There are two types of fingerprinting for diamonds: geographical plasma fingerprinting, and organic fingerprinting and identification.
Geographical identification, or the identification of the specific geographical place where a gem is mined, is not precise and is some time away from perfection; however, it is incorrect to say that diamond fingerprinting does not exist at all.

The second form of fingerprinting deals with identification, authentication and the possible treatment of diamonds and gems. The method used, based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, is precise. Wikipedia.com states: “As with all spectroscopic techniques, [FTIR spectroscopy] can be used to identify compounds and investigate sample composition. It is a common laboratory instrument that is used today. A diamond’s specific chemical makeup or the allotropes of carbon contain special properties that make it identifiable with infrared technique.”

Until a few years ago, these methods were in the early stages of their evolution and were mostly used in medical and forensic laboratories by entities like the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and other crime investigation units that could afford this expensive technology.

Dialab focuses on the second form of fingerprinting systems for diamonds and organic materials but has just taken this a step further by bridging the divide between the two methods. Although the diamond doesn’t have a DNA structure the process of Fingerprinting is focusing on the compound makeup and structure of the Diamonds that is distinctive for its carbon properties.

It is true that a number of methods can link a diamond and its certificates, such as a laser inscription on a diamond, but the inscription can be polished off in minutes, and the same diamond or gem can be sent to the same laboratory for recertification. This is not possible with the fingerprint identification systems, since each diamond has its own specific carbon makeup and “fingerprint”.

This is the technology DiaLab is currently pioneering. With Dialab’s systems, we can identify a single diamond out of thousands. This matching of the electronic print of the diamond carbon fingerprint to a certificate will make it impossible to fake the certification on diamonds.

There are at least eight types of synthetic diamonds. Three types of synthetics are a threat to the diamond industry as a whole:

1. CVD chemical vapour deposition
2. HPHT,* which can be synthetic or chemically treated to  enhance their value or appearance
3. PECVD Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour depositio. The third type is grown from a seed crystal and is not necessarily  of type-2 classification origin. The original lattice of this  synthetic is of natural origin, which makes it nearly impossible   to detect.

Most serious laboratories use the FTIR system for detecting these diamonds; however, the diamonds are not always identifiable. It might be important to know that DiaLab is presently investigating a fingerprint of a Diamond that has all the properties of a 1a-b classification but appears to be synthetic. Is there a synthetic with these properties?

It is important to note that no diamond under 10 points, or 0,10 ct, is certified by laboratories and, therefore, it cannot be excluded that this synthetic production poses a large threat to the jewellery manufacturing industry since most jewellery products contain small diamonds that are only tested by the use of a thermal pen. All synthetic diamonds will pass a thermal pen test today. Therefore, the conclusion by the South African Jewellery and Diamond Federation as mentioned in the Mining weekly article published 4 July 2010 with regard to the number of synthetics reported globally “on the basis of statistics provided by reputable diamond certification laboratories around the world, which are responsible for grading more than 67% of the world’s cut and polished diamonds, only a small percentage of undeclared treated or synthetic diamonds (around 30) are found annually” – in a multibillion-dollar synthetic diamond industry – seems vastly underestimated.