GIA has developed a fully automated system called the GIA Melee Analysis Service, to rapidly and accurately analyze and sort round D-to-Z melee-size diamonds. The purpose of this initiative is to address concerns in the gem and jewelry industry about the possibility of synthetic or treated diamonds being mixed into parcels of melee.

“This system, which incorporates proven instrumentation, standards and processes used in GIA laboratories, will give the industry and consumers confidence in the characteristics, including color, of these most prevalent stones,” said Tom Moses, GIA’s executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. The Service will separate natural, untreated diamonds from simulants and potentially synthetic or treated diamonds, and sort the screened diamonds by color range. Clients can also specify a size range for their parcel. The system applies GIA’s decades of research into and examination of treated and synthetic diamonds. It will process about 1,800 stones per hour around the clock and has the ability to accommodate stones from 1.1 to 3.8 mm in diameter (approximately 0.005 ct to about 0.20 ct.). The cost of the service ranges from eight to 30 cents (U.S.) per stone based on diameter, with a minimum of 500 pieces in each parcel.

Once sorted, the melee will be sealed in secure packaging for shipment directly to a third party – upon request and when permissible – or back to the submitting client. The pilot for the GIA Melee Analysis Service will launch in June 2016 at GIA’s laboratory in New York. The service will be offered at all GIA locations, with the roll out beginning in the third quarter of 2016.