GIA Selling Mounted Gem Testing Device at a Discount

Hong Kong--The Gemological Institute of America’s new testing device that can be used on both loose and mounted diamonds, the GIA iD100, is available at a lower price through the end of the month.

The GIA unveiled a prototype of the then-unnamed device at a conference on man-made diamonds held in India in April and then debuted it at the JCK Las Vegas show in early June.

The desktop device, which is pictured above, uses advanced spectroscopic technology to identify natural colorless diamonds that are at least 0.9 mm (approximately 0.005 carats) or bigger. It can be used on loose stones or diamonds that already have been mounted into pieces of jewelry.

Here’s how it works.

After turning on the GIA iD100, the user presses “Calibrate” on the touch screen. He or she then uses the probe to illuminate each stone, and the device gives both a visual and an audio response, either pass or refer. It takes one to two seconds per stone.

By identifying the natural diamonds (the stones that come up as “pass”), the instruments allows the user to pick out the stones that are either diamond simulants (CZ or moissanite) or grown by man using either the HPHT or CVD process (the stones that come up as “refer”). These then can be sent to a lab for further testing.

The GIA said the iD100 will refer 100 percent of diamonds that are either man-made or simulants.

The $3,995 price (which includes a $500 deposit to be made at the time of purchase) is available to everyone until the end of June. Those interested in placing an order should contact the GIA at instrumentsupport@gia.edu.

After June 30, the price of the iD100 will go up. A GIA spokesman said Friday that the lab has not yet set a final price for the instrument, though it has been described as being in the “$5,000 range.”

Also at JCK Las Vegas and the Hong Kong jewelry show, the lab demonstrated GIA M2M, a service and digital platform that shows consumers the journey of his or her diamond.

M2M is a digital storytelling platform and app that provides a look at all the chapters of a diamond’s story--from the mine to cutting to market.