A peek behind the scenes from IGI Worldwide

Trivia Question
Photo credit: Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

Trivia: Why is ‘D’ the highest diamond color?

In the normal diamond color range 'Z' is classified as most tinted while 'D' is classified as most colorless. So what happened to A, B and C? Are they reserved for new diamond discoveries? Extraterrestrial diamonds? What could possibly be more colorless than most colorless? If there are 23 classifications why not start with 'A' and end with 'W?'

Post Author:By
Vitruvian Man
Image credit: Wikipedia

Will ‘DaVinci’ Change Diamond Cutting?

In 2020 Synova, introduced the "Da Vinci Diamond Factory," an automated system capable of transforming rough diamonds into fully polished round brilliants. Synova has continued to increase its range and recently made it possible for rough diamond scans, used by many entities, to be incorporated into its planning and execution.

Post Author:By

See Metal I.D. Performed on an Antique Etruscan Necklace

Recently the IGI Lab in Shanghai received an antique Etruscan revival style necklace from the mid to late 19th century. When the necklace was submitted, IGI gemologists immediately understood the reason it was sent for identification: It seemed to weigh less than it should and, therefore, was suspected to be made of gilt copper, rather than gold.

Post Author:By
Read more about the article Diamonds Created without Heat – a Scientific First
Photo credit: Crystal Kwok on Unsplash

Diamonds Created without Heat – a Scientific First

Our planet's supply of diamonds were produced by four different processes. One took over a million years to achieve results. The next have been working in laboratories and factories, with increasing success, since the 1950s. But until this month man had never replicated that final process.

Post Author:By
Read more about the article See this 10-carat LGD’s color transformed from yellow to pink!
Photo credit: IGI Worldwide

See this 10-carat LGD’s color transformed from yellow to pink!

This 10+ carat HPHT produced lab-grown diamond was initially graded Fancy Intense Yellow by IGI. When it returned to the lab its color had been changed to Fancy Vivid Pink. IGI confirmed that the color had been shifted from yellow to pink through irradiation using a 5MeV Electron Beam Transfer system.

Post Author:By
Hue, Tint, Saturation
Credit: Albert Munsell

How the gemstone Color Universe works

Gemstones and fancy-colored-diamonds appear in all the colors of the rainbow, at different shades, with different intensities. Since the human eye can distinguish around 13 million shades and nuances of color, gemologists have developed a consistent method of mapping a gemstone's proper position in the broad 'Color Universe.'

Post Author:By