Diamond Services will begin offering synthetic diamond screening services directly to the Chinese diamond trade from November 2 through the facilities in Shanghai of NGGC, the state-owned gem laboratory that is one of the largest grading institutes in China, the company said in a release.

The company, a developer and provider of gemmological services and technology, will utilise its recently released mini Raman Spectrometer for screening of synthetics at the Shanghai facility.

The instrument is able to accurately detect HPHT and CVD lab-grown synthetic diamonds and HPHT colour-treated diamonds, as well as diamond simulants, the statement said.

"Our goal is to expand the services being provided by NGGC by offering definitive and rapid confirmation as to whether a diamond is synthetic or not," said Joseph Kuzi, Diamond Services' founder and President. "Chinese traders will no longer have to withdraw suspect goods from circulation for lengthy periods of time, before they can be examined properly using the appropriate equipment. At NGGC we will be able to examine a stone immediately, and provide a final decision."

Diamond Services also said that the mini Raman Spectrometer has successfully completed its trial stage at a large diamond manufacturing company in Surat, India. "We deliberately selected a high-volume cutting and polishing operation to ascertain that our system would continue performing at optimal efficiency, even under the most pressured of circumstances. We are very satisfied with the results," Kuzi said.

The desktop-sized mini Raman Spectrometer, which was introduced to the public at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair in September, is able to test both mounted and non-mounted stones, and deliver its results in an easy-to-read and interpret format. It costs 90 per cent less than the equivalent Raman Spectrometer systems used by the leading gem labs.

Pic Cap: The mini Raman Spectrometer