isee2
Cheryl Kremkow, Modern Jeweler commented:

Actually here's the quote from Modern Jeweler's Consumer Guide to Diamonds: "Can the differences between such diamonds be measured and translated into performance ratings? Three companies say yes: GemEx, GCAL and Isee2 — all of which use direct assessment technologies to quantify and grade various aspects of light performance.....Isee2 is the name given to a light measurement instrument developed by a Belgian diamond company to help demonstrate the superiority of its own brand of high-performance stones. Like the BrillianceScope, Isee2 gives brilliance, fire and sparkle ratings. The Isee2 machine analyzes the performance with a multitude of digital images taken as the diamond is rotated in a special lighting. One distinctive feature of the Isee2 system is that it displays a video of the diamond performing during the analysis. These images can be reproduced on diamond reports and viewed live by consumers to help them decide which diamond to purchase." Although we intended to say that the machine was developed to demonstrate Overseas Diamonds' superior cutting (which isn't in dispute) some people read it to mean that it only works on diamonds cut by the company, which is not the case. We should have been clearer, but there actually isn't a conflict. We published a letter clarifying matters in the January issue on page 10. Both the consumer guide and the letter are available at www.modernjeweler.com.

January 11, 2007
In response to: Technology VS Talk: Isee2
Shanu S. Guliani commented:

Cheryl-I thank you so much for the clarification and I am looking at the article "Isee2 For All Diamonds" on Page 10. I just received my issue and turned right to the page!