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Article > New Cut Grading Systems: the Technology Provider's Challenge | ||
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Diamond Grading Articles | |
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Part 5: Summation and a few recommendations To summarize, we've seen that the new grading systems will create great challenges for diamond manufacturers, diamond dealers and retailers, gemological labs, and technology & equipment providers. These challenges have to be faced by all links in the diamond pipeline. Each link will have to deal with its own challenges, but these challenges are interlinked, so some players will have to take responsibility over challenges affecting other players in the pipeline. Over the past two or three years, there's been a lot of talk and unanswered questions regarding the new cut grading systems. The gem labs need to be loud and clear about the launching of their new grading systems to avoid confusion, uncertainty, and rumors in the industry. Manufacturers and retailers need to understand, in advance, how they need to prepare themselves in terms of stock, training, and equipment, so they are not surprised when a new grading system is launched. Since the diamond pipeline is spread out worldwide, with rough mined in Africa being sold in Belgium, polished in India, resold from Israel, and then mounted in the U.S., educational and promotional efforts will need to be addressed to these international players in a well-planned and orderly fashion. The diamond industry cannot afford to have part of it well-trained and working with a new cut grading system, while other parts of it are not adequately familiar with the new cut grading system and therefore do not adhere to its standards. Such a situation would mean great losses for all parties involved and a potential shortage in goods, in some markets. As we've seen, technology plays a leading role in all links of the diamond pipeline. This means that technology will have to be adapted in many parts of the industry. Therefore, new grading systems should only be launched when appropriate proven technology and equipment exist for rough planning, quality assurance, grading, and sales promotion. Anything else will cause confusion and multiple standards at best, or loss of income and jobs, at worst. A new grading system will be hard enough to deploy in the field even without any guesswork involved. To gain public trust, new grading systems need to include quantifiable parameters that are reproducible at every level. To imagine what will happen otherwise, just think about how every gem lab has its own 'D' grade for color, and how many different interpretations the word 'ideal' has in the diamond industry. My final recommendation is that gem labs need to be more transparent about their intentions and relationships with technology providers to relieve some of the uncertainty in the industry. Many technology providers like to think of themselves as affiliated to or endorsed by a major gem lab. Such an affiliation is often a useful sales tool to promote some piece of equipment. However, since the gem labs seldom disclose their equipment providers for various reasons, the technology providers exploit this situation to sell second grade equipment at discount prices, damaging the reputation of the premium brands and resulting in loss of income to everyone, including the leading equipment providers that carry the burden of research investments, before their products are ruthlessly copied around the world, often in territories where it's near impossible to protect intellectual property. | |
Sarin Technologies is a worldwide leader in the development of advanced diamond optimization systems, diamond color grading,
diamond cut grading and laser marking machines for diamond grading & gemstone production