De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) was founded in 2012 to provide professional screening instruments and expertise to the diamond industry.
De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) was founded in 2012 to provide professional screening instruments and expertise to the diamond industry. Now, following the launch of new devices and grading facilities, the IIDGR is enhancing the reach, rigour and precision of its world-leading products and services.
Providing diamond purchasers around the world with cutting-edge screening technology, the IIDGR invests heavily in maintaining industry standards and upholding consumer confidence. Enabling diamond stakeholders to identify synthetics and simulants, the IIDGR’s strategy as Jamie Clark, Commercial Director of the IIDGR explains, “is based on the three Ds: disclosure, detection and differentiation.”
In turn, these ‘three Ds’ are closely linked to the ’four Cs’ of diamond grading, whereby a product’s quality is determined by its colour, cut, clarity and carat. The combination of the IIDGR’s screening and grading technologies enables industry figures to achieve unrivalled accuracy, verification and repeatability up and down the supply chain.
“It’s a uniquely scientific approach,” says Jonathan Kendall, President of IIDGR. “Our instruments and processes provide total reliability and precision, which enables us to tackle the reputational risks linked to undisclosed synthetics and ‘blind selling’. What’s more, using our equipment means stakeholders can set up fully-compliant laboratories within their own premises.”
Over the last 30 years, De Beers has spent £50 million in the development of diamond technology, and through the IIDGR looks set to continue its investment in this area. Indeed, the IIDGR is currently piloting new instruments at its research centre in Maidenhead, UK, and opening new facilities in key diamond trading hubs, as Kendall explains:
“We’ve just launched the AMS device, demand for which completely outstripped our projections in 2014, and we’re developing an enhanced version of our DiamondView instrument and accelerating research in a range of areas. We’ve also just opened a research laboratory in India. In this way, we’re constantly looking to extend the reach and impact of our work.”
Learn more about the work of the IIDGR.