Innovations in certification: SGL lays out the roadmap for the future of diamond screening

With more people leaning towards diamonds with the rise in gold prices, certification and purity measures have become paramount in the industry. The Retail Jeweller World Dubai Forum had an industry expert from SGL to elucidate the importance of blockchain in taking forward the industry

When it comes to the diamond dream, there have been quite a few ups and downs for the industry in the last few years, especially with the advent of lab-grown diamonds. There have been questions on the purity and the perfection that comes from them.

For 30 years after 1976, the world did not see a new gemstone laboratory. There was a thirst in this niche area, to create something bigger and better. Thus, walked in SGL Labs, the brainchild of Shirin Bandukwalla and Chirag Soni. Devoid of something as simple as software solutions, the two started from scratch to make a difference in the gem and jewellery sector.

Today SGL has 15 laboratories worldwide, headquartered in London and New York, with centres in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and India. With a plan in place to grow to more locations, Chirag Soni, the co-founder and director of SGL Labs, presented his company to the esteemed delegates at the Retail Jeweller World Dubai Forum 2021 in a segment titled, “Future of Diamond Origins, Blockchain Certifications and Screening Innovations”.

Soni promptly outlined some basic questions and the many firsts for SGL in the beginning. “When we started, we asked ourselves, how do we craft our niche? Can we be the first to offer solutions beyond certifications? With a lot of effort going into the brand building exercise, we started offering mobile laboratories in the UK. We were the first to classify natural diamonds and CVD and HPHT ones on jewellery reports. We were the first to offer uncut diamond reports, classifying if they are natural. A consumer always asks if a polki or uncut diamond is a natural one. We launched certificates for that too. We were the first ones to launch a screening instrument for natural versus lab-grown diamonds. We were the first to run a chain of custody programmes for Rio Tinto’s Australian diamond segment, thereby giving consumers the confidence that the diamonds originate from Australia. Last week, we went completely digital across the board. We are constantly innovating,” he said.

Soni talked about the SGL 6X standard which sets them apart from other players in the segment. “The first thing is our grading standards. For any laboratory, the credibility is built on how well and consistent the certifications are across networks. For us, the fact that a grading certificate is issued which is not automated unlike hallmarking or an XRF result, is a plus. With diamonds, the certification is carried out by humans. There have been developments with AI in terms of colour characterizations, but we are still not at a digital point with diamonds in totality,” he said.

Soni spoke about the standard of SGL’s service. “We develop systems and audits to ensure that our grades are consistent across boards and are at par with international standards. We ensure that our gemmologists are trained. We have a rigorous process to ensure who can certify the diamonds that come to us. An average gemmologist will take at least 6 months of training before they can even take a call on certifications,” he said.

The star of Soni’s presentation was the SGL technology for diamond screening. “With the advent of lab-grown diamonds, there is a lot of contamination at times. Lab-grown diamonds have been unknowingly been mixed in natural parcels and set on jewellery, thereby risking the retailer and supply chain’s credibility. We focused on lab-grown diamond detection heavily. We screen every product and certify them. The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group were very kind to have us install a machine with them. We provide our services at a subsidized pricing,” he said.

Service, for SGL, is a broad term, which is holistically achieved. “We ensure that we turn around goods faster ensuring the same quality and consistency in work. We provide a better customer experience for goods delivered to the lab. We also ensure that we add value for our customers. We have been able to achieve a precise and timely service model at SGL. This has been our primary pillar of success,” said Soni.

The supply chain relies on SGL because they try to make sure that the profitability is not hampered because timely delivery is always primary.

SGL prides itself in excellence in creating solutions for diamond consumerism. “Our most innovative solution is the blockchain. It is developed for chain stores who have thousands of products on the floor and at times, there is a loss in consumer experience when you cannot locate a product or its certificate among the heavy paper bundles that you have. The process of certification remains the same. We only push the data to a secure server with a unique ID for every jewellery. The moment the jewellery is sold, the system will prompt you to print a certificate once you punch the UID. We provide the special stationery to print out the certificates. A certificate, once printed, goes into the system with all details to ensure security. This prevents fraud. We have successfully implemented the technology with a store having more than 110 touchpoints today,” said Soni.

SGL has another service, said Soni, which resonated with the young consumer today. With a lot of focus going into climate change, the new-age customer wants to know where their jewellery is sourced from, and is always happy to go for environment-friendly options. Called ‘Eco-Assure’, this is a certification system for only recycled gold. This solution is adding value for the consumer and making them feel good about their purchase,.

“We also launched a country-of-origin certification or diamond traceability. This is another well-received concept that was first launched by Tiffany. The consumer wants to know where diamonds come from today and the protocols that go into it. They want to ensure that what they are buying are not blood diamonds. We also have gemmological courses where students get to handle huge quantities of diamonds in different varieties,” Soni ended his presentation.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller World News