De Beers Steps Up the Hunt for Fake Diamonds with detector box

Saving up a month’s salary to buy an engagement ring and then discovering the diamond is not real is the stuff of nightmares.

Mining house De Beers believes it can combat the threat of synthetic diamonds by unveiling new, state-of-the-art kit for detecting fakes.

The AMS2 machine fires red spectrum light into a diamond to look for telltale signs that it is not refracting in the way it should in a natural diamond. The grey box can process roughly 90,000 diamonds in 24 hours, 10 times faster than the previous model.

Jonathan Kendall, president of De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research, said the device had taken on board feedback from customers and would help “future-proof” the industry.

“If your only business is diamonds, you have to be pre-emptive in protecting it,” he said, speaking ahead of its launch in Hong Kong at this week’s International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show. “From our perspective we do not want one diamond being sold to a consumer when it’s not a diamond.”

Synthetic diamonds, which are chemically identical to the real thing, have been grown in labs for decades. There is a small but growing market for them among consumers who want to buy gemstones but do not support the mining industry. Leonard Dicaprio has backed a synthetic diamond company in California. 

While it is extremely rare for synthetic diamonds to be passed off as real, Mr Kendall said that De Beers’ new device would provide “assurance” that customers were getting the real deal.

Workers at the International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research hunt for fakes

Assurance does not come cheap, as the AMS2, available from June, will cost $45,000 a throw; this is however a significant reduction on the $65,000 its predecessor cost.

De Beers expects customers of the device will be diamond manufacturers and jewellers who buy so-called “melee” gemstones at the lower end of the market. These diamonds usually weigh around 0.10 carats and are often sourced on the open market for use in cheaper jewellery and diamond-encrusted watches.

As well as mining natural diamonds, De Beers produces synthetics for use as industrial cutting tools. It says it can leverage this expertise to stay ahead of the pack in hunting for fakes.

"There's always the likelihood of continual change, but we're ahead of the market," Mr Kendall said.

Separately, De Beers reported sales of $545m in its second "sight" of the year. The company holds 10 diamonds sales, or sights, a year. The latest round was down 25pc from an exceptionally strong sight in January, and was 12pc lower than the same time last year. The company said that "sentiment remains positive" in the market.