The patent has been assigned to GemEx Systems Inc. as of August 19, 2008.
According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office the inventors created an online method and system that enables a consumer to evaluate the visual appearance and measurement data of the gemstone by emulating the laboratory instruments that previously collected the data. The consumer connects to a website that is linked-in with a gemstone database, the emulation software, and graphical user interface.
"The consumer identifies the specific gemstone he or she wants to evaluate, and an interactive gemstone certificate screen is displayed. The consumer separately selects and then emulates a variety of lab instruments, such as color and clarity grading, geometric measuring, and light performance and light ray tracing instruments. Graphical images and data pertaining to the selected gemstone are displayed on the computer monitor, and selected portions of the database are downloaded and saved on the computer memory."
Posted by Megan - DiamondIdeals.com
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Scientists have known about the presence of diamonds in space since the 1980s when meteorites hitting Earth were revealed to contain lots of nanometer sized diamonds. Based on these studies, calculations have shown that a gram of space dust from a cosmic cloud might contain as many as 10,000 trillion nano-diamonds. These have only recently been identified because their infrared signature has only recently been identifiable using computer modeling and Spitzer’s infrared spectrometer.
These space diamonds are formed very differently that our Earth bound diamonds. On Earth, stones that are destined for engagement rings and wedding rings are formed under high heat and high pressure. In space, these nano-diamonds are found in molecular clouds where temperatures are below minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures are billions of times lower than on Earth.
Understanding how these nano-diamonds form may lead us to understand more about the formation carbon-rich molecules, the basic building blocks of life on Earth.
Posted by DiamondIdeals - Specializing in Engagement Rings
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A study released in the January 2008 edition of the journal Geology proves that a blue diamond’s rare appeal goes far beyond its beauty.
Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory measured the phosphorescence spectra of the 45.52-ct. blue Hope Diamond and 66 other natural blue diamonds, including the 30.82-ct. Blue Heart Diamond in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection. They found that almost all natural blue diamonds show phosphorescence that has components of blue and red light. In some cases, including the Hope Diamond, the red color dominates, and the phosphorescence appears red to the eye; but for other diamonds, the blue color dominates.
The specific characteristics of the phosphorescence, such as the relative intensities of the blue and red components and how quickly it fades, were specific to each of the 67 diamonds in the study and provide a “fingerprint” that can be used by scientists and gemologists to individually identify natural blue diamonds.
“People typically think of the Hope Diamond as a historic gem, but this study underscores its importance as a rare scientific specimen that can provide vital insights into our knowledge of diamonds and how they are formed in the earth,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection and mineralogist, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, who was one of seven researchers involved in the study.
Researchers also tested lab-created and artificially-treated blue diamonds, which showed different phosphorescence spectra than natural blue diamonds. This difference provides an additional means to identify the origins of blue diamond gemstones.
Prior to this study, only limited scientific research existed regarding the phosphorescence properties of natural blue diamonds. Due to the rarity and extreme value of blue diamonds, scientists had typically used synthetic diamonds in past research. Post and his colleagues’ recent research took advantage of a unique opportunity to examine a large collection of natural blue diamonds from the museum and made available by diamond dealers.
The Hope Diamond is the centerpiece of the National Gem Collection on display at the National Museum of Natural History, attracting millions of visitors each year.
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These diamond-based solid-immersion lenses (SILs) could make it possible to store up to one terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) of data on a single disk, orders of magnitude more than today’s compact disks and DVDs can store, even though the basic optical technology is the same. The development was made possible by advances Element Six made in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a method of producing synthetic diamonds.
Element Six has processing and manufacturing facilities in Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom, along with a Diamond Research Laboratory in South Africa and many international sales and distribution offices.
A service of the Antwerp Facets News Service (AFNS). Article may be reproduced provided that credit is given to AFNS.
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