ALROSA partnered with a Russian federal institution to produce synthetic-detection devices, which the miner intends to start selling next year.
The contraptions sift out polished diamonds that originate from lab-grown or treated stones or from simulants such as cubic zirconia or moissanite. ALROSA developed the equipment in conjunction with a federal body, the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials.
The devices have two buttons – one to turn on the power and the other to switch between English and Russia, implying simplicity for users. They weigh less than 1.5 kilograms and can be plugged into a USB port or the mains at 22 volts or operated using a smartphone battery.
